What's New?
Murdock Newsletter
July 1, 2009
The Principal Sponsor position for Murdock has been taken by Corn Growers State Bank .
www.CornGrowersBank.com
Accepting the Certificate on behalf of the Bank is Jeremy McHugh representing the 3rd generation.
Planning has begun for the redesign and interactive upgrades to www.MurdockNebraska.com
Thank you Corn Growers State Bank for taking this leadership position.
Calendar 
Saturday, July 4-Parade and events in Murdock for 4 th of July Celebration
Inspiration
Please continue to keep all those affected by these tragic car accidents in your prayers, especially the parents and families of those who have died.
As I was sitting at the baseball tournament on Saturday I thought a lot about how people are doing. Specifically how the parents and families who have suffered such a great loss are doing. I pray they are able to find a portion of comfort and peace each and every day that they wake up. And as they remember and honor their children by having memorial events, that it would also bring about some healing to their hearts.
Also, once again, my mind can not fathom that two more boys (Mikey and Kyle) have died recently in the South Bend accident. I began to ask God more questions. I don't think He gets tired of listening. I was comforted by the picture He gave me and amused at the simplicity. It was no less a picture of a baseball game.
There are so many factors that determine the outcome of that game that no one could ever predict its sequence exactly . Some might think they know who will win… but that is never final until the game is completely over.
There are so many different strategies the coach uses which are determined by a multitude of factors-who is the opponent, the playing field, the opposing teams pitching ability, injuries on their team, possibly the weather, maybe the coach had an outstanding day at work… or not, etc.
There are so many different factors that determine how each individual player will perform for that specific game-did he get enough sleep the night before, did he drink caffeine recently, has he eaten enough protein that day, was he out in the sun all day, did he have enough water to drink, did he get scolded or encouraged by his parents or peers recently, what were the thoughts that ran through his head the last 24 hours, etc.
The fans also have an impact on the game. Are there many fans or only a few, are they cheering each player on and encouraging them or are they screaming about an error that was made, or maybe they are angry at the umpire for what appeared to be a bad call and are complaining and negative, is there a ‘special' fan there that is having an impact on a player because they've never attended a game before, etc
And how about the umpire? Did he forget to wear his contacts that day, did his coffee taste bad that morning or maybe he's got a touch of the flu, what were his thoughts the last 24 hours, is he upset with nagging fans, is he irritable and hot due to wearing all that equipment, etc.
See what I mean? And that doesn't even touch the multitude of factors that impact that one single game. I thought about factors that could have an impact that occurred before the child was even born. Like maybe the mother consumed damaging chemicals while she was pregnant with that baseball player and harmed his body in some fashion that now inhibits him to play to his full capability. Or maybe he broke his arm when he was three years old that keeps him from throwing the ball precisely. Maybe he had a dad or brother that worked with him endlessly from the time he could throw a baseball that allowed him to surpass and natural talent he may have had.
Ok, so I think you probably get the picture of the vastness and nearly infinite factors that determine that one baseball game, right?
Now, this is the part that boggled my mind, gave me a little bit of understanding, and even provided a sense of peace. If that many factors go into ONE Elmwood-Murdock baseball game, what makes me think I could possibly understand the life span of a human being who is infinitely more important and of far greater value than a baseball game.
So I said, “ok, God. I get the picture. You see the whole picture when I can't even see a megapixel. You are in control and you do know the beginning from the end. You knew each and every one of those who died before they were formed in their mother's womb. And I trust that You are still faithful and just and loving. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You never change and you never waiver. You are always solid and stable. You know exactly what to do and how to take care of these families in their time of grief and mourning. So I pray that you would. I pray that you would move in ways that are evident and in ways that only You can. Comfort those who are hurting and bring them joy and peace to replace their pain and confusion. I pray that you would help them .
In Jesus' name. Amen”
I think about the words of my pastor which originally felt very harsh, “Death is a part of life”. And just like a baseball game, there are so many factors that determine the outcome that no one can ever predict its sequence exactly. It's no wonder it comes so harshly, especially to those who are so young.
What's Happening Around Our Community
The First Annual Tyler Eggert Memorial Baseball Tournament turned out to be a great success.
I will have more information and more photos next week. I do know that the Elmwood-Murdock North team won the tournament. I'll have further details as I receive them.
News from Marie and Annette about the Dillon Synovec Memorial Run July 4th
This is your last chance to sign up for a great run/walk on July 4 th ! As I was driving in to work today, I was thinking about numbers (imagine that). We have approximately 4,000 people in our close surrounding communities, yet alone Omaha , Lincoln, etc. We should EASILY have 10%, or 400 people signing up for this event, and at this point, we do not even have 2%. There is really not a reason to be given why we cannot all participate in the event to honor Dillon. IF you are not going to be here, you can run or walk a mile that morning. We have 15 people signed up to do just that in Iraq . How cool is that? If you are not a runner, no problem, walking is perfect! If you have children, bring them with you. And, last but not least, if you have concerns about the registration fee, let me know and I will take care of that. So, NO excuses!! Dillon always lived life big with his big heart to each and every individual who was lucky enough to cross his path, with his smile that could melt anyone, and his big love for living life and having fun. Let's take the opportunity to utilize one hour out of our schedules to honor Dillon and celebrate life just as he did.
Pass this along to everyone you know and send in your registrations TODAY!!
Thank you! Annette
Please encourage your kids, your friends, your co-workers and family to participate in the Dillon Synovec Memorial Run, on July 4th in Murdock.
There are only a few signed up in the kids division at this point, so a real opportunity to get a medal!
Julie needs to put the T-shirt order in on Monday, so right to her at the email above if you want to get in at the $20 entry level.
Registration forms and details are at www.elmur.org
Thanks, Marie
P.S. We also need lots of volunteers to gaurd intersections - a great way to get community service hours for kids. Please contact Julie or myself if you can volunteer for a few hours on Saturday.
4th of July in Murdock
7am Breakfast at Bulldogs Bar and Grill
7am Dillon Synovec Memorial Run. Start and Finish at the High School. See details at local merchants, or go to www.elmur.org
10am - 2pm Murdock Museum Open
Kids games on Main Street including bounce house, sponsored by EMMA and EM Baseball
10am Parade line up at the High School
11am Parade
11am Lions Club Lunch
After the parade:
WATER FIGHTS! See local fire fighting units battle it out the old fashioned way.
Free Watermelon served by the 4-H Club.
Pie and Ice Cream Social at the United Methodist Church
Good Old Fashioned 4th of July
Fun throughout the day and into the evening
8pm Street Dance: Bulldogs Bar and Grill
Happy Birthday to Pam Stander who had her birthday June 30 th !
Famous Louisville Art Chicks - For Sale
Missoula Children's Theater Event a Success
For the fourth straight year, the Lofte Community Theatre near Manley and Home State Bank of Louisville hosted a summer residency of the Missoula Children's Theatre. The two visiting directors, Lissa Supler of California and Tabatha Bettin of New York , arrived at the Lofte in a little red truck stuffed with the scripts, props, scenery and costumes required for the musical, " The Pied Piper ." Supler and Bettin were greatly surprised on Monday morning to find that eighty-five children had arrived to audition for sixty roles. This was the largest group of children to have ever auditioned for a Lofte production.
After the audition process, sixty-five children received assignments for the available spots in the cast and crew. Some of the lead roles were played by Tucker Flodman of Eagle, Natalie Knott of Louisville , Zierra Flodman of Eagle and Ben Kirchner of Palmyra . The children rehearsed for four hours each day for the entire week of June 15-19. During that time, the actors learned their lines, songs and blocking, but more than that, they learned self-confidence. The few adults who were around to supervise that week, also enjoyed seeing how this group of kids made new friends so easily, and appreciated how the older ones automatically assumed a leadership role in helping the first and second graders.
Saturday, June 21 was the moment of truth. After a week of rehearsal and 390 sack lunches the children debuted "The Pied Piper" for an eager audience. They performed two times that day; 3pm and 6pm . In total, the kids performed in front of nearly 500 people. None of the actors seemed intimidated by the size of the crowd, and both of the shows went off with no obvious mistakes.
In the end, the Missoula directors thanked Home State Bank of Louisville for sponsoring their summer residency at the Lofte for the fourth straight year. They also thanked John and Lynn Plucknett of Louisville for hosting them in the Plucknett home during their visit. Then the scenery came down, the costumes were packed and the little red truck was once again filled to the gills with the trappings of live theater. The next stop for these directors was Sioux City where they would start the process all over again.
Pictured: Natalie Knott of Louisville has her stage make-up applied by Director, Lissa Supler. Ms. Supler recently graduated from Cal State Fullerton and has a degree in theater with a directing emphasis.
Rebecca Sheldon and Kabrianna Mumford of Elmwood just moments before their " Pied Piper " debut.
"Crazy For You" Opens at Lofte Theatre
The Lofte Community Theatre near Manley is excited to announce the continuation of its thirty-third season with the energetic Musical Comedy, "Crazy For You" opening on July 17th. "Crazy For You" is often referred to as "The new Gershwin Musical Comedy." Debuting on Broadway in 1992, it later won the Tony Award for Best Musical that year. The show relies entirely upon the music of George Gershwin who died in 1937. "Crazy" has all of the traditional elements of a classic Broadway show of the early 20th century; toe-tapping tunes, boy-gets-girl storyline and a comic ensemble cast.
Written by Ken Ludwig , the story is set during the theater scene of the 1930s. Bobby Child is a wealthy banker's son and socialite playboy whose real dream in life is to dance. Bobby is sent to a rundown theater in Nevada by his domineering mother for the purpose of foreclosing on the dilapidated venue. Instead, Bobby falls in love with a girl, the theater and decides to put on a show to pay off the mortgage. Singing cowboys, spunky heroines and an unwanted fiancee round out the cast of colorful characters.
Starring in his first leading role as Bobby Child is Adam Kovar of Lincoln . The plucky Polly Baker is played by Elizabeth Monzingo of Papillion. Other members of the cast include Jeff Johnston, Ross Mumford and Wade Mumford of Elmwood; Anne Riha of Louisville; Melinda Mead of Plattsmouth ; Mimi Ostmann of Eagle; Lucy Myrtue of Murray; Samantha Colbert of Weeping Water; Ronnie Hurlbut, Marikita Payne, Olivia Herr, Sydney Timmons, Megan Kovar, Margaret Anne White, Mark Kranz, Alex White, Zack Schafer and Mick Kovar of Lincoln; and Derek Kowal, Anna Cashero and Levi Stroebel all of Omaha.
Performance Dates for "Crazy For You" are July 17-19, 23-26, 30, 31 and August 1, 2. Showtimes are 7:30pm Thursday-Saturday. All Sunday dates have two performances; 2pm and 7:30pm . General admission tickets can be purchased either on-line or by contacting the box office at (402) 234-2553. Please note that some performances are nearly sold-out and advance reservations are highly suggested.
The Old Avoca ( Nebraska ) Schoolhouse will be hosting a Twin Fiddling Workshop on Saturday, August 1, for fiddlers (or violinists or violists) who want to learn to play nicely together with their fellow-fiddlers (or violinists or violists). Fiddlers (or violinists or violists) of any age and experience level are encouraged to enroll. Championship fiddler and fiddle book author, Deborah Greenblatt will share some tunes, hints about arranging for two fiddles, playing back-up, etc. The Workshop takes place on Saturday, August 1, 1 PM - 3 PM , in the Old Avoca Schoolhouse, in Avoca , Nebraska . Pre-registration is required, and enrollment is limited. The fee is $20.00 per fiddler. For more information, call 402-275-3221 , or send an e-mail to debby@greenblattandseay.com .
Classified Ads
The Classified Ads continue to be among the most popular. After $4000 worth of additional programming we now have the 30 day Ad Expiration that everybody wanted. It is working, but if we do not get new ads, pretty soon your Classified Section gets pretty thin. This is a wonderful free feature, and we keep out all the goofy stuff, so folks can have confidence that these are real neighbors selling real weed whackers. This is a cool tool!
One word of warning , it is the internet, so we can't stop some clown in India from contacting you about your ad. Use a little common sense; if they can't seem to use English correctly, probably just click the delete key.
You're Invited to Travel on the "Western Magic Bus"
The Western Nebraska Tourism Coalition (WNTC) is making plans to 'charter' a motor coach for members and other tourism industry partners to travel as a group to Norfolk for the 2009 Nebraska Travel Conference October 20-22, 2009 . You're invited to join them in the coach to...
· Save money (cost will be nominal per person) and let someone else do the driving!
· Have some fun and network with tourism industry partners aboard a luxury motor coach !
· Enjoy great "roadie" treats, entertainment and games along the way; commemorative "Western Magic Bus" t-shirts for everyone riding the bus !
Two possible routes are under consideration by WNTC; a northern route departing from Chadron or Alliance , or an I-80 route departing from Kimball, depending on where the majority of our riders are home based.
The Western Magic Bus will arrive in Norfolk in time for byway meetings on Tuesday evening and depart early Friday morning (8:00 am or 9:00 am) for the return trip home to Western Nebraska !
If you would like to join the "Western Magic Bus" to the Nebraska Travel Conference or if you would like more information, call Karla at the Gering CVB at 308.436.6886 or email at karlan@geringciviccenter.com .
Please Reply With Interest by August 1, 2009 .
Funny
The light turned yellow, just in front of him... He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer . The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects .
He said, ''I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker , the ' Choose Life ' license plate holder , the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car.''
Priceless.
Website of the Week
Did anyone try to visit the fair website? Ramona has told me “ Funniest thing! I have discovered that when you use the OLD fair website called www.casscountyfair.org
It actually takes you to the NEW site called: www.cassfair.com
So if you use either address you can get there. Visit often and keep updated about the upcoming Cass County Fair event!
(Thanks Ramona for keeping me informed! I appreciate it!)
www.centralnebraskaadventures.com
Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division issues statewide call for event images
LINCOLN , NEB. ( June 3, 2009 ) — Have you taken pictures of events in Nebraska that you'd like to share? The Nebraska Department of Economic Development's Travel and Tourism Division is seeking digital images that capture the spirit and variety of events throughout the state. The images will be considered for inclusion in the Nebraska Travel Guide as well as Destination Nebraska and Discover Nebraska , the Division's online newsletters.
“The variety of events taking place across the state each season provides many compelling reasons to visit,” said Christian Hornbaker, Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division director. “From sporting events to farmers' markets to community celebrations, including cultural, arts and crafts events, Nebraska offers an incredible array of activities for visitors to enjoy. With the help of event promoters , photographers and participants submitting their images, we can capture the true spirit of the state and everything these great events have to offer travelers.”
Electronic high-resolution images with a description and photo credit information may be submitted by e-mail to jpaus@snitilycarr.com . By submitting an image, you agree to grant royalty-free use of your image for the promotion of Nebraska travel and tourism. The Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division will provide credit when using your image.
Cass County CASA Program Receives National Certification Recognizing the Quality of Its Work for Abused and Neglected Children
(Plattsmouth)- The Cass County CASA Program has just been awarded certification by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. This certification recognizes that Cass County CASA is in compliance with National CASA's high standards for quality child advocacy .
According to Michael Piraino, CEO of the National CASA Association, “The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous, and reflects our commitment to ensure every child we serve has the most powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf. This certification says Cass County CASA has demonstrated to us a strong capacity to provide excellent services to the abused and neglected children within their community.”
The Cass County CASA Program has been advocating for abused and neglected children in our county since 2007. Currently, there are 12 active volunteers serving 20 children. Unfortunately, there are not enough CASA volunteers for everyone; there are an additional 14 children in Cass County who are on a waiting list.
For more information, contact Kim Carrera at 296-9520, casa@cassne.org
Celebrating 110 Years of Worshipping God in the town of Murdock
Christians have been worshipping God in the town of Murdock for 110 years. In 1899 a church was begun in the city limits of Murdock. It was part of the United Evangelical denomination. About the same time a Methodist Episcopal Church was also started. Both of these were English speaking congregations. In 1905 the Ebenezer Church was started, which was a part of the Evangelical Association denomination. This church was primarily for German speaking people.
Now these were not the first churches started in the Murdock Community. The Emmanuel Church northeast of Murdock was started in 1872 and the Callahan Church west of Murdock was started in 1892. These two churches united with the Ebenezer United Methodist Church in 1969 and 1954.
Christians have been worshipping God in the town of Murdock for over 110 years. This is worth celebrating. The following activities have been planned to celebrate.
On Saturday, July 4
• The Ebenezer United Methodist Church will have a float in the 11 a.m. parade held on the main street of Murdock.
• Following the parade the women of the Ebenezer Church will have homemade pie and ice cream for sale in the basement of the Church located at 220 Kansas Street .
• At 2:30 p.m. everyone is invited to a “Sing a Long” in the sanctuary of the Church. Former minister, Rev. Murry Johnston, who served the church from 2002 to 2004 will lead the singing.
On Sunday, July 5
• We will celebrate during the 9:30 a.m. worship service. In the service will be stories from the past, recognition of those who joined the Church before 1934 (over 75 years ago) and those who joined before 1959 (over 50 years ago), video of old pictures, special music and a message by Rev. Murry Johnston.
• At 11 a.m. everyone present will assemble on the east side of the Church for a group picture.
• Then at 11:30 a.m. everyone is invited to the free will meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, cup cakes and drinks.
Please invite your relatives and friends to come to this celebration of Christians worshipping God in the town of Murdock since 1899.
News to the Editor
- Please send all your Murdock area news to me. Birthdays, anniversaries, announcements, events or news are welcome and will be added to the upcoming newsletter. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Teri Bowman
Editor@murdocknebraska.com
