Follow the link in the photo gallery to find pictures from the Missouri River Flooding by Gavin’s Point Dam.

http://web.me.com/ccnews/Missouri_River_Flooding/Flooding.html

By Luke Virgil

Randolph Times

RANDOLPH — No matter where in the world you are or the era you find yourself in, fire is both a necessity and a very serious threat. In the earliest days of Randolph, most if not all buildings were built of wood, and thereby very susceptible to fire. However, fire was undoubtedly brought into the buildings willingly, either through gas-powered lamps or wood-burning lamps.

In 125 years of history, Randolph has seen its share of destructive fires. One of the earliest recorded fires that took place in Randolph was in 1901. Until then, it was the most serious fire that occurred in the town’s history as it destroyed four businesses.

From 1909 to 1915, several fires occurred throughout town: the Pill Brothers General Merchandise Store; Carl Farnam’s Bakery; A.J. Hudell’s house, although it was owned by John Benett.

One of the largest and most devastating fires in Randolph occurred in 1959. Three buildings were completely destroyed as fire swept through the Cornhusker Café and Bakery, the Roxy Theater, and Miller’s Grocery Store and the apartments above each of the businesses. Firefighters believed that the blaze began in the back of the café building.

The fire was costly with losses of over $125,000. Mutual aid from five other towns was needed to help fight the inferno. However, the fire moved quicker than aid could be mustered and it gutted three brick buildings in a matter of four hours.

Another very costly fire took place in 1982. The Jack Reed farm west of Randolph was the sight of a gasohol plant. One day, fire broke out and took out the plant. Chief Russell Van Slyke recalled it as one of the most dangerous and costliest fires that Randolph had experience up to that time. The fire was so dangerous that firefighters had to wait for the blaze to go down before they could fight it. Officials were worried that an explosion might occur and injure responding firemen.

Just a few years later, the call went out as a fire had started at the City Light Plant. However, saying the 1989 fire ‘started’ is an understatement as the building literally exploded. Chief Lavern Scott cited a leaking natural gas line and a subsequent gas build up in the rafters as the cause for the explosion. After the gas was ignited and exploded, the building was destroyed in the resulting fire. Luckily, no one was injured in the explosion and fire.

In 2000, fire struck downtown Randolph again. The Sherwood Office, along with its second story apartments, and the Bank of Randolph were the victims of the blaze. To help control the fire, a special fire truck with an aerial water cannon was brought in from Norfolk to combat the flames and contain it. The buildings were either damaged or destroyed, but just like the Light Plant, no one was hurt.

Many other small fires have struck throughout the city of Randolph and its surrounding rural areas. Since 1901, the Randolph Volunteer Fire Department has been the first line of defense against fire for the area. In the late 1960s, efforts created the Randolph Fire District, which incorporated 127 sections and was governed by a rural board.

Once housed in a wood frame building with a bell tower, the Randolph Volunteer Fire Department now has its residence at Wayne and Main Streets and boasts six bays. Although the fire department began with a two-wheeled hose cart that was pulled by hand, several more efficient fire trucks have been purchased through the years, along with 21st century equipment.

Fire will always be a threat for Randolph. However, with the services of the RVFD and the rural fire board fires can be combated and the cost of the fires can be reduced.

The newsletter features a brief synopsis of articles which are published in the Cedar County News each week.

The newsletter also features breaking news and updated sports and  news stories.

The newsletter is updated at least twice each week. To sign up simply type your e-mail at the bottom of the hartington.net web page.

For readers wishing for even more information about Hartington, an E Subscription to the Cedar County News is also available. This e-subscription features  the entire Cedar County News in searchable PDF form. This version of the newspaper allows readers to keyword search the archives of the Cedar County News. Currently every issue from 2005 to today is in the archive.

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The schedules and team rosters appeared in this week’s Cedar County News.

The schedules can be found both in the calendar section on the right of the web site and by hitting the link on the right side of the main hartington.net web page.

Softball schedules will also be available soon.

HARTINGTON — Friends and family will be able to see some of the highlights of Wednesday night’s Cedar Catholic High School concert.

Selected songs and photos from the concert are now available on the Hartington.net website. The video can be found by clicking the “video” bar on the left side of the home page.

The voices and instruments were all in tune and sounding Crisp Wednesday night for the annual Cedar Catholic High School Christmas concert.
The two-hour event featured performances from the Jr. High Choir, Senior High Choir, band, jazz band and Swing Choir.