Due to the gravel roads deteriorating conditions with rainfall, the Knox County Roads Department has closed 531 Ave north of Center from 889 Rd to Highway 12. The Knox County Sheriff's Office asks that you persue an alternate route so you do not get stuck.
Vic's Service in Niobrara is back up and running. Call for tires, oil changes, brakes and etc. At this time they cannot do hydraulic hoses, propane, gas or diesel. The number is 402-857-3309.
The Knox County sheriff's department has reported that the Knox County Road Dept is restricting trucks over Pischelville Bridge due to the gravel roads deteriorating conditions with rainfall. Just car and pickup traffic for now.
The Santee Sioux Office of Environmental Protection will be hosting another Free Water Testing event on Tuesday the 9th. It is just like the event held in Verdigre recently. It is open to everyone in the Niobrara and surrounding area with a private well.
They will have the kits ahead of time so that you make pick up or make arrangements to get, so when the lab folks are here you can deliver with the sample. They will also have kits that you can pick up and take home to get a sample. The water samples MUST BE IN THE PROVIDED CONTAINERS. Please don't bring water in a container from your home, they will not except them. The office is located on Hwy 12 across from the Feather Hill Dollar Store or 2 miles west of the Ohiya Casino. if you have any questions call the OEP office and ask for Justin Avery, 402-857-3347. The recent catastrophic flooding in Nebraska has affected the Tribal homelands in, along with many of the service delivery areas, causing the Ponca Tribe to declare a State of Emergency. This devastating event has impacted many of the members as well, destroying homes, possessions and livelihoods, along with impacting community infrastructure and services. During the crisis, Tribe members and community pulled together locally to rescue and shelter those endangered by the flooding. As the floodwaters recede, the tribe continues to aid with recovery efforts.
To donate, please visit the website at www.poncatribe-ne.org, where we have set up a PayPal button for donations. The Nebraska Army National Guard has “put boots on the ground” to help with the flood recovery efforts in Niobrara.
Twenty soldiers from the 1/134th Calvary Squadron, based out of Mead, headed to the community on Sunday. Two of the soldiers are from Knox County—Staff Sgt. Matthew Miller of Bloomfield and SPC Austin Filips of Crofton. According to 1st Lt. Christina Lemburg, the soldiers have been busy working at traffic checkpoints and helping the community with clean up efforts since their arrival. “Right now, we’re doing some checkpoints, basically traffic control. We’re letting the workers in and trying to keep the onlookers out,” Lemburg said. “And then when they’re off-shift, they help out with different town missions, so yesterday they were helping roll the hoses from filling the water towers. Today, they were helping clear out the county yard and a little bit of the state yard. We’ve put it out there that if certain places need help, just come down here and ask for it.” There are sleeping cots set up for the soldiers in the old gym of the Niobrara Public School. “This school is lovely and we’ve got hot showers,” Lemburg said. “Hot water, which is never a thing. There’s wifi here, there’s a gym here, so this is a really great location for us to stay.” Assistance from the National Guard was requested through the Nebraska Department of Transportation, and Tony Tschirren, NDOT maintenance superintendent, said their help has been instrumental. “We were flagging at four locations, so by these soldiers coming in, that frees up eight people for me to go out and do what we need to do,” Tschirren said. “That might not seem like a lot, but in a situation like this, eight guys is huge, especially when nobody has had any sleep for so many days.” Miller said he thinks squadron leaders knew they would be activated due to the widespread disaster, and “all of these soldiers volunteered to come.” “I was actually on my way to go down to meet where my unit is and they told me to stay home because I was going to go up here,” he said. When Miller got to Niobrara, he was in awe, but he was not as surprised as the other soldiers. “The size of the ice chunks shocked me,” he said. “And they were just everywhere. I saw a lot of videos on Facebook before I got here so I was a little bit prepared, but I know a lot of our soldiers were really shocked when they drove through Hwy. 14 in that area by the damage.” Lemburg said the soldiers have put in a lot of hard work in the Niobrara area. “They’re doing really well out here and I haven’t heard nary a complaint,” she said. Lemburg said the community has been very helpful and appreciative during their stay. The duration of their stay is still unknown. “Everybody has been really great, asking, ‘What do you guys need?’ We’re getting cookies, towels, so it’s definitely a give and take,” she said. “Everybody just asking, ‘How can we help you, help us kind of a thing?’ Some people at the checkpoints, ‘Hey, I have to drive past here every day, do you need some coffee, do you have something we can bring you?’ It’s just really acceptance and community. It’s awesome.” Traffic will be allowed into Niobrara this weekend as the public is invited to view the flood devastation, offer donations and patronize the businesses.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation will allow traffic into Niobrara on Highway 14 on Saturday, March 23 from noon to midnight and again Sunday, March 24 from 8 a.m. to midnight. No trucks will be allowed. In addition, the highway is open from the Standing Bear Bridge into the city. Niobrara residents and volunteers have been busy with massive flood recovery efforts for a week. This weekend will allow Niobrara to be open to those outside the community. Catastrophic flooding has left the Village of Niobrara in shambles after the Niobrara River raged through Thursday.
Already struggling under the water, the effects of the the compromised Spencer Dam wreaked havoc on the Knox County community as giant icebergs ripped through Highways 12 and 14. The raging waters destroyed the Mormon Bridge, located to the west of Niobrara en route to Niobrara State Park. Several businesses were destroy, along with buildings owned by the State of Nebraska. As for Friday morning, the Nebraska Department of Transportation reported that the Tyndall Fire Department would be arriving to help fill the village water tower and the Niobrara Fire Department would be driving through the community trying to help residents get water. Niobrara is still without power at this time. The community will hold an informational meeting Saturday at noon at the Niobrara Fire Hall for residents. Rides will be available for those who need them, and the community of Creighton will provide lunch. For more information or a ride, call 402-857-3795 or 402-336-7514. The Niobrara Promoter’s hosted their 12th Annual Soup Cook-off on Feb. 16. Best soup was awarded to Faith’s United Parish’s Book Club (top) with their ABC soup. Representing the book club was (left to right) Georgia Johnson, Jayne Tschirren, Cindy Metzler, Karen Dryak, Mona Weatherwax, Kathy Meier, Jane Olson, Sheila Keeler. Best of show was awarded to the Zach family (bottom) of Terry Zach, Tanner Zach, Trisha Zach and Valorie Zach. Their theme was “We should have been cowboys but we’re not.”
Water is starting to rise in Niobrara. This road west of the football field (towards the river) has officially been completely covered with water and is freezing solid.
Large ice chunks seem to be accumulating on the Missouri River. |