Auburn Public Schools Ribbon Cutting

Auburn Public Schools open new additions
Ribbon cutting ceremonies honor stakeholders
August 31, 2009
Auburn Public Schools hosted the official opening of the new additions on Monday, August 31 at the Auburn High School campus and Calvert Elementary. A large crowd of students, teachers, board of education members, administrators, and community patrons attended the ribbon cutting ceremonies at the high school’s 8:15 a.m. ceremony and then at Calvert at 10:45 a.m.



Board of Education members and Calvert principal, Sharon Pollard, cut the ribbon held by fifth graders.
Also attending the festivities were: Christy Joy, lead architect and Jerry Joy, school liaison for Architect, Etc.; Mike Ayars, president of Ayars and Ayars; Matt Biggs, Ayars and Ayars Vice President of Field Operation; Brad Selletin, Ayars & Ayars Project Manager; Dan Mountney, Ayars and Ayars Site Superintendent, and Alan Quick, project overseer for Qerrca, Incorporated.
Barb Billesbach, president of the APS board of education, opened the ceremonies by thanking the District #29 patrons for their support in completing the construction project. City of Auburn Mayor, Bob Engles, school principals, Kevin Reiman and Sharon Pollard, and Superintendent Steve Schneider also addressed those in attendance.
The board of education and district administrators performed the ribbon cutting ceremonies. High School seniors, Nathan Allgood and Hannah Harmon, held the high school ribbon while Samual Neiman and Megan Wright held the ribbon at the Calvert site.
Nancy Fuller, Director of School Improvement and Curriculum, served as the ceremonies emcee.

Second Thunderstorm Strikes Region in Week; Clean-up Efforts Continue to Be Too Familiar

By Darrell Wellman

The City of Auburn and Nemaha County took its second pounding in a period of seven days as strong winds caused considerable damage to trees, power outages and even minor damage to some buildings and crops.
The thunderstorm which passed through Auburn late Sunday afternoon [Aug. 9] included winds gusting approximately 65 miles per hour as estimated by a trained spotter and a weather observer, according tot he National Weather Service. It uprooted trees and knocked down large limbs to cut electrical service to a number of Auburn Board of Public Works customers. 

BPW General Manager David Hunter, Jr. said several areas were without power for a period of time, but most customers had power by late Sunday and early Monday morning.
Nemaha County Emergency Management Director Bob Cole reported trees and transformers down in and around Auburn with several streets blocked. “N” Street remained blocked early Tuesday morning. Also the gust front preceded rainfall in Auburn which was unofficially measured at 2.65”. 

Other rainfall amounts through Monday morning included about two inches around Humboldt and Tecumseh, 1.65” near Johnson, about an inch near Brock and less than an inch at most other locations. 

The strong wind blew a trailer off of Highway 75 about four miles south of Auburn. It also broke a few windows in buildings downtown. 

Regarding damage to trees, the latest tree debris has since been piled up on that which resulted from a thunderstorm on Monday, Aug. 3. 

The City of Auburn has advised residents of the city to cut up and place their tree debris along the curbs if they are unable to haul the limbs and branches to the tree waste disposal site in south Auburn near the unwanted appliance/furniture site west of “O” Street. 

The strong winds made the downtown stoplight inoperable as it blew one of the arms out of its normal location. Auburn Police then directed traffic while the lights were made inoperable and the intersection at Central Avenue and “J” Street became a four-way stop. It remained that way until Monday afternoon. 
City Services Commissioner Harry Bridgmon reported during the Aug. 10 Auburn City Council meeting his crews were kept busy Monday with the brush site and they will continue to be occupied with clearing streets and curbsides for some time. 

Saturday Cemetery Clean-up

The Sheridan Cemetery Association Board of Directors is asking for primarily adult volunteers to help clean up the cemetery Saturday,  Aug. 15, beginning at 9 a.m. There were many large trees that blew down during the thunderstorm which passed through Auburn last Sunday evening.  Some of the large trees fell on tombstones and caused some damage.    
Cemetery officials especially seek help from people who have chain saws and pick-up trucks. All volunteers will be greatly appreciated. 

The downtown stoplight was inoperable for about a day following the strong winds and the busy intersection became a four-way stop. The lights resumed normal operation Monday afternoon.   

This home at 1413 “O” Street took a big hit in the storm as a large tree fell onto the front of it. Insurance adjusters were busy for the second time in a week responding to calls from clients about property damage.  

NBDC Will Open Auburn Office With Friday, Aug. 21 Ceremony

Robert Bernier, State Director of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) recently spoke with local Rotarians about the new NBDC office and it’s mission. Dr. Bernier has been associated with the NBDC and the Small Business Administration since 1979.

Small businesses in southeast Nebraska can find help in getting government contracts through a new office of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) in Auburn. The new office is being funded under a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, according to Robert E. Bernier, assistant dean of the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration.

The program, Bernier said, is designed to improve competition among government suppliers by helping small businesses meet government procurement regulations. Although the program is partially funded by the Defense Department, NBDC is allowed to help businesses win government contracts at any government level and from any federal, state, county, city or town agency. The NBDC office is at 816 Central Avenue in Auburn. Julie Wilhelm, a former business owner in Humboldt, will operate the office. A grand opening ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, August 21.

NBDC provides management and technical assistance to Nebraskabusinesses through several programs, according to Bernier. These include the Small Business Development Centerprogram, partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration; the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, partially funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development; and the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. “The purpose of all of our programs,” Bernier said, “is to grow businesses and jobs in Nebraska.”

For many years NBDC funded a small business assistance center at Peru State College. Funding for that center was discontinued in 2003 because of a reduction in SBA funds, according to Bernier. “We do not have sufficient SBA funds to re-open that center,” Bernier said. “However, we hope that by having the procurement assistance program in Auburn we can again provide a point of access to all NBDC services for businesses in southeast Nebraska.”

Andy Alexander, who heads the government contracting assistance program for NBDC, says that “excellent opportunities for expanding government small business assistance contracts exist in southeast Nebraska.” NBDC, he said, will reach out to “manufacturing firms, service firms and even some retail firms” to expand government contracting in the region. Last year NBDC clients did about $136 million in government contracts, up from $98 million the year before.

“We expect to continue our success rate,” Alexander said.

To assist businesses in obtaining government contracts, according to Alexander, NBDC helps businesses get listed on the federal government’s central contract registry (CCR), learn how to properly price for government bidding, learn how to submit bids and manage awards electronically, and discover bid opportunities (this includes conducting business with states, counties, cities, and towns nationwide). NBDC uses standard industry codes to classify business offerings and alert its clients to bid opportunities.

NBDC has small business assistance and government contracting assistance at offices in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, and Wayne. It offers small business assistance at offices in North Platte, Scottsbluff and Chadron. Its manufacturing engineers provide assistance from offices in Omaha and Columbus.

County Commissioners Consider Several Requests at July 8 Meeting

The Nemaha County Board of Commissioners met on July 8 at the Nemaha County Courthouse for a regular scheduled meeting.

Veteran's Service Officer, Loras Baumhover, along with Veterans Service Board members Milton Kite, Charles Fike, Rick Moore and Raymond Gebers, visited with the board regarding the replacement of the Veteran's Service vehicle, with the possibility of replacement in the next budget year and hiring permanent temporary part-time help for when the Veteran's Service Officer is on sick leave or vacation.

July 9 Nemaha NRD Board Meeting Dealt Extensively with Projects and Their Impact on the 2010 FY Budget

Tecumseh Nemaha Natural Resources District directors reviewed the draft budget for FY 2010 during their regular meeting Thursday, July 9. The biggest factor in this year's budget is financing land rights costs associated with two flood control projects near Peru. Between the two projects on Buck Creek and Duck Creek, these costs are estimated at over $850,000.

BPW Awards Bid for Phase I of Sixth St. Sewer Project; Plans to Move Forward with Phase II

At the recommendation of the Sixth Street Sewer Improvement Phase I project manager, Kent Prior with HDR, the BPW voted unanimously in favor of awarding the construction bid for the project to contractor Van Kirk Sand & Gravel, Inc., during the board’s July 13 meeting.
The Sutton-based contracting company submitted the lowest bid for the project at $880,000. The engineer’s estimated cost for the project was $1,626,300.

Secretary Gale Makes Stop in Auburn to Speak to Rotarians

"Enchanting," that's the word Nebraska Secretary of State John A. Gale called the city of Auburn during his visit with members of the local Rotary Club on Tuesday, July 7. Gale, a strong supporter of small communities, said Auburn was in the perfect location to grow and expand economically, especially because of the accessibility of U.S. highways 75 and 136. "(Auburn) is a neat community, a very strong community," Gale said.

Gale pointed out that small communities, such as Auburn, are becoming more rare. He added that in Nebraska, about 52 percent of the population now lives in just three counties – Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy.

Along with doting on the community, Gale explained what his duties are as the Secretary of State. Gale oversees the following areas: elections, business services, occupational licensing, state agency rules and regulations, records management and youth civics programs. He is also serves on numerous state boards, including the Records Board, Real Estate Commission, Pardons Board and Collection Agency Licensing Board to name a few.

Ayars and Ayars Spokesman Says Auburn Schools Projects on Time and on Budget

Last week, this reporter had an opportunity to tour the construction underway at the Auburn Senior/Junior High School and Calvert Elementary School. Brad Sellentin with Ayars & Ayars Incorporated out of Lincoln stressed that the projects are both on schedule and within budget.

In May of 2008, patrons of School District 29 approved a bond election ballot question for additions to both buildings at a cost not to exceed $4.5 million. The board of education had voted earlier to proceed with a design/build option as a way of hopefully keeping the project on time and within the budget.

Business Development Center Will Open This Month in Auburn

The University of Nebraska at Omaha previously announced that a service office of the Nebraska Business Development Center will be opening in Auburn this summer. The office will be located in the Tincher Office Complex at 816 Central Avenue with Julie Wilhelm, a longtime counselor of NBDC, the assigned staff person.
Robert Bernier, Assistant Dean of the College of Business Administration at UNO and State Director of the NBDC, was recently in Auburn and visited with this reporter.
The office is designed to make procurement and financial programs more readily available to business owners of the southeast Nebraska region. Business owners are encouraged to contact the NBDC office with their operational and expansion plans and explore options they may qualify for.