Fall sports are underway with the first girls golf tournament of the season held at O’Neill where the Lady Badgers brought home a first place out of ten teams. First place, Valentine, 402; Battle Creek, 403; O’Neill, 412; Boone Central, 450; Pierce, 470; West Holt, 493; Crofton, 524; Cedar Catholic, 527; Ainsworth and Norfolk Catholic also participated.

School is in session and there is new staff at Valentine Community Schools. Let’s meet them! Shawna Fullerton is the district wide mental health professional.

The North Central RC&D met in Bassett. Highlights include the success of the Tire Amnesty project held in Cherry County in April. The RC&D received funding from Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment; 297 tons of tires were gathered and will now be recycled. The North Central District Health Department is applying for a Tire Amnesty grant for two locations in the RC&D area so we are supporting their project. The RC&D is applying for household hazardous waste collections for 2022.

Lightning can be sneaky and start fires before anyone knows what’s happened. So, on a perfectly normal, comfortable day, it may not be uncommon for our firefighters to be called out on what they’d determine later was a lightning fire.

I've read every article about the best places to work, or greatest jobs to aspire to. I've never seen a jail, or a dispatch center listed. It takes a special kind of person just to start a job in this type of environment, let alone keep it for a length of time. Corrections and Dispatch professions have notoriously high turnover rates, and for good reason. A person must have a certain mental fortitude to have any success in this environment. If the long hours, holiday - night - weekend work, and demanding environment don't get to you... The constant threat of physical and psychological warfare in the jail will, and the inherent critical situations will stack up on you as a dispatcher. No matter how well you compartmentalize, there will still always be calls and incidents that stick with you. Bottom line is, there are some great people working here that make a not so happy environment more than bearable. We take pride in serving our community and hope to do so for a long time to come.

Shadows highlight Green Street where the Cherry County Parade brought Fun back to the Fair, Thursday, August 12, 2021. There were many who chose to join the parade float Riding for The Brand - for Jesus Christ. The pickup pulled a trailer with people that didn’t utilize motorized methods, then there were kids on bicycles, adults on motorcycles, tractors, and finally those on horseback. After the parade, a non denominational Cowboy Church service was held at the Valentine Sale Barn.