Mitchell

December 28, 2004

Star-Herald

New Furniture Store Opens Its Doors

Dean Wooten, owner of Dean's Furniture in Mitchell, knows there is plenty of used furniture to go around. The trick is finding the affordable and more importantly, good quality used furniture.

By keeping an eye on estate sales, household auctions and the want ads, he locates enough inventory to keep an almost constant turnover at his shop. His advice to his customers is: "If you see it and want it or can use it, you better take it today, because it probably won't be here next week."

Wooten got involved in the furniture trading and dealing business shortly after his retirement from King Soopers while living in Loveland, Colo. Attracted to the eastern Wyoming/western Nebraska area for its calmer pace of life and lower taxes, he and his wife, Bonnie, moved to Torrington in April. He began holding weekend furniture sales out of his garage with inventory he had bought during the week in Colorado. He said there is a good supply of quality used furniture in the Front Range area and recognized a business opportunity. However, his weekend venture soon outgrew his garage.

"I was needing a bigger place to store things and actually set up a shop," he said. Wooten established his business Oct. 1 in the former Mitchell Index building after finding available and affordable retail space slim in Torrington and other outlaying towns.

"Mitchell is centrally located for most of the valley and they were wanting to bring more businesses into town," Wooten said. "The mayor and other business people here were very helpful and supportive."

Wooten specializes in clean, gently-used living room, dining room and bedroom furniture as well as appliances in good working order. He said over the years he has developed an eye for quality furniture and a sense of its value. He has also developed contacts with other dealers throughout the Front Range area.

"If someone can't find what they're looking for, I keep a customers' request list and will try to find what they need," Wooten said. "Customers can buy directly or if they have something to trade, I'll deal with them."

Wooten said word of mouth from satisfied customers has worked well for him, with many repeat customers coming from the Torrington, Mitchell and Scottsbluff areas.

Dean's Furniture is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To inquire about inventory or place your name on the request list, contact Wooten at (307) 534-4666.

December 15, 2004

Star-Herald

Prairie Vine Winery Opens

Western Nebraska's newest winery opened to enthusiastic crowds this weekend in Mitchell. It was all winery owners could do to keep glasses filled as visitors crowded to get samples of locally produced wine and unique gourmet chocolates.

"It's more of a turnout than we ever imagined. The support has been great," said winery co-owner Curtis Cloud as he assisted customers with wine tasting and purchases.

Co-owner Allen Gall estimated approximately 650 people stopped in for the open house on Saturday and another 250 stopped in Sunday. "It exceeded our expectations," Gall said. "I think everyone really enjoyed themselves and I didn't hear any complaints about the wine."

With names like "Barn Dance Fantasy" and "Western Sky Rosette," patrons were intrigued by the varieties' titles as much as their flavors.

Visitors were also excited about having a new, unique business located in Mitchell. Owners Allen Gall and fiance' Pam Meininger and Curtis and Jacque Cloud are all local rural residents.

"This will be a good thing for the community," said Mitchell City Administrator Ty Abernethy as he and his wife, Ginny, enjoyed the event. "With the artwork from the local art gallery and the support of residents and other businesses, this has turned into a real nice place. I can see potential."

Gall said the business' owners have funded most of the building purchase and renovation costs, but they will pursue Mitchell's LB840 funds to update the facility's restrooms and other business enhancements. The business will employ approximately five people for wine production, bottling and labeling.

The opening of Prairie Vine Winery is a culmination of four years of planning and chance taking by several local grape producers. Besides Gall's four-acre vineyard northwest of Morrill and Cloud's vineyard northwest of Mitchell, other grape growers include Brad and Kevin Stamen of Gering, Jimmy Jensen of Bridgeport, Bea and George Chikos of Bridgeport, Roger Dohse of Kimball, Richard and Dorothy Wharton of Morrill and the Kimmel Orchard of Nebraska City.

Gall said the winery would need additional growers in the future to supply the business. He is also looking for local jam and jelly and cheese makers or other homegrown specialities to be served and displayed in the tasting room.

The winery, located at 1463 17th Avenue in Mitchell, is now open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Gall said the hours would give commuters and business people the opportunity to stop and purchase wine in the evenings.

Private wine tasting appointments can also be booked by calling (308) 623-2955.

December 10, 2004

Star-Herald

New Prairie Vine Winery to Open Doors Saturday

Just in time for holiday merriment, Prairie Vine Winery will open its doors to the public Saturday in Mitchell.

The locally owned winery features fine wine produced from grapes and selected fruits grown in the North Platte Valley. Owners Allen Gall of rural Morrill and Curtis and Jacque Cloud of rural Mitchell say they're excited to offer a locally grown, value-added agriculture product while helping stimulate economic development in a rural community.

The grand opening of Prairie Vine Winery will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 1463 17th Avenue in Mitchell. Samples of the winery's nine varieties of fine, prairie-grown dessert and table wines will be served. Samples of All-Natural Endangered Species Gourmet Chocolate, which the winery has become a supplier for, and other refreshments will also be served.

"This has been a long time coming," Gall said, explaining that he and most of the contributing growers have been nurturing their vineyards for three to four years. "We have known that this is something that could be done in the area and we're real happy to finally get it going."

Gall and the Clouds purchased the former Mitchell NAPA building in September and since that time have been renovating the facility to accommodate the on-site wine production. The 4,400 square-foot facility holds fermentation tanks, storage area and a tasting room. Currently the winery has 3,000 gallons of its 6,000-gallon capacity filled.

Wine varieties include "Monument Red," a dry dinner wine; "Prairie Sand," an elegant dry white; "Western Sky Rose," a semi-sweet "taste of the prairie" and "Autumn Gold," a sparkling special occasion variety. Apple and raspberry wine varieties are also available. Wines are sold by the bottle or case.

Star-Herald

May 1, 2004

Mitchell Receives First-Ever Tree City USA Designation

Through a vision and commitment to make their commitment to make their community a better place to live, Mitchell leaders worked together to make Mitchell a Tree City USA . This is the city's first year receiving the designation.

"Mitchell had some very hard working people to put this all together," said University of Nebraska Panhandle Forester Doak Nickerson as he presented Mitchell City Administrator Ty Abernethy with the official Tree City USA plaque and signs. Nickerson explained that to become a Tree City USA community, Mitchell had to establilsh a tree board, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program and an official Arbor Day observance.

Approximately 18 months ago, Mayor Larry Bare and other interested community volunteers put the wheels in motion to establish these criteria, forming a Beautification Committee, enforcing codes to remove dead and dying trees within city limits and entering into an interlocal agreement with Mitchell Schools to designate an area north of the athletic fields as a public access exercise and picnic area. Last year the community held its first Arbor Day observance, planting a linden tree in the vacant grassed area of newly established Freedom Park .

Abernethy said the city, along with the school board and community members, have a long-term goal of planting trees throughout town.

"I can't imagine this or any other community without trees," Nickerson said during Friday's observance in which a second linden tree was planted. "This community has some beautiful and very historic trees, planted with the foresight from the Valley settlers."

Tree City USA, sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, provides direction, technical assistance, public attention, and national recognition for urban and community forestry programs in thousands of towns and cities that more than 93 million Americans call home.

To receive a free Tree City USA booklet, call
(402) 474-5655
Monday-Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST
or e-mail your request to
treecity@arborday.org

Star-Herald

April 8, 2004

Mitchell's Pride Awards to Honor Community Improvement Efforts

Mitchell residents, developers and business owners will soon be recognized for their part in community betterment.

The Mitchell Pride Award will debut in April.

"It's a way to encourage improvement projects and recognize people for doing something to make our town better and more attractive," said Mitchell beautification Committee member Barb Ritterbush .

Mitchell residents will be recognized monthly in several different categories, including home improvements, historic homes, yards, gardens, businesses, new projects and home holiday decorations. Anonymous ballots are currently being collected at the city office for the April category of general, which could include homes, yards, businesses or unique displays.

Mitchell artist Ron Kephart is in the process of designing a two-foot-by-three-foot 3-D metal sign to be presented as a traveling trophy to each month's winner.

Influences made by the seven-member Mitchell Beautification Committee and its supporters have been noticeable in Mitchell since Mayor Larry Bare appointed the committee more than a year ago. Ritterbush credits Bare and other residents who have followed his lead to improve the community.

Most recently, Beautification Committee members Ritterbush , Gerald Gardner, Belynda Bricker and seven other community volunteers worked to clean up the façade of a vacant bakery on Main Street .

"We just wanted to clean up the front of the building since it sets right next to a new restaurant that is going in," Ritterbush said. The group scraped, cleaned and repainted and removed old signs.

"Some people even stopped and asked if the bakery was reopening," she said. "We have found that improvements encourage more improvements. It's a contagious thing."

The Beautification Committee will also host its twice-monthly Flea and Farmers' Market beginning May 8. For a fee of $10 per space, area vendors with arts and crafts, garden produce or garage sale items can set up shop for a Saturday.

Committee member Nancy Kearns of Bloomers is in charge of registrations.

The proceeds from the flea market help the Beautification Committee with small, spruce-up projects.

"Since we're still pretty new, we don't have much of a budget," Ritterbush said. "There has been funds set aside by the city for playground equipment that will run about $30,000, and new city welcome signs. But for painting and cleaning, that comes out of our own pocket."

The committee's future plans include erecting decorative lampposts and putting flower planters at location around Main Street .

"A lot of the newer businesses in town have already put up awnings or planters outside their stores," Ritterbush said. "We get a lot of ideas just traveling through other communities. Nancy ( Kearns ) would like to take a group of us through Niwot , Colorado .

"They do a lot with awnings and planters there. We feel like the best thing for Mitchell is to open little specialty shops to attract customers and travelers."

Star-Herald

April 6, 2004

Regional Towns Garner Tree City USA Honors

A dozen western Nebraska communities have received the 2003 Tree City USA designation.

Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman and Nebraska State Forester Gary Hergenrader will honor more than 100 communities statewide during the Tree City USA ceremony at the Nebraska Community Tree Conference.in Lincoln .

The Nebraska Community Forestry Council, the Nebraska Forest Service and the Nebraska Stateside Arboretum sponsor the event.

For some communities.the designation is old hat, an honor they have worn for.years. For Mitchell, a fledgling Tree City USA community, the designation is a significant milestone in developing future community betterment projects.

For a community to receive Tree City USA awards, it must have a tree board or department responsible for public trees, use $2 per capita on their tree resources, have an ordinance that deals with tree resources and have a formal Arbor Day celebration.

"Our Beautification Board has been working with the city, residents and high school on tree planting projects," said Mitchell City Administrator Ty Abernethy. Mitchell earned the Tree City USA distinction for the first time this year by enforcing a city ordinance to remove dead and dying trees and developing a new community-wide tree maintenance plan. The city, in a cooperative effort with the Mitchell High School , also established the new Freedom Park north of the school's athletic field, with a tree planting ceremony held in conjunction with the park's dedication on Arbor Day last year.

Abernethy said being named a Tree City USA (community) will assist in securing other grant funding for beautification projects.

.Western Nebraska communities receiving the honor .( include) Alliance , Bayard, Chadron, Chappell, Gering, Kimball, Mitchell, Morrill, Potter, Rushville, Scottsbluff and Sidney .

February 21, 2004 Star Herald Article

CUTTERS STITCH BLANKETS WITH WARM HEARTS

by Kay Grote , Regional Reporter

The clock said 10:57 a.m. on February 16 as the last knot was secured on blankets to be given to members of the U.S. Army National Guard 1057th Light Medium Transportation Company.

Ladies of the Mitchell United Methodist Church immediately recognized the significance.

Since November the church ladies from the United Methodist Women and Wesley Circle and volunteers from Mitchell Assisted Living Center have spent their Monday mornings in the church basement cutting and stitching.

Their initial intent was to provide warm blankets for returning service people of the 1057th. But the project, too, has warmed their hearts.

"They've put in some long days to get this project done," said Pastor Sheila Taylor. "I don't think any of us realized how this project was going to grow when it was first suggested. Everyone just jumped in and said, 'Let's do it.'"

Taylor said the idea was born from a conversation a church member had with her son serving in Iraq with the 1057th.

"Gavin (Denton) would tell his mom how cold they got sleeping at night when it got down to 98 degrees and he joked about how cold it would seem when he came back home to Nebraska," Taylor said.

The soldier's mother, Michelle Denton suggested making tied blankets to be given to each member of the 1057th. The ladies made a total of 160 blankets.

Taylor said many area businesses and residents helped make the project possible with monetary donations to help defray costs of fabric and sewing supplies. They include Jones Mortuary, Brannan Homes, VFW Post 1681 Auxiliary, Gering Legion Auxiliary No. 36, Order of DOES Drove No. 21, Herstead Monument, Michie-McKeown American Legion, First State Bank, Gering Memorial, and the Holy Apostles Alter Guild.

Area churches also donated blankets including Henry United Methodist, Harrison United Methodist and Hemingford United Methodist.

Taylor said special thanks also goes to John Brehm of the Veterans Service Center and Michelle Denton for making the personal labels that were hand stitched on each 60 by 72 inch blanket.

The CUTTER (Citizens United Together to Express Respect and Support) group will present the blankets to members of the 1057th during a reunion planned in April after the company returns from their duties in Iraq .

February 18, 2004 Star Herald Article

ELEMENT 8 OPENS EAST OF MITCHELL

by Kay Grote , Regional Reporter

After nearly four months of jumping through regulatory hoops, a Mitchell business owner is finally up and running full force, thanks to assistance from Senator Ben Nelson's office.

James Blanco opened Element 8, a new oxygen and respiratory services business, located east of Mitchell on Spring Creek Road in September, but since that time has been held in limbo due to federal regulations targeted at Medicare claims fraud.

Blanco, who has 15 years of experience as a licensed respiratory care practitioner with several nationally known companies in the region, decided to open his own business in Mitchell as a step of good faith.

"Being a city council member and Mitchell native, I've always encouraged people to try and keep business alive here in Mitchell," he said. "I did consider going to Scottsbluff, but I had to stay true to my own words."

Blanco recognized the economic impact his new business could provide by keeping Medicare reimbursements, a majority of his business, in the local economy.

"We as rural Nebraska citizens need to look at keeping as much of this money right here in our local communities versus sending it out to nationwide companies," he said.

Blanco applied August 24, 2003 for the necessary Medicare supplier number only to be told two weeks later that all new applications were being held pending an extensive investigation caused by millions of dollars worth of fraudulent Medicare claims in Texas. The moratorium on the issuance of all new supplier numbers affected Blanco and 3,975 other new applicants nationwide.

The moratorium stated that no new supplier numbers would be issued until after January 2004.

On September 24, a Medicare inspector arrived at Blanco's new Mitchell business to conduct the necessary inspections.

"Medicare wanted to make sure that I was honest in my intentions of opening a business and that I met their 21 supplier standards," Blanco said. "My inspection and survey response, they said, were among the best they had conducted. I felt good about it, so I just waited to hear back from them with the confirmation of my number."

In the meantime, Blanco had to manage his fledgling business without the benefits of Medicare claims payments. He explained that with Medicare accounting for 95% of his business, profits were sorely lagging.

"I had taken out a small business loan, I had sunk $35,000 of my own money into inventory, I had leased the building. All I was waiting on was my supplier number," Blanco said. "Basically my hands were tied."

In the meantime, Blanco contacted John Berge, staff assistant for Senator Ben Nelson, seeking assistance to expedite the application process.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) contacted Blanco one month later stating that his inventory was not adequate enough to qualify for a supplier number. Blanco maintained that during inspection over $30,000 in inventory had been overlooked and disputed the standards results.

"That's when John Berge really went to bat for me," Blanco said, explaining that Berge and Senator Nelson helped confirm that sufficient inventory and honest intent of commerce had been met.

Blanco finally received his Medicare supplier number on December 18, allowing him to be a fully operational oxygen and respiratory service provider with Medicare affiliation.

"I think it's important that local hometown people know and understand that congressional offices like Senator Nelson's do offer and commit to helping folks like myself when things get difficult," Blanco said.

Element 8 offers a full line of oxygen and respiratory services, nebulizers and portable oxygen packs and other inhome respiratory equipment. Blanco specializes in personal, in-home care.

"I still believe in the hometown, mom-and-pop, business theory," Blanco said. "That's what I'm committed to providing to my clients."

Element 8 will hold its grand opening on Saturday, February 28.

February 13, 2004 Star Herald Article

'MITCHELL - A COMMUNITY THAT CARES' KICKS OFF

by Kay Grote , Regional Reporter

Community and agency leaders have conveyed a poignant message to Mitchell-area youth: "We want you to grow to be safe, healthy and responsible."

During Wednesday's introduction of a pilot program targeting underage drinking and illegal drug use among teenagers, members of the Mitchell City Council, School board, Police Department, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's Department and other agencies stood together to protect and educate area youth. They also asked for the same commitment from parents. Approximately 120 adults and students attended the meeting.

The program, "Mitchell - A Community That Cares" is a three-pronged approach to educating about and deterring the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco. The program is a cooperative effort between the schools, community and law enforcement agencies.

Organizers of the Mitchell program are hoping to lay the ground work for other communities that would like to implement a similar program. Alcohol and drug use, they say, are not exclusive problems to Mitchell.

Lanette Richards of Project Extra Mile cited statistics showing that there is reason for concern about underage drinking in the area.

She said Nebraska is tied with South Dakota as being the state with the most youths who say they've ridden in a vehicle with a driver who had been drinking. Nebraska also ranks third nationally for binge drinking among underage youth. Mitchell Superintendent Kent Halley has recognized a rising number of Mitchell students being processed for MIP (minor in possession) charges.

County Judge Glenn Camerer also spoke about the growing trend of young drunk drivers entering the judicial system.

"It is becoming more common to have teenagers convicted on drunk driving charges," he said. "This is due in part because teenagers have easy access to alcohol and in a rural area such as this, youth are more susceptible to drinking for a lack of anything else to do,"

Camerer also cited the increasing use of methamphetamines among young people.

The pilot program committee will meet next week to review input and interest from Wednesday's meeting and set dates for upcoming community meetings.

February 11, 2004 Star Herald Article

NEW BUSINESS IN MITCHELL FEATURES CONSIGNED GIFTS, ART

by Kay Grote , Regional Reporter

It didn't take long for a Mitchell resident to seize the opportunity to start her own long dreamt-about business.

Southern Charm Treasures is now open at 1269 Center Avenue at the former Index location. It is the first business, besides the hometown newspaper, to be housed in the building for over a half-century.

"It's something I've always wanted to try to do. As a child I helped with my grandparent's store and always enjoyed it," said Connie Bellairis of her on-consignment gift shop. She held her grand opening on Sunday, February 1.

Offerings include handmade candles, hand-stitched pillows and artwork, dried and silk floral arrangements and professional baking services.

"I had been wanting a good affordable location here in Mitchell to open a business. This space is working out well," she said.

The three-room shop features the main gift shop area, a room devoted to bridal and gift floral and bakery arrangements by Deb Ockinga and a "bargain bin" room for affordable and hard to find items.

Bellairis said she already has five vendors in place. They are Crystal Tjaden , who specializes in gift baskets; Heddi Stricker , with hand painted specialty boxes and wreaths; Debra Kasza , with unique feather arrangements; Deb Ockinga , who is a licensed commercial baker; and Mike Ockinga , with barn wood furniture and frames.

Bellairis charges a 20 percent commission on all consigned goods and said more artists and artisans are welcome.

Hours of Southern Charm Treasures are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.