Changes in Lewis and Clark Conference for next year.

The Lewis and Clark Conference held their April meeting last night and several changes were adopted that will effect conference activities next year.

1. Admission prices for conference sponsored activities will be $5 for adults and $4 for students. Conference sponsors activities are defined as activities between conference schools in which the conference activity passes were designed were free admittance. Tournament prcies will also be raised to $5 and $4.

2. It was agreed to start charging admission for conference one act, speech, and the conference vocal and instrumental music concerts.

3. Mileage for visiting teams to conference basketball tournaments will no longer be paid.

4. Coleridge withdrew as a member of the Lewis and Clark Conference.

5. Allen is adding a gym addition to their school. They will be added as a host site for conference volleyball and basketball tournaments.

6. Revisions to the Conference basketball tournament effective next year.
a. The first round junior varsity games will be dropped. The top four seeds will host first round games. The #1 seed will have a bye. The #2 seed will host games between 7 vs 10 and 2 vs 15. The #3 seed will host games between 6 vs 11 and 3 vs 14. The #4 seed will host games between 5 vs 12 and 4 vs 13. The 8 seed will host the 9 seed at the site of the 8 seed. The host school will play the second game at each site. If the host school does not think they can host because of gym capacity or other factors they may pick an alternate site that is not being used. If a host picks a site outside of the conference, fees for rental and other expenses will be paid by the host unless given permission by the conference president.
b. Move the boys semi-finals to Saturday of week 31 at one site and leave the girls semi-final on Friday of week 31, but play at one site. This would eliminate the problem of girls and boys teams from the same school playing at different sites during the semifinals.
c. Seed the consolation round according to the closest losing seed. (example 15th seed vs 14th seed). The tournament directors will determine consolation bracket after 1st round games are completed. The lowest remaining losing seed after the 1st round does not play the consolation round.
d. Consolation rounds will be played at one site at 5:30 pm. Only sites with two gymnasiums will serve as host sites for the consolation round. The teams playing in the second and thirs games of the consolation will warm-up in the auxiliary gym. Teams must be given at least 5 minutes warm-up in the main gym.
e. Consolation sites
2010-11 Girls Wakefield; Boys Homer
2011-12 Girls Ponca; Boys Winnebago
2012-13 Girls Bloomfield; Boys Wakefield
2013-14 Girls Homer; Boys Ponca
2014-15 Girls Winnebago; Boys Bloomfield.

I voted against the change in conference basketball (#6) because Bancroft-Rosalie was left off the list of hosts for consolation games. The athletic directors seemed to have overlooked the fact that we have two gyms.

I thought I would share the amount of money that is factored into the state aid formula for schools that qualify for the instructional time allowance. Schools qualify by having students in classes for more hours than the state average. Schools that show $0 have students in class less than the state average of 1,150 hours for the school year. The dollar amounts are based on hours of instruction and number of students.

In my mind, money isn’t the issue. The more hours students are in the classroom, the more opportunities for student learning. But it is nice that the Department of Education recognizes hours of instruction as a component of the state aid formula. It is easier for me to sell the teachers on why we start earlier and go later than other schools in the area.

Cuming County Schools
West Point-Beemer 117,750
Wisner-Pilger 54,366
Bancroft-Rosalie 111,985

Burt County Schools
Tekamah-Herman 5,785
Oakland-Craig 0
Lyons-Decatur 0

Thurston County
Pender 54,333
Walthill 0
Omaha Nation 0
Winnebago 0

Wayne County
Wayne 0
Wakefield 0
Winside 0

Dodge County
Dodge 85,303
Scribner-Snyder 19,274
Logan View 182,410
North Bend 0

Dixon County
Ponca 0
Newcastle 0
Allen 0
Emerson-Hubbard 36,971

Top ten Bancroft-Rosalie football games

At the athletic banquet I was recognized for winning the 200th game as head coach at Bancroft-Rosalie School. Reflecting back on the 276 games I have coached here at B-R, I put together my top ten list of memorable games.

#1 1985. Bancroft-Rosalie 56, Sandhills 20. The first state championship game, played in sub-zero temperature. I believe a key to our victory was the decision to play in tennis shoes instead cleats because of the icy field conditions.

#2 1999. Bancroft-Rosalie 42, Lawrence-Nelson 14. The second state championship game played at Memorial Field in Lincoln. The game was tied at half-time, but a 28-0 second half provided the difference.

#3 2006. Bancroft-Rosalie 38, Clarkson 36. One of the greatest play-off game upsets ever. This game catapulted the 2006 team into the state championship.

#4 2009. Bancroft-Rosalie 28, Howells 26. Another great upset win. This game is only #4 because it did not occur in the play-off’s.

#5 1986. Ansley 40, Bancroft-Rosalie 14. We lost this state championship game, but had to play with several injured players. Some tried to play while injured and others had to miss the game.

#6 2007. Overton 32, Bancroft-Rosalie 8. Another second place finish. The 2007 B-R team got the most out of their ability. A very satisfying season.

#7 1986. Bancroft-Rosalie 32, Coleridge 0. What would a top ten list be without a Coleridge game? This game matched the #1 rated teams in D-1 and D-2. On a windy night, we chose to take the wind first and took advantage of excellent field position the first quarter to score. The defense played great.

#8 1999. Bancroft-Rosalie 27. Humphrey St. Francis 26. This nail-biter sent us to Lincoln for the first time. A blocked extra point in overtime and a fourth down completion on the game-tying last drive made for a memorable finish.

#9 1983. Beemer 30, Bancroft-Rosalie 28. There has to be a Beemer game in here too. This is a game that I believe turned around the Bancroft-Rosalie program. We trailed at 30-0 half-time. The second half was all B-R and we came close to pulling off a big upset. If the boys had gotten blown out, they might have started looking for a new coach.

#10 1983. Bancroft-Rosalie 32, Wynot 0. My first win at B-R, after an 0-10 start. My father sent me a touching letter congratulating me on the victory. Wynot could not stop the quick pitches.

There are lots of other memorable games, like the first homecoming win over Allen in 1983, the upset of #1 Walthill that featured Walthill back Bullett Beaudette, the frist play-off win against Winnebago 1985, we could go on and on.

We could debate these other games and whether they are top ten worthy, but since I am the Coach, I get to make this call and this is how I see it.

Neihardt Spring Conference this Saturday at 8:30 am

The Neihardt Foundation offers another excellent conference on Saturday, April 24th at the Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, Nebraska. This year's participating scholars are all authors and educators, each, like Niehardt, with much experience in creating short stories. Although he is renowned as Nebraska's Poet Laureate in Perpetuity, many of Neihardt's earliest published works consisted of over 35 short stories based on traditional tales and accounts of historical events and incidents he heard from Omaha Indian men, traders, railroad workers, farmers, and others living on the Great Plains. Some ring of tall tales, some of tragedies, some of heroism, and some of the metaphysical. This year's program combines an academic approach with a close and personal look at the work of writers from different racial-ethnic groups to examine the inspirations, development, and strength of the short story as a medium to convey complex scenarios in masterfully crafted writing.

The featured speakers all share some renown as both writers and teachers. James Work, Professor Emeritus of English at Colorado State University has made many appearances at Neihardt conferences as a dramatic theater reader of Neihardt's Song of Three Friends and has written a paper on the mountain man Mike Fink. He will address the accepted formula for writing short stories and examine whether Neihardt's short stories, all written between 1907 and 1911, followed that prescription. This will lay the groundwork for hearing from three other well-known short story authors. Karen Gettert Shoemaker, Creative Writing faculty at UN-Omaha (UNO), will speak on "creating the types of stories I loved to read." Two speakers will explore the diversity of ethnic and racial perspectives in the genre. Linda Hogan is a Chickasaw from Oklahoma whose father was born in Nebraska. She has written novels, scripts for PBS, books of poetry, and non-fiction essays, as well as short stories. Environmental, spiritual, and human rights issues are prominent in her work, and she will focus on placing historical and contemporary issues into the short story format. Ricardo Garcia is a poet, fiction writer, and accomplished storyteller. He teaches the art of storytelling at a variety of venues; as he says "anywhere anybody will listen." His focus will be on universal truths told with humor and clarity from ethnic perspectives. Moderator for the day will be Neil Harrison, Dean of Language Arts at Northeast Community College and the Outside Evaluator will be Lisa Sandlin, Creative Writing instructor at UNO.

Registration for the conference can be made by mail, phone, or e-mail. Cost is $20 per person pre-registered, $25 at the door, and $15 for students. Lunch reservations at $8 must be made by April 20th. The conference day begins at 8:30 AM with the first presentations beginning at 9:00 and ends at 4:30 PM. Lunch will be served at The Country Pub, 409 Main Street. Presenters' books will be available for sale and signing. Funding for the conference has been provided by the Neihardt Foundation, the Nebraska Humanities Council, Cuming County Visitors Bureau, and Wayne State College School of Arts and Humanities.

Director candidate in Bancroft Thursday Morning

Garry Clark, a candidate for Director of Cuming County Economic Development, will be in Bancroft Thursday morning. CCED Board members Jon Bailey and Jon Cerny will meet Mr. Clark at 8:30 am and take a tour of Bancroft, including trips to the school and the Neihardt Historic Site.

At 9:30 am the community is welcome to join us for coffee at the Country Pub to meet and greet Mr. Clark. At 10:30 am he will leave for Beemer and then on to Wisner.

Garry Clark is a graduate of Dana College and has been working in Economic Development in Maryland. Before that he worked for a small town in Florida. If you would like more information, join us at the Country Pub Thursday morning at 9:30 am.

Helping students is our job

Three weeks ago a former student called and said a friend of hers from out of state was having trouble filling out her FAFSA to apply for financial aid to attend college. The FAFSA is a form the federal government uses to determine what the family can afford to contribute toward a student’s college education. Based on the FAFSA results, some students will receive Pell grants (money that does not have to be repaid), some will receive loans (that must be repaid) and some will receive no financial aid.

This particular student in need was having difficulty because she was raised by her aunt and did not know what to answer for parent income questions. She went to the local community college financial aid office and left frustrated because they did not appear interested in helping her. So the former student called me thinking that I must be very knowledgeable about filling out these forms since I am a Doctor. She was wrong. I didn’t know the answer, but I did know where she could go to get the help she needed.

I happened to be in Lincoln on Good Friday to attend the Nebraska Coaches Clinic and watch the Huskers practice. During the one hour lunch break I walked the six blocks to the EducationQuest Office on O Street and talked to a financial aid person about the FAFSA questions that I was presented with. I was told to have the student come into their office and they will assist her in completing her FAFSA.

Last week I received a call saying that the FAFSA was done and this student that I barely knew was really appreciative that I took the time to help her.

I tell this story not for personal glory or accolades, but to have this serve as an example of how I believe all professional educators should respond to a student in need. My example is unusual because the student did not attend our school. But our students, including former students, should expect that their teachers will take the time to help them. And I hope that students feel like they can come to our teachers when they have a problem.

It might only take a little walk over lunch.

State goal: Improve Nebraska's college going rate

The Nebraska P-16 Initiative was created to improve edcuation in Nebraska from preschool through college graduation. One goal of the P-16 Initiative is to improve Nebraska's college going rate to the top 10 tier nationally. Nebraska's college going rate is currently 64.5%, ranking 19th in the nation.

Some of the strategies for achieving the goal include:

1. Disseminating a consistent message to students and families that reinformces the benefits of a college education and how to make college affordable, and that dispels myths about college-going.
The Susan Buffett Foundation provides a scholarship for students that choose to attend a Nebraska College and meets two criteria- a first generation college student (neither parent attended college) and low income. All students that meet the criteria receive this scholarship.

Also, state colleges waive tuition for all Nebraska students that qualify for Pell grants (low income). Not being able to afford college is not a good reason for not going on.

2. Ensure that high schools offer activities that promote a college access pathway. Bancroft-Rosalie currently offers dual credit (college and high school credit) opportunities for students. Generally, if students receive nine or more hours of college credit before starting college, they are more likely to attend college.

Most of the information for this article comes from the Education Quest Foundation.

Staff Development for Non-rural Teachers

Bancroft-Rosalie School provides a variety of staff development for its teachers. In these photos, you see social studies teacher James Hulstein developing an awareness and appreciation for Nebraska agriculture, courtesy of School Board member Gary Anderson.

Visit to Tekamah-Herman

I had the opportunity to serve on the Tekamah-Herman School external visitation team yesterday. Their school goal since 2005 was to improve mathematics achievement. The process involved talking with teachers, students, parents and administrators and looking at the data that the school collected on student performance. I asked some juniors and seniors about how prepared they thought they were to take the ACT test. I won't get into specific comments because of confidentiality, but the students did express appreciation for those teachers that made the students work hard at learning things the students felt were important. These teachers were described as giving challenging assignments, but they also made sure the students knew how to do the work and were available to help students when they needed it.
This is a reminder to educators that many students do want to be challenged, as log as assistance is there when they need it.

April School Board News

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board news

The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, April 12, 2010 at 9:00 pm in Bancroft.
Superintendent Cerny reported on teacher budgets for 2010-11, changing the policy on accepting option enrollment waivers for high school during the school year, the Food Bank backpack program, and Meaures of Academic Progress tests.

In old business the board tabled the purchase of a 9 passenger suburban to replace the 15 passenger van and looked at financing options for the school addition.

In new business the board approved five teachers and five aides for Pre-6 summer school in June and reviewed the Special Education and Title I programs. The board also approved the BREA as the exclusive bargaining agent for teachers. In other new business, the board accepted the resignation of James Jordan and approved up to $400 for the annual recognition luncheon and awards.

The board went into executive session to discuss classified staff, teacher negotiations, and coaches for 2010-11. Following executive session, the board voted to approve wage and benefits for classified staff based on the recommendations of Superintendent Cerny and also to approve coaches for football, basketball, and track based on the recommendations from Mr. Hulstein.

Schedule for Power Drive at West Point Saturday April 17

Power Drive at West Point
Cuming County Open
2010

Check In 8:00 am

Inspection 8:00 am

Drivers meeting 9:35 am

Cars line up for first heat 9:45am

Driver Introduction first Heat 9:55am

First Heat 10:00am

Driver Introduction second Heat 11:25am

Second Heat 11:30am

Awards after second heat

Clean –Up 1:00



Cuming County Open

Date/Time Location
Saturday Cuming County Open
Apr. 17th Cuming County Fairgrounds
No Rain Date West Point, NE

8:00 AM Check-in
10:00 AM Endurance Rally
11:30 AM Endurance Rally
1:00 PM Awards

FOLKSINGER TOM MAY AT NEIHARDT SITE

On Sunday, April 18th at 2:00 P.M. the Neihardt State Historic Site will host a performance by Tom May, songwriter, folksinger, and excellent storyteller. May is probably best known as the creator and host of River City Folk, a national TV and radio show highlighting acoustic music for 25 years. While originally from Nebraska, he has called more than six other states home and currently lives in Washington state but returns to the Omaha area a couple of times a year to record. The people who hear Tom are captivated by his unforgettable voice, evocative melodies, and the warmth which gives his performance a degree of musicality and professionalism unsurpassed in acoustic music. For subject matter May relies on both historical material and personal experiences such as “Words Upon the Wire” which is based on his own father’s years as a telegrapher and “ Hands Up” the story of the bandit Big Nose George, hanged in Rawlings, WY in 1883 and immortalized by Charles Russell in the painting “Unscheduled Stop.” His tender romantic side is evident in “Renaissance” and “Let’s Dance that Old Dance Once More,” a tribute to couples in love for many years. After thirty six years as a professional musician, performing, writing, and promoting music he truly believes in "music that makes a difference." May is a long-time fan of Neihardt’s poetry and stories and has made several appearances at Spring Conferences, Neihardt Day celebrations, and Sunday Afternoon programs through the years, and always to a delighted and enraptured audience.
The program begins at 2:00 PM and is free and open to the public; a reception will follow and the performer’s CDs will be available for sale and signing

New look at the Neihardt Center

The big cottonwood in front of the entrance to the Neihardt Center is now gone. It had been planted in 1977 by former board member Joyce Kroger in memory of her parents, the Diedrichsons. The removal was paid for by the Nebraska State Historical Society. The Neihardt Center has created a tree fund for replacement trees and currently have $550 from donations.

The Historical Society has also replaced the toilets in the ladies restroom and will be replacing the utility room sink soon. They will also checking into repairs or replacement for our front doors, which have become difficult to close.

This information is courtesy of Nancy Gillis, Director of the Neihardt Historic Site.

Cuming County Economic Development Board news

The Cuming County Economic Development Board held a meeting last night in Beemer.
Rose Jasperson reported that the Board received a $750 grant from Operation Round-up to purchase a laptop for the Director.

The Board also submitted a grant application to FHLB for $25,000 to provide operating capital for Economic Development in the County. Those grants will be announced in June.

The Board adopted By-Laws recommended by Jon Bailey and approved by the County Attorney.

Five applicants for the Director position were interviewed. The interview committee presented their recommendations. It was decided to bring in the top candidate to meet the full board and take a tour of Cuming County.

Bancroft will need to have a committee to make arrangements for a half-day visit to Bancroft. More information about a date and time will be available once the visit is confirmed.

Community Betterment Meeting notes

The Bancroft Betterment meeting was held April 5 at 5:00 pm at the Country Pub. There were 26 community members in attendance. Monthly reports were given. The meeting was hosted by Marie Vogt and Marjorie Vogt.

School- Nothing new on the building addition. The school is hosting a Powerdrive meet at the west point fairgrounds April 17.

Village- Plans are underway to repair one of the town water wells. The Village Board will be deciding on a community clean-up day, possibly April 17.

Cuming County Economic Development- Five director candidates were interviewed. The Development Board will meet April 6th to decide on finalists to bring in for a second interview.

Neihardt Center- April 18 at 2:00 pm, singer Tom May. April 24 is the Spring Conference, “Neihardt and the Short Story.”

New Business
1. Community Garage Sale- The date will be Saturday May 22.

2. Benefit for Trenton Schmeckpeper- The Betterment agreed to sponsor the benefit. Marjorie Vogt will contact the family to set a date.

3. Community Theatre- Marie Vogt is the director. The play will be performed October 2-3. The Theatre has received a $300 donation and has requested funds from the Q125. The next planning meeting will be April 27 at 7:00 pm in the school library.

4. Paper drive- Nearly 8,000 pounds of paper was collected.

5. Community planning meetings- being scheduled in May. The first will be on setting a vision for the community. The meetings will be funded with BECA grant funds.

6. Logan Valley Leadership- Amber Bridges attended all nine sessions of the Learning To Lead Program. Housing grant funds are being directed toward Nebraska “certified communities.”

Election of officers
President- Jon Cerny
Vice-President- Marie Vogt
Secretary- Marjorie Vogt

Jennifer Carlson was recognized by the League of Municipalities as the “Clerk of the Year.” She was presented the plaque by Village Board chairman Chuck Muller.

The next meeting will be Monday, May 3 at 5:15 pm at the Country Pub. The host is Steiny’s.

10 Tax tips on charitable deductions from IRS

Since so many community members and alumni support the school through contributions to the school foundation, here are some tips from the IRS for charitable contributions.


When preparing to file your federal tax return, don’t forget your contributions to charitable organizations. If you made qualified donations last year, you may be able to take a tax deduction if you itemize on IRS Form 1040, Schedule A.

The IRS has put together the following 10 tips to help ensure your contributions pay off on your tax return.

Contributions must be made to qualified organizations to be deductible. You cannot deduct contributions made to specific individuals, political organizations and candidates.


You cannot deduct the value of your time or services. Nor can you deduct the cost of raffles, bingo or other games of chance.


If your contributions entitle you to merchandise, goods or services, including admission to a charity ball, banquet, theatrical performance or sporting event, you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.


Donations of stock or other property are usually valued at the fair market value of the property. Special rules apply to donation of vehicles.


Clothing and household items donated must generally be in good used condition or better to be deductible.


Regardless of the amount, to deduct a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift, you must maintain a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written communication from the organization containing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution and amount of the contribution. For donations by text message, a telephone bill will meet the record-keeping requirement if it shows the name of the organization receiving your donation, the date of the contribution, and the amount given.


To claim a deduction for contributions of cash or property equaling $250 or more you must have a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written acknowledgment from the qualified organization showing the amount of the cash and a description of any property contributed, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. One document may satisfy both the written communication requirement for monetary gifts and the written acknowledgement requirement for all contributions of $250 or more.


If your total deduction for all noncash contributions for the year is over $500, you must complete and attach IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, to your return.


Taxpayers donating an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 must also complete Section B of Form 8283, which requires an appraisal by a qualified appraiser.


To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A.