This week's top stories

Goodwill on menu for holiday meal
There was joy in the faces of people on both sides of the table Saturday morning at the Hamilton County Food Pantry, as those doing both the giving and receiving were in a festive mood.
What has become an annual tradition unfolded quickly and quietly as Food Pantry board members and volunteers distributed approximately 50 holiday meals to people in need. Beyond the pantry’s normal food supplies, Saturday’s menu included a frozen turkey or ham, along with green beans, stuffing, yams, canned fruit, potatoes, a frozen pie -- all the fixin’s you could imagine for a grand holiday meal. Vouchers were also included, good for a gallon of milk, a pound of margarine, a dozen eggs, loaf of bread and 10 pounds of potatoes at the local grocery store.

Finance in the Midwest: Ed Wilkins’ shares auditing odyssey
Ed Wilkins has been all over the Midwest, and beyond, working in the financial sector as an auditor to provide accurate data for complex financial statements since the start of his career in the 1980s. 
Working with large computer programs, through recession and alongside young talent in the field, Wilkins is now an adjunct professor imparting his wisdom to students at Vanderbilt University.
“So I’ve learned a lot but then I have impacted a lot, too,” he said. “You know, the large teams that I’ve dealt with and all the moves, I do feel like I’ve been able to leave and make everybody else’s career better and helping contribute to their career growth. That’s the biggest satisfaction I’ve always gotten out of my job and that’s why I teach.”

Giltner community reflects on 10 years of Santa’s Memories
The Giltner Community Center was alive with the spirit of Christmas Saturday with Giltner’s Santa’s Memories, marking a decade of memorable holiday times.
Lead organizer Susan Sanders was there, handing out raffle tickets on a table near Santa’s mailbox, reflecting on the event she helped start. 
“It’s amazing how big it’s grown, with all the dedication of the people that come back every year and the interest from the new people,” Sanders said.
Part of that growth came not only from the sizeable crowd, but more community support allowed more raffle prizes to give families and children remarkable gifts.

HPC Storm finish top five at Osceola
With seven wrestlers on the mat, the HPC wrestlers still battled to a top-five team finish at Saturday’s Osceola Invite. 
The Storm managed 101 points, finishing fifth in a field of 18 teams. Fillmore Central, a team that features 15 wrestlers, won the event with 174 points. 
High Plains had two individual champions on the day, Wyatt Urkoski at 160 and Levi Russell at 106.
Urkoski won all five of his matchups Saturday, taking three of them via pinfall. The closest battle came in the semifinals as Urkoski outlasted Levi Drueke of Neligh-Oakdale with a 5-4 decision. The Storm junior currently sports an 11-1 record through the first two weeks.

Four Huskies selected as C1 all-state talent
Several Huskies earned Class C1 postseason accolades from the Omaha World-Herald following its 12-1 record and third straight runner-up finish. 
At the head of the pack, Husky running back Carlos Collazo was selected as part of the C1 first team offense. 
Collazo missed a few games with an injury, but still rushed for 2,044 yards on 192 carries with 32 touchdowns in 10 games played. It was an average of 204 yards per game and more than 10 yards per touch.
The Husky senior broke several school records, including yards in a game (306), rushing touchdowns in a season (32) and rushing touchdowns in a career (61). His 32 touchdowns in a season broke his previous record of 26 from a year ago and he already held the record for touchdowns in a game with six in 2021. 

To read more of any of this week's top stories, please see this week's print or e-edition.