Living Donors – Baer Part of Historic Event
It was not the news Jennifer Baer wanted to hear. She had gone through the testing, she was ready, but she wasn’t a match for her aunt.
“It was so disappointing,” Jennifer said.
She was planning on donating one of her kidneys to her aunt. After the test, she was told she wasn’t a good enough match. It was heartbreaking, but she was then asked if she would be interested in becoming a “Good Samaritan” donor.
There are two kinds of living donors, according to Gina Rau, the transplant coordinator at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha. There is a direct donor who gives an organ to one specific person they know. The second is called a “Good Samaritan” donor who gives to someone they do not know.
“It looked like we (Jennifer and her aunt) were going to be a good match,” Jennifer said.
When it didn’t happen she agreed to go through with a donation anyway, even if it was for someone she did not know.
Battling alzheimer’s – alex’s story
Your average American
Part one of a three part series
When supper was finished at the Marker home, Alex would sit back in his chair and start telling stories.
“Our kids loved hearing his stories,” Alex’s daughter-in-law Carolee Marker said. Her children, Michael and Tamy, would listen intently to their granddad telling stories of his childhood.
Years later the stories are still vivid in the minds of the hearers, but the same cannot be said for the story teller, Alex Marker.
Born on Sept. 3, 1910, Alex is the son of German-Russian immigrants George and Mollie Schindler Marker.
“When he was small he was ornery,” Caroleen said. “He would fight anyone who would call him a Russian. He probably still would today, if he could.”
Alex was an “American,” from German descent, not a Russian.
His parents put him in a German school, but he hated every minute of his time there. He told his parents he wanted to go to “American” (public) school.
Homefront Hereos – Waiting for Dad To Come home
The phone rang at the Pickinpaugh home. Dawn Pinkinpaugh answered the phone and recognized the voice on the other end of the phone.
“It was Chad (Nelson),” she said. “I asked him, ‘Is his it?’”
“This is it,” Sgt. Chad Nelson of the 267th Ordnance Company said.
Dawn’s husband, Sgt. Shannon Pickenpaugh and the members of the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 267th Ordnance Company were heading overseas as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“The Gering detachment (that Sgt. Pickinpaugh is with) was activated for a month to get the equipment for the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 1057th Transportation Compny ready to go overseas,” Dawn said. “We figured that was going to be their part in the war.”
“I never thought it would happen,” she said. “I never thought they would go overseas.”
When Shannon was going through the paperwork for deployment Dawn asked him, “don’t you think you will be state side?”
“No,” Shannon answered. “We’re going overseas.”
Teen sings for nursing home residents
It started as a simple idea shared in the hallway, from medication aide Charlotte Sewell-Russell, “we should try to find musicians to come play for the residents outside their windows,” at Monument Rehabilitation and Care Center.
A message was sent to Scottsbluff High School’s music director who sent out a message to his students.
Scottsbluff sophomore John A. Mentgen V saw the message and thought the idea sounded “pretty cool.”
He sent back a message saying he would be over in a few hours to sing to the residents.
War Hits Home – Soldier with Strong Ties to Gering dies in iraq
David John (D.J.) Moreno was a tall lanky young man standing about 5’10” or 6 foot tall. His goal was to become a male nurse or a doctor so that he could help people.
The 26-year-old followed in the steps of his father and a number of his uncles when he enlisted in the Navy.
He was in Gering in October of 2002 for his grandmother’s funeral. At that time he kenw it was likely he would be heading to the Middle East.
“Tios (uncles,)” he said as he talked with this uncles after the funeral, “I’m going to make you proud.”
“You do your best,” his Uncle Pete Moreno remembers them telling him.
D.J. went to Iraq in February and as a Navy Corpsman (Medic) he was attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, one of the first to enter into combat.
Annual FFA RElay generates laughs and works as a fundraiser
Nine teams of four members each took part in Bridgeport/Bayard FFA Farm to Town Relay Wednesday, July 24 at the Morrill County Fair in Bridgeport.
“I’m so pumped,” Bridgeport FFA member Alexis Harding said before the competition. “This is going to be such a fun time.”
The relay was first held by the Bayard FFA alumni 21 years ago, according to George Liakos, who took part back then and was taking part again this year. This year’s team, The Kidz, was made up of himself, his daughter Mackenzie and her friends, Drew Leisy and Bethany Nichols.
“I’ve done it a few times (over the years). I’m doing it this year ‘cause I feel young,” he said with a smile.
Team members walked to the west side of the rodeo arena, where they received instructions. From there, the first three teams took their positions.
Brad Staman 