Opinions

You’ve graduated. What now? It’s graduation season and high school seniors everywhere are looking to their futures and making plans for higher education and whatever career path they will choose.

As many of you know, I am a big fan of our local teams and that includes the Central City/Fullerton, Central City/Fullerton/Centura and Central City/Centura Kernels. I’ve been there from day one, watching as the Kernels etched their names into the heart of our community. As they make their fourth consecutive appearance at the NSAA State Baseball Tournament, it’s impossible not to reflect on the journey that has brought us here. This year is especially significant; it marks the first chapter without Fullerton, an integral part of our storied co-op history since the Kernels beginning. We’re navigating these familiar yet new waters without our Warriors, driven by the spirit that has been part of our DNA since the beginning.

Central City Public School is part of the Teammates Mentoring program. The mission of Teammates is to positively impact the world by inspiring students to reach their full potential through mentoring. Adult mentors are matched with students to build a connection through compassion and respect. Mentors can come into the school once a week, the visit can last for approximately 20 minutes. During that time, Mentors and Mentees can play board games, read a book, do crafts, walk on campus or just visit. If you are interested in participating in the Teammates program as a Mentor, you can email Hillary Ferris, hferris@centralcityps. org, for more information. It is a simple thing to do that can make a huge difference in the life of a student. Wrapping Up the School Year It is nearing the end of the year and we have some celebrating to do at Central City Public Schools. The biggest achievement is graduation for our senior class. They are finishing out their school career at Central City and getting ready to take on their next stage of life. Graduation will be held at the Central City High School Gymnasium at 2:00 on the 12th of May. This is the biggest accomplishment that this group has achieved and we welcome family and friends to share this moment with our students.

Last Thursday May 2 was the National Day of Prayer and I was privileged to be asked to participate in a prayer breakfast that day in our district. It is laudable that we, as a nation, designate a day to focus on prayers to the God of Heaven. However, the rest of the year it seems we don’t give much thought or time to that spiritual discipline. Pollster George Barna recently polled Americans and found the average American Christian prays just five minutes a day! Meanwhile, the typical American pastor is not much better, spending only seven minutes a day in prayer.

Last week, Whitney and I packed our bags (and our notepads) and headed off to the annual Nebraska Press Association convention in Lincoln—a weekend that promised to be filled with nothing short of tornadoes, tales, and a tad bit of journalistic camaraderie. Yes, you read that right: tornadoes! It seems Mother Nature has quite the sense of timing.

Over the past few years, Central City Public Schools, along with other organizations, has seen significant progress in cheer and dance programs. Cheerleading has had a large transformation, offering more opportunities for students to perform at numerous events and competitions.

A look back at the 2024 session When the 2024 session of the Nebraska Legislature ended on April 18 we had passed less than 30 percent of the 1,240 bills before us this year. In this 60-day short session we passed a total of 370 bills. Since we operate on a biennium basis, there were a lot of bills that carried over into this year from last, and when one adds in new bills introduced this year, the end result was that the Unicameral passed less than one-third of the bills up for consideration.

As I reflect on the unpredictable journey that life often presents, it becomes clear that the road map we start with is not always one that aligns with the terrain we traverse. This past week, I grappled with the realization that much of my frustration and dissatisfaction stemmed not from the world changing around me, but from a profound misunderstanding of that world from the outset.

Welcome to the following new chamber members: Donna Myers, Interconnection Systems, Inc. (ISI) and Tredas.