Local Interest
Ft. Laramie Tunnel replacement delayed
By Gary Stone, Extension Water & Cropping Systems Educator; Jessica Groskopf, Extension Agricultural Economics Educator; John Thomas, Extension Water & Cropping Systems Educator; Xin Qiao, Irrigation & Water Management Specialist
Replacement of the Goshen / Gering-Fort Laramie canal irrigation tunnels No. 1 and 2 was expected to begin this fall. However, the permitting process has slowed this objective and is awaiting final approval. It is hoped that the permitting process will be completed soon and some preliminary work can be completed before water deliveries are started in the spring of 2025.
The preliminary work includes building access roads to the construction sites, installing power lines to serve the construction equipment during the tunnel replacement, and working on the tunnels' entrances and exits. The final cost of the construction project has yet to be determined. Both irrigation districts/states have contributed approximately 45 million dollars for the tunnel replacement, with the balance coming from a loan from the Bureau of Reclamation, which must be approved.
Oregon Trail Community Foundation invests $12K in 4H youth robotics
By Nathan Rice, Nebraska Extension Educator: 4-H Youth Development
The Scottsbluff Robotics Club received a $12,722 grant from the Oregon Trail Community Foundation on Oct. 31,2024 to help support the technological/equipment needs of the rapidly expanding program.
The Oregon Trail Community Foundation grant will be used to update meeting spaces with whiteboards and TV monitors to promote collaboration among team members. Funds will also be used to purchase additional robot kits and parts to ensure every team has two robot kits to practice with and extra supplies needed to problem solve/create innovative solutions. Additional computers capable of handling the computational bandwidth necessary to run the First Tech software and coding programs will be purchased. This will allow more team members to gain coding and design experience.
UNL and WNCC partner in higher education for Panhandle youth
By Chabella Guzman, PREEC communications
To meet the needs of the community and students of western Nebraska, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) signed a 2+2 agreement, which will aid students in obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Agricultural Education and Skilled and Technical Science Education.
“We're very excited to have a signing ceremony that signifies the agreement between Western Nebraska Community College and UNL's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,” said Mark Balschweid, UNL Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. “We realize there are a lot of students from this part of the state who enjoy living here and want to stay here. And we also know that there's a shortage of teachers in high schools filling critical roles that contribute to workforce development like manufacturing and agricultural.”
The program helps students from the Panhandle of Nebraska take two years of the program at WNCC, closer to home, and then transfer to UNL for three semesters. The final semester would be student teaching, where students could return to the Panhandle.
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ServSafe Manager is an 8-hour food safety training and certification course. This course is designed for restaurant owners, managers, food handlers, dieticians, and dietary managers.
- Protect your customers from food-born illness & improve food quality
- reduce liability risks
- improve profitability & give your business a competitive edge
- course includes: food microbiology, sanitary food handling & storage, personal health hygiene & housekeeping, and pest control & safety precedures
A course is being offered in Scottsbluff at the Panhandle Research Extension & Education Center on May 13, 2025 from 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Register 3 weeks prior to course date, $140 (all materials received at time of class), $150 (class manual mailed prior to class).
Register at go.unl.edu/westservsafe. Servsafe Food safety training registration opens January 1, 2025.
For more information, contact Brenda Aufdenkamp 308-532-2683 or baufdenkamp1@unl.edu.
The collaborative effort of four institutions brought students interested in the medical field together with professionals from the field.
The result was the “2024 Incredible Medical Health Day,” held on Wednesday, December 4, at the Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff. The day had around 50 freshmen and sophomores from three schools attending to learn more about nursing, surgery, and life-saving measures to take in an accident.
Remote Pilot Exam Prep Course offered in Scottsbluff on January 9
Nebraska Extension will offer the Part 107 Remote Exam Prep Course on Thursday, January 9, 2024, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research, Extension, and Education Center in Scottsbluff. The course is one of 14 in the 2025 Winter-Spring courses to be held across Nebraska. It is a valuable educational opportunity for anyone interested in flying drones for commercial or public applications, including emergency management, law enforcement, real estate and land management, photography, and agriculture.
“The course is geared toward professional pilots who intend to make drone flying an aspect of their career or work duties,” said Dr. Dirk Charlson, Nebraska Extension educator and course instructor.
