This week's top stories

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stories
  • Chloe and Casey Nunnenkamp are well underway with renovations to the Jones building on Aurora’s downtown square. The couple estimates next spring for the completion date.
    Chloe and Casey Nunnenkamp are well underway with renovations to the Jones building on Aurora’s downtown square. The couple estimates next spring for the completion date.
  • Aurora’s Ellie Hutsell rips a shot on goal in the opening minutes of the Lady Huskies’ 4-1 win over GINW March 30.
    Aurora’s Ellie Hutsell rips a shot on goal in the opening minutes of the Lady Huskies’ 4-1 win over GINW March 30.
  • Aurora school psychologist Anne Wilbur will say goodbye to education after almost 20 years in the field.
    Aurora school psychologist Anne Wilbur will say goodbye to education after almost 20 years in the field.
  • Local veterans participating in this year’s Heroes and Huskies project at Aurora High School spent time last week talking to the class about their experiences in the military.
    Local veterans participating in this year’s Heroes and Huskies project at Aurora High School spent time last week talking to the class about their experiences in the military.
  • HPC’s Tanner Wood breaks the tape at the line of the 100 meter dash. Wood finished fifth in the finals.
    HPC’s Tanner Wood breaks the tape at the line of the 100 meter dash. Wood finished fifth in the finals.

    Nunnenkamp revamps aging downtown structure
    From its beginning in 1881 as the Bank of Aurora to housing the Jones Agency, the building found on the southeast side of Aurora’s downtown square has grown and changed with the town.
    The building, which has seen several remodels by owners ranging from Chapman Furniture to the Chapman-Higby Mortuary, is getting ready for the next step in its history.
    Casey Nunnenkamp has set his sights on revitalizing the three-story building to its former glory while adding much-needed working and living space to the area.

    Lady Huskies upend GINW at home
    Aurora kept its impressive start to the season going strong last week. 
    The Lady Huskies used an offensive flurry to defeat area rival Grand Island Northwest 4-1 March 30 in its home opener before dropping a 2-0 game to Columbus Lakeview Thursday. 
    Aurora coach Micayla Dunn pointed out that the Lady Huskies played an all-around great game against GINW by doing the little things right. 
    “We played really good soccer against GINW. We stuck to our game plan and executed,” the coach said. “A couple things that stuck out was our defense doing a great job stopping their goal scorer (Riley Eschilman) after she scored their goal, we completely took her out of the game with our defense. We also had really good first touch and were able to make a lot of connection passes to allow us to be on the offensive attack most of the game.”

    Anne Wilbur ties bow on 19 years of school psychology
    Aurora school psychologist Anne Wilbur is hanging up her hat after 19 years in a career she holds dear to her heart, but never originally planned to be a part of.
    “Actually I did not start in education,” Wilbur began. “I graduated from Hastings College and kind of went into child welfare -- so Child Protective Services and foster care services.”
    Wilbur then found herself in a job as the director of a therapeutic foster care program. Her boss at the time noted that she should really have a master’s degree for the position. 
    “So I kind of looked to see what was available and was intrigued by the school psychology program since my undergraduate degree was in psychology,” she said. “So I jumped into that and then decided that I wanted to do that.” 

    Aurora Heroes and Huskies project underway
    After a season off, Aurora High School’s Heroes and Huskies project is back up and running, full-steam ahead.
    It may be a little modified and end in an in-state April 16 tour with their veteran partners, but the Huskies don’t seem to mind. The selected group of students in Brenda Klawonn’s spring course were introduced to their veterans in late March and learned more about them during a series of three introductory panel discussions. 
    Asked to introduce themselves, Aurora native and graduate Darcy Greenough started the line of veterans. Greenough served in the United States Marine Corps from 1988-92. 

    Hornets, Storm compete in breezy Osceola Invite
    Giltner and High Plains competed in their first meet together last week just before the calendar switch to April. 
    Several solid marks were thrown down by both the Storm and Hornets at the Osceola Invite March 31 with slightly cooler temperatures and a bit of a breeze. 
    Nothing more dominant, though, is HPC’s stranglehold on the throws in the girls division. 
    HPC senior Brianna Wilshusen continued to improve her marks in the shot put, winning the event with a toss of 36-03.50. That mark came in just ahead of her teammate Emily Ackerson, who finished third while Giltner’s Haylee Scott finished fourth. 
    It was Ackerson, though, that took control over at the discus ring. 

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