Shawn Stutzman, a rodeo clown from Staplehurst, gets the crowd cheering before bull riding at the Hoot Gibson Memorial Rodeo May 31. Stutzman has been a clown for 23 years.
Money is being raised to purchase “Seward Strong” signs for local fire and rescue personnel.
The Seward Farmers Market is open Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon and Wednesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. on the north side of the courthouse square.
Vendors sell a wide variety of handmade breads, sweets, jams, clothing and accessories, wooden furniture, popcorn, fresh-picked produce and more.
Grilled hamburgers also are available each Wednesday night in the Cattle Bank parking lot across from the market, with sales benefitting a different organization each week.
Not everyone can do their job from the inside of a Coors beer barrel.
Shawn Stutzman does.
The Staplehurst resident is Nebraska’s only rodeo clown with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association—a group he was accepted into just this year.
“Stutzy,” as he’s known, has been a clown since 1996.
“My whole family’s been in rodeo,” he said. “I’m the only clown. My grandpa rode rough stock events. Dad rode bulls and broncs.”
So did other relatives and Stutzman himself for several years.
Though he’s a transplant from Iowa living in Staplehurst with his wife, Heather, Stutzman said he doesn’t clown for many rodeos in Nebraska.
He was in Tekamah last weekend, May 31 and June 1, for the 60th annual Hoot Gibson Memorial Rodeo.
Next, he’ll head to rodeos in Kansas, South Dakota and other parts of the Midwest.
To become a part of the PRCA, Stutzman had to go through a sort of audition process.
“You have to do five rodeos. They come and watch you, you get judged,” he said.
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On May 28, the Seward County Board of Commissioners approved a one-time payout for the Seward County Sheriff’s Department and the Detention Center to pay down accrued compensatory time for both departments.
The payments, estimated to be over $13,000 and $5,700, respectively, will get each department’s employees down to 50 hours of remaining comp time.
Seward County Detention Center Director Maria Hatfield said two employees in her department have over 90 hours of comp time, one at 114 and the other at 130 and a couple of others between 60 and 88 hours.
Hatfield mentioned there are two employees who are finishing training, but won’t be able to work on their own and with three vacancies to fill, her department is strained when someone calls in sick or needs to take time off.
Vance said he has an employee out until August because of an injury and while his department is able to cover the absence, if someone else has to leave, it would strain his department as well.
Read the full story HERE.
Local citizens are finishing a fundraiser to purchase metal “Seward Strong” yard signs as a thank you for Seward firefighters and EMTs.
The cost to purchase the 31 signs needed for the Seward firefighter and EMT families is $950. Money raised over this amount will be used to purchase additional signs to be given to future firefighter recruits.
Union Bank and Trust of Seward has agreed to be the drop off location for donations. Categories are Red, $25-49, White, $50-74, and Blue, $75 and more.
Donations made by check should be made out to Culleen Bauer, fundraising chair, or given through the project’s GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/firefighter-appreciation-sign-fundraiser.
Contact Bauer at (402) 803-4409 for more information.
The fourth annual Run to St. Lo will be Saturday, June 8, starting at 7 a.m. Check-in begins at 6 a.m. The 5K and one-mile runs honor the 52 Nebraska National Guard soldiers killed in the battle.
Register online at GetMeRegistered.com. Proceeds from the race help the Seward High track/cross country programs, Kiwanis education scholarships and the Nebraska National Guard Museum exhibits.
The race will start and finish at the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward. For more information, call (402) 309-8763.
The Seward Kiwanis Club Golf Tournament will be Saturday, June 8, at the Seward Community Golf Course. Two nine-hole four-person scrambles will be played.
All money raised goes to the Flag Pole Committee and projects like the Backpack Program, Head Start reading, recycling, the pool party, home-delivered meals, bingo, the KiTones, ag banquet and more.
Contact Dale Rocker at (402) 641-8276 or Ken Meyer at (402) 641-6715. The cost per team is $200 for nine holes or $380 for 18. The first session tees off at 10:30 a.m., with the second to start at 3:30 p.m.
