News from neighbors
Sentencing set for April 7 in Thayer case
HAXTUN-FLEMING HERALD, Feb. 9 — Former child care director Julie R. Thayer has reached a plea agreement with the 13th district attorney’s office in a case involving charges of assault and child abuse.
Thayer appeared in Phillips County Court in Holyoke last week via WebEx video conferencing technology. Thayer was formally advised in the Holyoke courtroom on Oct. 7 and has yet to appear in person in front of Judge Kimbra L. Killin.
Thayer’s lawyer, Justie Nicol, announced during the most recent hearing last week that an agreement had been reached and that Thayer planned to plead guilty to one charge of child abuse and in return serve a two-year supervised probation sentence.
The terms of the agreement, Nicol said, involves no jail time but does stipulate there is no option for early termination of probation.
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YHS project is all but complete
YUMA PIONEER, Feb. 10 — For the most part, Yuma School District’s $32 million expansion/renovation project is complete. Construction crews have left for now, but some will return later this year to do several add-on projects made possible by the district and Neenan Archistruction getting the project done under budget.
Groundbreaking began in June 2020. Several upgrade projects were done at Yuma Middle School that summer, then most of the attention turned to Yuma High School. That summer’s work also included construction of the new auxiliary gym and weight room at the school’s south end. That portion was open to classes and athletic events in January 2021.
Work on the new career and technical education wing, which also includes the new main office, carried on throughout the 2020-21 school year while also dealing with COVID-19 restrictions. The steel frame went up early in 2021, and the work continued inside and outside at a feverish pace so the new wing would be available at the start of the current school year.
Students and staff were in the new wing when the school year started Sept. 7, 2021.
Renovation of the band and art classroom wing also took place during the 2020-21 school year. Those classrooms were open for business at the start of the current school year.
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Chappell residents create international calendar
CHAPPELL REGISTER, Feb. 3 — Carhenge is in an international calendar for 2022 about people who enjoy simple, everyday, run-of-the-mill things, things others overlook. They celebrate the ordinary, sometimes turning ordinary into extraordinary.
The calendar is produced by Lee Carlson and Grover Click from Chappell, Nebraska. The title is Dull Men’s Club Calendar 2022: Quirky Passions.
In addition to Carhenge and American Gothic, there are 11 more quirky passions in the calendar from America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and China. The calendar also lists 150 events that celebrate the ordinary, like the Duck Tape Festival in Avon, Ohio; World Championship Cardboard Boat Races in Heber Springs, Arkansas; and Kool-Aid Days in Hastings, Nebraska.
Carhenge is on the cover of the calendar and is the topic for June. Its creator, Jim Reinders, chose June because summer solstice is June 21. Sadly, Jim died last October. He was 94. He left behind a legacy of what started out as a quirky idea that became a significant tourist attraction.
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