News

The Sutton Area Chamber of Commerce has set Monday, Jan. 22, as the date on which they will host their annual meeting, beginning at 6 p.m. A social gathering, followed by a buffet, at a cost of $15 per person, will be held at the Flat River Grill located at 113 South Saunders Ave.

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to the Sutton Area Chamber of Commerce by emailing the number attending to: suttonchamber2014@ gmail.com The meeting, which will be presided over by president Julie Haag, will feature a presentation and discussion with Erv Portis of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

Portis has been in discussions with Sutton Mayor Tim Anderson and will talk with those attending about how the State of Nebraska can potentially assist Sutton with its recovery efforts following the July 29 EF-1 tornado that caused substantial damage to Sutton’s downtown district.

This pair of cottonwood trees, located near Verona, just northeast of Clay Center, stand tall amid a heavy fog event that blanketed much of south-central Nebraska on the first day of 2024

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

Majors is named first-ever Applicator of the Year by NE Agri-Business Assoc.

Jason Majors, a lifetime resident of Sutton has set the bar high in his profession, as Majors was recently honored by the Nebraska Agri-Business Association (NABA) as “Applicator of the Year” for 2022.

In the announcement by the NABA, “Excellent service to our customers is the heart of our business and we all know the value of a great applicator. The applicator of the year was established to recognize a commercial applicator providing outstanding service, good stewardship in their community, and exceptional leadership through mentoring or training.”

The announcement also shared that “Jason started his application career in 1994 with Sutton Coop Grain. In 2004, he joined George Bros as an applicator and over the last 10 years, has added the role of training new applicators to his duties.

JANUARY 4, 2023 ISSUE

Sutton's Fox Hollow Motel changing ownership

Small Town Hospitality of International Falls, MN was set to close on the sale of the Fox Hollow Motel according to former managers Alan and Pam Schroetlin. The Schroetlin's had managed the Sutton motel for 12 years, and are planning to retire.

According to the STH's website, the company’s motels are contactless and they are run by an 'invisible service approach,' which means guests 'are in control of your stay, everything you need and nothing you don't.'

STH according to their website has motels in Ontario, Canada; International Falls, MN; Algoma, WI; and Benson, MN.

JANUARY 11, 2023 ISSUE

Sen. Murman tabbed as education chair during the 90-day, 108th Legislature

KPE Consulting Engineers of Omaha was busy Dec. 18-20 doing an overall structural engineer study on the entire west half of the damaged North Saunders Ave., downtown business district in Sutton.

The Omaha firm was hired by the City of Sutton at a total cost of $26,250 “scope of services” study to help the City of Sutton, and business and building owners affected by the July 29, EF-1 tornado that damaged the entire west side of the downtown business district, as well as, leaving a damaging impact on the east side of the North Saunders Ave. business district, along with many other residential properties, the Trails End Motel, and the Fox Hollow Golf Course’s maintenance shed, and cart sheds.

For the majority of Tina Buckhalter’s life, the Giving Tree has been a part of her holiday season. To her, it’s not the Christmas season without the Giving Tree.

The annual wrapping event began over 35 years ago and was started by Buckhalter’s parents, Ed and Judy Barnes. Years later, the Giving Tree has grown and continued to remain an influential part of the family’s holiday season.

In the weeks leading up to the wrapping, people can pick a tag and shop for someone in need. Last Wednesday, community members gathered to wrap the nearly 1,000 gifts.

“I think what makes the Giving Tree unique or special is that the people that come in and help are doing this because they are from this community,” Buckhalter said. “I think that is just their way to kind of give back something.”

Get ready to laugh, converse, and have fun with the Sutton Stampede Boosters Club, and the staff and students that the recently formed club is aiming to lend a financial hand to, when the organization hosts its first-ever night of entertainment on Saturday, March 16, at the Sutton Community Center.

Plans for the event aren’t fully set in stone, but members of the booster club’s board of directors are ready to start selling tables and individual tickets for the upcoming event.

What’s for dinner you may ask? A nice, fresh hearty ribeye steak, prepared by the boosters, with all the sides being prepared by the Sutton FFA Chapter and the Sutton FFA Alumni chapter.

Entertainment will be priceless for the event, as the boosters have lined up Davenport native Gayle Becwar to entertain the crowd following the meal.

While a large share of the 2023 holiday events are winding down, last weekend a few activities took place. Above: Sherrie Bartell, president of the Argonne Post 61 American Legion Auxiliary, talks with guests that joined the auxiliary during its first-ever Wreaths Across America event. At the left: Kenny Reutzel and Santa Claus share a moment with a family during Harvard Modern Mrs. Club’s “Christmas for Kids” event, held Saturday morning at Harvard Public Schools.

Since its inception in 1991 the TeamMates Mentoring Program, which began thanks to legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy 32 years ago has had one simple driving point, “Our mentors just have to be there.”

That sediment hits close to home, as the Sutton Chapter of TeamMates began celebrating its 20th year as a chapter with the program at the start of the 2023-24 school year.

Current TeamMates coordinator, Kim McElfresh, and co-coordinator, Makyah Wagoner, both shared the same lines as that one strong sentiment by the national office, “You know you always have someone in your corner.”

McElfresh and Wagoner’s happen chance that they coordinate the Sutton chapter together goes deep, as McElfresh has been a TeamMates mentor to Wagoner since Wagoner was in high school, known then as Makyah Calkins.