2
By Diane Wetzel The North Platte Telegraph dwetzel@nptelegraph.com It’s quality, not quantity that guides LincMom of the Quarter Kim Schroll. Many in the community know Schroll from her role as general operations officer at NebraskaLand National Bank, or perhaps from her work with North Platte Rotary or the Downtown Association. Schroll and her husband Bart are parents to James, 13 and Justin, 9. “I think there can be balance with family and career for women, but you have to set priorities,” she said. A native of O’Neill, Schroll met her husband when they attended Northeast Community College in Norfolk. The couple moved to North Platte in 1991. Today Bart is a lineman with Municipal Light and Water. “This is where he found a job,” Schroll said. “You go where the job is and this is where we ended up.”
Part of finding the balance is knowing when to ask for help when you need it. “I’m not shy about saying I don’t clean my own house,” she said. “During the week my oldest son and my husband do most of the cooking. I ask for help when I need it, whether it’s at work or from my family.” The Schrolls are members of Holy Spirit Catholic Church and their children attend St. Patrick’s Catholic Schools. Above and Cover Picture: The Schroll family, Kim, Justin, James and Bart, celebrate Justin’s First Communion at Holy Spirit Church.
Schroll went to work as a teller at North Platte National Bank. When Mike Jacobson left North Platte National to established NebraskaLand National Bank as a locally owned and locally controlled bank, Schroll went with him.
“My faith is important to me and we are fortunate to have the Catholic school as a choice here in North Platte,” she said. Schroll is active in community organizations that she feels strongly about.
“I have had a demanding career and during the first years of my marriage, I spent a lot of time working,” she said. “When Mike invited me to come along we raised $3 million in capital and had three employees.” The Schrolls were seeking to adopt a child when a personal connection led them to James’s birth mother and a private adoption. James arrived one year after NebraskaLand National Bank was established.
“Community involvement isn’t just a time commitment, it’s what you can learn from others and contribute,” she said. “I’ve found from my community involvement that I’ve learned so much more to help me be a better person, better mom, better co-worker, better banker. I’ve always felt I gained so much more than I give.” She is on the Catholic Schools Endowment Foundation, the North Platte Community College Foundation, is an active Rotarian and on the Downtown Association Board.
Four years later Justin was born. “I get up every day and ask for God’s guidance to help me be a better mom and better wife, a better co-worker, friend and banker,” she said. “It’s a delicate balance. There are times when the job is more demanding, and times, especially when the children were very young where it was tough. I could not do it without the support system I have.”
“There are times when I get overwhelmed, but it usually doesn’t last long,” she said. “It happens when you have too many things that are a priority.” To relax, the Schrolls are learning to play golf as a family, take family trips to Florida and spend fall weekends watching football.
That support system includes her husband, her family and her co-workers.
Schroll was surprised to learn about her selection as LincMom of the Quarter.
“We have a great team here at the bank,” she said. “I am thankful for team of support I have. We all have a lot of respect for each other and know family is important to all of us. This is more than a job. This is out community and our lives and we are building for the next generation.”
“I know how blessed I am to have a healthy family,” she said. “I thank God every day for my health and my family’s health. There are so many other worthy moms out there with so many challenges.”
PUZZLES & COLORING 3
COLOR ME!
4 PARENTING
Communication With Your Child early, kids will get used to it and accept it as the way things are. If you wait until the teen years or when things start getting bad, It's been said that men and women have trouble communicating, you might be seen as intrusive and be shut out even further. but if there is any gap in family communication, in most families it's most pronounced between parent and child. Young children Respect your child and validate their feelings. Sometimes are just learning to use language (maybe even words) to children can get worked up over the littlest of things. If parents communicate, while older children, teenagers in particular, are are dismissive of their children's feelings when small things are looking to separate from the family in order to establish their on the line, children are more likely to keep big problems hidden own identity. These are times when conversations are most later on. If you don't see a problem where your child does, critical, as children are beginning to make decisions on their explain to them where you are coming from. This will show the own. Developing good communication with your children when child you respect them even if you disagree with them. All people like to be respected. they are young can pay dividends throughout their life. by Sam Erickson
Don't be afraid to start conversations with your child. Many parents assume that by telling their children they are available to talk will allow their children to come forward to them with a problem. This is not always the case, however, particularly as kids grow older. They may be embarrassed or afraid of the way their parents will respond. If you begin this kind of initiation
Spending time together is probably the best way to foster communication. If you travel together - to Japan, the Grand Canyon or to the park - you'll start to see each other in different ways. You will have to help one another out, building a level of trust that can be useful later. If you go out together from time to time and eat dinner together every night, you can start to establish basic communication. Shared movies or books can lead to discussions of important issues that might be facing your child. This basic communication will serve as the foundation for more important things later, like college, dating and what it means to grow into an adult. Good communication between children and parents is essential for a healthy relationship. You have to understand one another to move the relationship forward. The main keys to establishing good communication are to start early, initiate conversations and build common ground you can use later on. Kids are looking for the same things parents are, healthy, happy relationships, and good communication can make that a lot easier for everyone.
EASY TO MAKE RECIPE 5
Ingredients: 2 squares BAKER'S White Chocolate or BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
BUTTER Cookies, OREO Cookies, CHIPS AHOY! Cookies and NILLA Wafers Decorations, such as decorating gels, assorted candies and chewy fruit snack rolls
6 NABISCO Cookies, such as NUTTER
Directions: 1 MICROWAVE chocolate in small microwavable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min., stirring after 45 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. 2 COAT cookies with melted chocolate. Place on sheet of wax paper, then decorate as desired (see Tips below). 3 LET stand until chocolate is set. Scary BatsFor bats, coat NUTTER BUTTER Cookies with melted semi-sweet chocolate as directed. Place cookies sideways to resemble a bat shape, then use red decorating gel to draw scary fangs and eyes on each bat. MummyFor mummies, coat NUTTER BUTTER Cookies with melted white chocolate as directed. Let stand until set. Wrap cut-up fruit rolls around cookies, leaving small area near the top of each cookie unwrapped for the mummy's eyes. Add 2 small red candies for the eyes.
Photo & recipe courtesy of kraftfoods.com
Total Time: 10 min Prep Time: 10 min Servings: 3 servings, 2 cookies each
Ingredients:
Red decorating gel
1 piece black string licorice (16 inch), cut into 1-inch lengths 2 OREO CAKESTERS Soft Snack Cakes
Directions: INSERT 4 licorice pieces into opposite sides of each snack cake for the spider's legs. Photo & recipe courtesy of kraftfoods.com
USE red decorating gel to make the eyes.
Total Time: 5 min Prep Time: 5 min Servings: 1 serving
6
Date
Time
Event
Location
Contact
9:30, 10:30, 1:30
Preschool Story Time
North Platte Public Library
308-535-8036
9:30 a.m. & 10:00 am
Wee Read
North Platte Public Library
308-535-8036
Sept. 1st
8am
Potter’s Pature Trail
Potter’s Pasture Trail
308-535-6772
Sept. 4th
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Puppy Olympics
Cody Park
communityconnectionslc.org
Sept. 5th
6:30 pm
AWANA Registration and Family BBQ
Bethel Evangelical Free Church
Sept. 7th - 9th
All Day
Nebraska State Rodeo Assoc. State Finals
Wild West Arena
www.nebraskarodeo.com
Sept. 8th
8:15 am - 9:15 am
Doggy Dash 5K Walk/Run
Cody Park
communityconnectionslc.org
Sept. 8th
10:30 am
Biscuit Bite Off Contest
Cody Park
communityconnectionslc.org
Sept. 8th
All Day
Wellfleet Fall Festival
Wellfleet
wellfleetfallfestival.com
Oct. 20th
8:30 am
Nebraska Spina Bifida
NP Recreation Center
308-440-5761
Tuesdays
1st & 3rd Wed
Run/Walk & Roll 5K & Kids 1 mil
Oct. 27th
1 pm - 3 pm
Downtown Halloween Walk
Downtown
northplattedowntown.com
Oct. 31st
6 pm - 8 pm
Trunk or Treat
First Baptist Church
fbcnorthplatte.org
TO SUBMIT AN EVENT FOR THIS CALENDAR Email events to: megan.dietz@nptelegraph.com Please include event name, date, time, place & contact information.
No phone calls please. The Telegraph reserves the right to edit and/or omit all or portions of events.
PARTY FUN 7
Yuck!
By Tresa Erickson adbuilder.com
When you're planning a Halloween party for kids, there is one factor you don't want to overlook the yuck factor. Kids love all things gross and expect them at Halloween parties, so make sure you work some yuck into your party for the senses. Feast your eyes on this! There is nothing more fun for kids than a room full of scary sights. Usually, the more terrifying, the better, unless you are dealing with a group of really young kids. Dress up the room for the age group. There are a number of products available from talking heads to hairy spiders. You can also make your own. Wet string hanging from the ceiling, for example, makes great cobwebs, especially when kids run into them, while a little dry ice with water makes great fog. Lend an ear to this! What Halloween party would be complete without spooky music and sound effects. Grandpa dressed like a vampire rising up out of a coffin is not nearly as terrifying as it is with the coffin creaking. You can find various Halloween music and sound effect CDs, or you can make your own. Stick your hand in this! Kids love the ooey-gooey, especially when it's hidden out of sight. There are numerous recipes online for making goop and slime. You can also revert to the old standards: peeled grapes for eyeballs, cold spaghetti for worms, egg yolks for snot, gelatin for brains and pumpkin guts for guts. Just make sure you have some wipes on hand for the fussy ones.
Have a bite of this! There are tons of recipes for making tasty, gross-looking Halloween food from boogers on a stick to kitty litter cake. Conduct a search online and select some of the yuckiest recipes for your party. Take a whiff of this! While graveyards, rotting flesh and all of the other images associated with Halloween might conjure up a foul stench, you probably don't want to recreate the odor at your party. You can, however, incorporate some of the lovelier scents of fall, either through candles or food. Go ahead and brew up a batch of apple cider before the party starts and greet guests at the door with a burst of apple and cinnamon. Incorporating the yuck factor into a Halloween party is not that hard, and while you may not be able to invoke all of the senses who wants to stick around a party that smells awful you can invoke most and keep your young guests entertained. Do your homework, and your party is sure to be a hit!
Family Medicine
Associates
Where Family Comes First! • Leland F. Lamberty, M.D. • Wendy J.Gosnell, M.D.
• Janet E. Bernard, M.D. • Joseph J Kezeor M.D.
500 W. Leota Ste. 100 • North Platte, NE 69101
308-534-4440
There is such a thing as a “tooth-friendly� sugar! XYLITOL! Xylitol is a delicious and safe naturally occurring sugar substitute that helps prevent cavities and plaque formation. It is found in many fruits and vegetables but the main way it is made is from birch trees and corn husks. Our bodies normally produce normally produce about 15 grams of Xylitol daily. Xylitol can be used by everyone - infants, children, adults and the elderly and is also diabetic friendly. Xylitol looks and tastes as sweet as sugar but has 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates. Xylitol has several oral benefits. It does not allow plaques to form on teeth and also helps alter the pH of the mouth to an alkaline or neutral pH. These benefits help reduce decay, gingivitis, help with periodontal problems and re-mineralize the enamel structure. Xylitol is the natural sweetener used in many products including but not limited to gums, hard candies, toothpastes, chocolates, mints, oral rinses, saline nasal sprays. Research has also proven the benefits of Xylitol in helping with ear and upper respiratory infections by inhibiting bacterial communication. Also some research has linked Xylitol to help improve bone density. Visit our office to let us tell you more about this amazing natural product.
Lannae Phelps, D.D.S.