The Troy 429 USD 2024-2025 Master Teacher of The Year is Mrs. Marilyn Lance Mrs. Lance is in her seventh year with the Troy Schools teaching middle school and high school English/Language Arts. During those seven years, Mrs. Lance has built a strong rapport with teachers, staff, as well as her students. In turn, Mrs. Lance is liked and respected by all. Mrs. Lance is reliable and always available when needed to jump in and assist with other classes. Organization and preparation are two words that describe Mrs. Lance. Mrs. Lance is a teacher that cares for her student's education and their futures. She sets students up for success and prepares them for their upcoming high school and college careers. Mrs. Lance keeps her students on a steady routine which helps the students excel in their classes. Mrs. Lance is a caring and kindhearted teacher that truly cares about expanding each and every kids' education to the best of their abilities. Congratulations, Mrs. Lance!

A look at the Hiawatha High School junior class servers who were present at the prom dinner. A big thanks goes out to them for working that amazing night and serving all the dinner attendees!

Cora Kroeger was librarian for the day at Axtell Grade School. She enjoyed checking books in and out, worked on a project for Mrs Othmer, laminated a project for Mrs. Buessing, and helped to monitor students. She helped me choose new books for the library which will arrive next week. She did her job so well we had time to enjoy a Gatorade and play some games.

The second graders at Nemaha Central Elementary School loaded the bus after the morning announcements for their field trip to the Discovery Center in Topeka. The students could not wait to go and have a lot of fun. They also looked forward to visiting with their friends on the bus. When they arrived at the Discovery Center, there were many hands-on activities. Some activities included science experiments, art, building challenges, and outdoor activities such as a pirate ship and trails. Students had to wait to do all those fun activities because the staff had to review the rules first. Then, they were split into groups to explore the activities. The morning went by quickly, and then the students loaded the bus and traveled to Holton for the rest of their field trip. They sat down at the picnic tables and enjoyed their lunch with classmates. After lunch, they played at the park for a little while until it was time to go back to school. The students had a memorable field trip with their classmates and really enjoyed learning at the Discovery Center.

The Nemaha Valley Health Care Foundation has recently established a new expendable fund with the Nemaha County STEP Foundation, further strengthening community collaboration in support of health and wellness initiatives across the county. "What a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with the local hospital for projects and programs that will benefit people in Nemaha County," said Tory Jost, Executive Director of the STEP Foundation. "We are fortunate to have the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, ranked among the top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the nation, right here in Nemaha County!" This new fund is designed to support local health-focused projects, initiatives, and community well-being efforts. It represents a shared vision between the two organizations to invest in the future health of the region. Pictured Left to Right: Tory Jost, STEP Executive Director; Kiley Floyd, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital CEO; Courtney Schmelzle, Nemaha Valley Health Care Foundation Director; Tim Rottinghaus, STEP Foundation Treasurer.

The Centralia Community Church is proud to announce that these 10 kids completed 3 weeks of confirmation classes with Pastor Ora. Congratulations kids on taking a big step in your faith!

Inducted five wonderful young people into the Axtell Chapter of the National Honor Society. Also celebrated the seniors that are soon to graduate.

The Nemaha County Sheriff's Office would like to thank the community, as well as the numerous Emergency Services agencies and affiliates around the nation that have reached out in support of our office in the past few weeks. While we have been trying to capture the generosity we have witnessed. Your kindness is felt and appreciated by each and every staff member. Speaking on behalf of all of us, it is an honor to serve the community each and every day. Thank you for trusting and allowing us to do so.

In honor of National Telecommunicators Week, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office would like to honor the amazing men and women who serve this county in the Communications center. We appreciate all the work you do to keep this county and all of our first responders safe on a daily basis. Thank you for your service!

State Trooper Jodi Clary stopped by again to provide self-defense training to Nemaha Central Seniors! Valuable lessons learned with a little fun being had along the way. Thanks Trooper Clary!

Hiawatha Elementary School's Mrs. Hanf's 2nd grade class enjoyed "Camp Day"! The day was filled with fun, learning, and of course, SMORES!!!

HMS Flight and Space students visited the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. The museum allows students to learn about Amelia's life and the history of her time through exhibits catering to STEM education. Interactive components allowed students to practice riveting, sit in a model cockpit like Amelia's, experience weather concepts, map stars and observe Muriel, the world's last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft. HMS students received high praise of their respect from the museum curators and volunteers!

Horton High School students have been volunteering their time a few mornings before school throughout the year dedicated to bringing awareness around seatbelt safety and limiting distracted driving. They have stood at each school entrance in bright yellow vests with a clipboard marking the number of students/staff that are wearing/not wearing their seatbelt. They have also kept track of whether the driver appears to be distracted by their cell phone, a passenger, etc. Special thanks to JD Clary for helping facilitate this SAFE (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) program helping our school community be conscious about keeping themselves and others safe while on the road!

For the second consecutive year, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital (NVCH) has been honored as one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the United States for Overall Performance and Patient Satisfaction. Remarkably, NVCH is one of only two CAHs nationwide to receive recognition in both categories. The Chartis Center for Rural Health identified the top 20 CAHs, including NVCH, based on their outstanding performance in Overall Performance and Patient Satisfaction. These rankings were recently announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), with an awards ceremony scheduled for September at the NRHA's Critical Access Hospital Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Kiley Floyd, CEO of NVCH, expressed pride in this achievement, stating, "We are deeply honored and proud to be acknowledged as one of the top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the nation. This achievement is a testament to the unwavering dedication, courage, and compassion of our staff, and their steadfast commitment to our community, patients, and colleagues." The top 20 CAHs were selected based on a composite rating from eight indices of strength: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance. This elite group was chosen from the Chartis Center for Rural Health's 2024 top 100 CAH list, released earlier this year.

Axtell Elementary Student Colton Strathman won the Candy Jar Reading Incentive. Every chapter book a student read earned them a guess. There were 965 candies in the jar and Colton's winning guess was 980. Colton will share his winnings with his class.

Nemaha Central Kindergarten took a Field Trip to the Topeka Zoo! Lots of fun and learning had by all.

Patients dealing with Dementia and Alzheimers will now have additional calming activities to occupy themselves and the staff received training on how to best assist, thanks to a grant from the Nemaha County STEP Foundation. Karla Hermesch, Director of Social Services, shared, "This $10,000 grant is such a blessing to our hospital. We are grateful for the collaboration with STEP to bring these soothing activities to our patients. This funding provided supplies to our physical, occupational and speech therapy departments. Thank you, STEP Foundation, for all you do for our community!" Group Photo left to right: TJ Haverkamp, NVCH & SFP Board Member; Karla Hermesch, Director of Social Services; Debbie Tangeman, Nemaha County Dementia Fund; Tory Jost, STEP Executive Director; Tami Mars, STEP Board Member

Congrats to the HES Geography Bee experts! 7th and 8th Grade students in Mr. Hampl's Google Maps class participated in the Geography Bee. Categories included State Savvy, Weird But True, and Global Economy. 3rd Place was Mason Bechtold, 2nd place Max Trentman, and 1st Place Jhett Keller.

Courtney Schmelzle, from Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, was the 2nd-grade guest reader recently at Nemaha Central Elementary. The students enjoyed listening to her read "Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs." Thanks to Courtney for volunteering her time to read!

Nemaha Valley Community Hospital celebrated Linda Schmitz's retirement. Linda dedicated an incredible 42 years of service to Nemaha Valley Community Hospital. We wish her all the best in her retirement!

Congratulations to Holton HS students Cael Frazier and Emberlee Allen as they earned a gold medal and National Runner Up placing in Food Innovations, Level 3. Congratulations to Alec Frazier for earning a gold medal and is a National Qualifier representing Kansas at Nationals for his Level 3 Entrepreneurship project. Nationals will take place in Orlando, Florida this summer.

Congratulations to the following HMS students who were awarded medals at State Science Olympiad on Saturday! State Champion- Disease Dectives (Raegan Kerl & Hannah Simmer) State Champion- Experimental Design (Hannah Simmer, Brody Grathwohl, & Hunter Durre) 2nd- Air Trajectory (Ryker Massey & Briar Schuetz) 2nd -Mission Possible- (Addy Spare & Gentry Morey)? 3rd- Helicopter- (Raegan Kerl & Elijah Gallagher) 3rd-Potions & Poisons-(Keila Mailig & Kellen Boye) Red Hawk Proud!

KANSAS ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR!! Susan Grey, Principal of PreK-8th grades at USD #338 Valley Falls has been named by the Kansas Principals Association as the State of Kansas Elementary Principal of the year. She will be recognized at the United School Administrators Conference in Wichita in May which includes getting to throw out the first pitch at a Wichita Wind Surge baseball game (Double A affiliate with the Minnesota Twins). She will then compete for the National Elementary Principal of the Year at the National Conference in Washington D.C. at the end of October. (October 23-24, 2025). Susan has been with USD#338 for 36 years, 18 years as a teacher and 18 years as a principal. Congratulations Susan!!

Nemaha Valley Community is grateful that thier partnerships with area schools allow them to provide wellness education to the youth of the communities we serve! The Respiratory Therapist, Dawn Osterhaus provided education on the Dangers of Vaping to 5th - 8th grade students at Centralia schools.

Axtell class of 2030 at the Homestead National Park in Beatrice. They got to claim a homestead and decide whether to stay on it or give it up, given random tragedies that really happened to Homestead families. They raced "a day in the life" doing chores like fence mending, egg gathering, and washing clothes on a wash board. They did a scavenger hunt in the museum. They learned how to use all of the parts of an American Bison. Finally, they visited a one room schoolhouse that was on the Freeman homestead. Park rangers were super helpful and educational.

3rd grade is on their field trip at the State capital!

HES 6th grade students enjoyed a field trip to Kauffman Stadium. Go, Royals!

NCMS Seventh and Eighth Graders Go to the Topeka Symphony