Brace yourself, this could be a long ride.

First, I feel the need to address the story on the front page of this newspaper. I do not like to write anything that is critical of the work of members of our community and I enjoy not having to shed a negative light on our community. I feel the newspaper should serve as a positive reflection of our community and serve as a marketing tool for those interested in living in our community. With that said, it is my job to capture the tone of the room when I write recap articles such as the one on the Merrick County Board of Supervisors meeting.

As I looked around the room during the meeting I felt that nearly everyone in the room was shocked when our elected officials were just learning the estimated cost of renovations for the Litzenberg Long Term Care facility.

Over three years ago the land was donated for the new hospital and many people I have spoken to are questioning why the process to explore renovations and the future of Long Term Care were not started then. I can not answer that question, but a few things have become obvious to me in recent months.

First, let me say that I too serve on multiple boards and if you were to look at my resume I’m sure you could find plenty of flaws in my leadership. As people and members of our community I have nothing against anyone serving on the Board of Supervisors, but I do feel that they are in desperate need of assistance.

In my monthly trips to the City Council of Central City meetings I have seen how valuable a guy like Chris Anderson can be to our community serving as City Administrator. I know some feel that the position is a waste of money, but I would argue that with anyone. Merrick County needs their version of Chris Anderson to get projects like these pointed in the right direction. Merrick County needs a version of Chris Anderson to look for grants for projects instead of county residents being asked to do the leg work. A County Administrator could have helped significantly with the Long Term project, but only time will tell how that situation in resolved.

I also want to apologize for only bringing you part of the story, but those Tuesday morning meetings are not ideal for a guy working on a tight deadline.

*It was a tough week for our community as you will see on our Record page on the backside of the newspaper. Vivian Anderson was certainly someone who was loved and cherished by many in our community. As was Ruben Ruybalid who not only was a pioneer for Nebraska Christian athletics, he also was known by many around town for his work with youth sports and maintaining the baseball fields.

The loss that hit me the hardest was that of Becky Ritta. When I started at the R-N, Becky was my go to for all things Nebraska Christian. She would feed me news tips and often would submit articles for me to run to showcase the happening on campus. Through our many conversations at NC events I enjoyed getting to know her better. It was a sad day when I heard that she was leaving the school and even more so later on when I heard the news that she was ill. Becky, Larry Schreiber and Jeff Hower certainly left an impact on the NC community and those three will always remain impossible to replace.

*Speaking of replace, here comes the part about Scott Frost. What a sad turn of events for Coach Frost. It almost was the perfect end to a journey that has been full of love and hate moments for Frost over the years. The Mickey Joseph era is upon us and I will be in the stadium Saturday still cheering. Call me passionate or call me dumb, but what choice do we have, for this is the life of a Husker fan. As always, thank you for reading.