Future of the Skylon is now being considered

June 28, 2023

HARTINGTON — The city of Hartington has a year to decide the fate of the historic Skylon Ballroom.

Mayor Mark Becker told City Council members Monday he has been in discussions with the building’s owners, Roger Wortmann and other Plumbing and Electric owners.

The end of June of next year is the likely last event of the Skylon Ballroom, Becker said.

“At that point, the two options are, demo the Skylon Ballroom or move it,” he said.”We’re at the point where we’re a year away to where something needs to happen.”

Becker said in order to save the iconic structure, he wants to explore the possibility of the city being involved.

“That would entail some community meetings where we can gauge the interest of the community and see if they are willing to possibly participate with some tax increases or something and get their feedback as to what they want to see happen to the Skylon Ballroom and kind of get a plan.”

Becker said everything is in the discussion phase right now.

“At this point, no money is being spent,” he said. “We just want to let the public know what we are thinking about and make sure all the Council members are good to take a first step to see if we want to engage in this.”

Becker said he would like to see the Skylon, which was inducted into the Nebraska Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, moved to a new location and updated so it could possibly be used as a community center.

“We’ve been discussing this behind the scenes for a long time. At this point, we have a person interested in possibly moving the Skylon, but I’d like to have a Plan B,” he said.

Plan B, Becker said, could mean the city might take over the project to move it and then lease it out to a business to operate.

June 28, 2023

HARTINGTON - If a journey begins with a single step, some Catholic churches may find themselves out of breath and nearing the finish line.

The Archdiocese of Omaha’s reorganization called Journey of Faith began more than a year ago to address the declining number of priests, falling participation in the faith, and shifting trends in both rural and urban areas.

As a result, about 1,300 Catholic parishioners in the area who regularly attend Mass, may find themselves in a different church at a different time with a different priest this weekend as some of the final, major Journey of Faith changes are being implemented.

Seven area parishes have now been grouped together to form what is now known as the Holy Spirit Catholic Parishes, the name chosen to reflect the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Those churches in the new parish family include St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Randolph; St. Michael in Coleridge; Holy Trinity in Hartington; St. Peter in Newcastle; St. Mary of the Seven Dolors in Osmond; St. Joseph in Ponca; and St. Paul in Plainview.

The Rev. Owen Korte, Hartington, and the Rev. Kevin Vogel, Randolph, will be overseeing the newly formed parish group and will be rotating every week among those churches.

“We can be stronger with the support of each other rather than just being on our own. That’s more of the Biblical kind of model anyway when Jesus sent out the apostles in twos,” Vogel said. “We’re both your priests.”

New Mass times will be Saturdays at 6 p.m. at Holy Trinity, Hartington, and St. Paul, Plainview; Sundays at 8 a.m. at St. Joseph, Ponca, and St. Frances, Randolph; and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity, Hartington, and St. Mary’s, Osmond.

There will no longer be weekend Masses at St. Peter, Newcastle, or St. Michael, Coleridge. However, all churches will continue to have some weekday Masses as well as funeral and wedding services.

“No parishes are closing. A lot of people interpret not having a Sunday Mass as the church being closed but that’s not correct. The parishes remain individual parishes,” Vogel said. “It’s just that the locations for Sunday Mass have to be limited based on the number of priests that we have to do them. We can’t be in every location all at once.”

The main office for the Holy Spirit Catholic Parishes will be at Holy Trinity, Hartington, but other church offices will remain open. Some church offices may reduce hours and services over time as necessary as the transition occurs, Vogel said.

July 5, 2023

HARTINGTON — Four new teachers will join the Cedar Catholic staff this fall.

Blair Kalin, who retired from Hartington-Newcastle this spring after a 30-plus-year career there, will take his talents across the street for 2023-24.

Kalin will be involved in the strength training program as well as junior high physical education. He also will be the head track coach for the Trojans and Lady Trojans, replacing Cattau in that position after Cattau relinquished those duties to embark on his career in administration

at Cedar Catholic.

Russ Gade will be teaching business classes and assisting with some junior high coaching.

Miranda Bernecker will be teaching a variety of math classes at Cedar Catholic.

Bernecker has three children enrolled at the school and has had two children graduate from Cedar Catholic. She is also a former member of the Cedar Catholic Board of Education.

Teresa Hoffart will be taking over the high school English program at Cedar Catholic.

July 12, 2023

HARTINGTON — The CedarStock Music Fest has returned for its third year at the Cedar County Fairgrounds with another weekend of headlining entertainment.

The three-day concert series will be held during the 130th edition of the fair, with the 2023 event scheduled for July 19-23 in Hartington.

The fair’s evening entertainment lineup this year is set to include performances from country music singers Carly Pearce, Gabby Barrett and Cooper Alan on the grandstand main stage. Pearce, a 33-year-old Kentucky native who is scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m.,July 21, is a Grammy Award-winning artist who has had several of her songs hit No. 1 on country radio, including “What He Didn’t Do.” Her three-time platinum- certified song, “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” with Lee Brice won both the 2020 Country Music Association Award for Musical Event of the Year and 2021 Academy of Country Music Award for Music Event of the Year, plus the ACM Single of the Year. Pearce picked up her second consecutive ACM Award for Music Event of the Year in 2022 with a duet with Ashley McBryde titled, “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” her third No. 1 hit and the third duet between two solo women to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The song also took home the 2022 CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/ Group Performance, with Pearce making history as part of the first female pairing to win in that category.

Pearce also has been honored as one of Country Music Television’s 2022 Artists of the Year, the 2022 ACM Female Artist of the Year and the 2021 CMA Female Vocalist.

“She’s going to be an outstanding performer,” Heine said.

Barrett, a 23-year-old Pennsylvania native who is set to perform at 8:30 p.m., July 22, is known for her platinum single, “Pick Me Up” ,off the deluxe version of her top-streaming platinum album, “Goldmine.”

Other well-known songs of Barrett’s are the seven-time platinum breakout hit, “I Hope,” and three-time platinum, three-week No. 1, “The Good Ones.”

Ruling the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for a record-breaking 27 weeks, “I Hope” was the first debut single by a solo female artist to the country radio charts since 2017.

That song also made Barrett the youngest artist with a No. 1 debut on country radio in more than two decades.

Among the many major accolades she has been honored with are the Billboard Women in Music’s 2022 Rising Star Award and iHeartRadio’s Best New Country Artist title in 2021. She also was recognized as one of the 2021 CMT Artists of the Year.

Alan, a 27-year-old North Carolina native who is scheduled to perform July 23, is an up-and-coming performer who has built a large fan base through social media.

His hit singles include “New Normal,” “Tough Ones,” “Colt 45 (Country Remix),” “Can’t Dance” and many more. His songs have reached No. 1 on the iTunes Charts multiple times.

In 2021, Alan started his own record label – Cooped Up Records – and began to translate his social media audience into high-energy live shows, selling out venues across the United States.

Because of his online and live touring success, the TikTok sensation was named a “Next Big Thing” artist by MusicRow Magazine in 2021.

“He’s a unique talent,” Heine said. “He’s got a lot of just different music out there that you won’t hear on the radio as much.”

July 19, 2023

HARTINGTON — Betty Eickhoff’s soul is fed by needle and thread.

The 88-year-old Hartington woman counts her near-lifetime of sewing as one of her many blessings.

Her daughters, Charlotte Tilley, Mary Lou Steffen and Jean McEwan, benefited by being sent off to school in home-sewn dresses. Under her steady hand, Eickhoff sewed and altered bridesmaid dresses, church vestments and banners, as well as tablecloths for family gatherings, and many other items.

So it wasn’t too much of a stretch when Tilley coaxed Eickhoff to develop a new yet similar skill: quilting. The idea was to keep Eickhoff busy in her own home during the COVID-19 pandemic when visitors and going out were limited.

“We ordered fabric and came up with an idea for a quilt,” said Tilley of Naples, Fla. “We’d sew one block and say, ‘Now, when I go home, I want you to spend your time figuring this out. And she did. Over the past couple of years, she has quite mastered the ability to follow our directions and to create these clever quilts.”