This week's top stories

Heubert shares faith journey on National Day of Prayer
Randy Huebert returned to a place he knows well Thursday, speaking this time not in his familiar role as a head football coach, but as a follower of Jesus Christ, sharing his faith on National Day of Prayer.
Huebert was the keynote speaker at The Leadership Center in Aurora, part of a nationwide celebration of faith. He shared that he and his wife Joni were very comfortable with life in Aurora after 17 years here, though felt compelled to get out of that comfort zone.
“We really felt like God was nudging us to take on a new challenge,” he recalled of his 2015 decision to accept the head coaching position at Papillion LaVista. “That was the bottom line for us, and so we got uncomfortable. There are a lot of positive things that came from our time in Papillion. We got stronger through adversity.”
Four years later, after the Monarchs’ final game of the season, Huebert shared that he felt an overwhelming sense of relief that next Monday morning, though not just that another season had come and gone.

Bankson ready to bid farewell to education after 26 years
High Plains Community Schools will bid farewell to another one of its greats at the end of the 2021-22 school year in just a few weeks. 
Speech pathologist Karol Bankson is set to begin her retirement after 26 years in education -- most of which spent close to where it all began.
“I graduated from Marquette High School in ‘75,” Bankson reported. “And my first job at the school was here as a bus driver, the year that Hordville and Polk merged.” 
Her daughter was going into first grade and the mother wanted a job close to her, she said. 
“Then pretty soon I was asked to be the kindergarten para.” 
That’s when the path toward speech pathology really began for her, she recalled.

Hawk grads celebrate, reflect
Hampton High School was awash in tears of both joy and sadness Saturday as the Class of 2022 celebrated a milestone event, turning the page from their days as students to become Hawk alumni.
Fifteen seniors were honored on a picture perfect day for a celebration, all ringing the bell as they walked into a gymnasium full of family, friends and community members. 
“Graduation is here at last, Emma Stump said in her salutatorian address. “When I say it was 18 long years I mean it, but at the same time they went so very fast … Collectively, we’ve all been through so much. We’ve loved, lost and laughed through every step of the way.”

Field event success carries Aurora at conference
The last pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place during Aurora’s final tune-up event before districts. 
The Husky boys, powered by the efforts of Carsen Staehr, Gage Griffith and Caden Carlson finished tied for second as a team at Friday’s rescheduled Central Conference meet at Holdrege. 
Aurora coach Gordon Wilson was proud of his team’s effort for the conference meet, finishing tied for second on the boys side in the team race alongside GINW and behind Lexington. 
“Our guys did some really nice things Friday,” Wilson noted. “Some of those guys maybe wanted a bit more, but did enough to win. We’re hoping to pull those big marks here at districts and state.”

A gentleman becomes a (National Merit) Scholar
And that makes two.
Aurora High School senior Preston Ramaekers has officially been named a National Merit Scholar through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 
Despite taking a different route to achieve this designation, it carries with it just as much pride and honor as earning the title through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. 
“It has sunk in and it’s just really cool to be recognized as something so few other people do,” Ramaekers reported. “And I think it’s just a reflection on our school and how dedicated they are to helping us and how dedicated we were to our academics.”

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