Star-Herald Pride 2013: Panhandle People

3/28/2013

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PRIDE Panhandle People

Behind the crown Pageant director guides girls to be crowned Page 6

W W W. S TA R H E R A L D . C O M

A S TA R - H E R A L D P U B L I C AT I O N

Overcoming obstacles Disability hasn’t kept her down

Saturday, March 30, 2013

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Family affair

Unified sports

Busy lady

Ziegler’s goal

Family roofing business perseveres through tough times

Couple helps Coyotes grow

Dalton woman says she has best of all worlds

Woman turning inmates into contributing community members

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Striking the right chord Local trio

preserving WWII-era music

By JOE DUTTON Staff Reporter

In the Brening household, music has brought the family together for more than three generations.

Glossy guitars nestle by the couch, a snare drum sits by the window, the accompanying drum sticks on the fireplace mantel and a piano invites any pianist to play.

To some the room may appear cluttered, but to the Brening family it’s business as usual. Instruments are in almost ever y room of the home, including those being softly played in an adjoining room, a soundtrack to their lives.

For more than a centur y, the Brening family has shared musical talent in local churches, even before pianos or guitars were common in a place of worship.

Brening became a vocal music teacher at Bluffs Middle School, a private guitar teacher, a worship leader with Mitchell Berean church and the leader of his own band, The Perfect Blend.

“There was always music within the home, and, of course, church was a big part of that,” Brening said. “I was blessed to have a Christian upbringing and folks that cared about things like that.”

At age 9, Brening started playing the guitar through the encouragement of his parents. Brening said they had to make him practice, but after a special opportunity struck in junior high school, playing the guitar was never the same.

The day before a tutoring session with his math teacher, Bob Kraft, Kraft asked Brening to bring in his guitar for a jam session. After Brening finished his homework, they both played in the math room. As the music carried down the hallways, it caught the attention of choir teacher Duane Stukesbar y, who popped his head into the classroom to see who was playing.

Stukesbar y liked what he heard and asked Brening to bring his guitar to choir class the next day.

Brening brought his guitar, along with a thick music book of John Denver songs. He played and sang for 45 minutes in front of 80 to 90 peers.

Brening said he was an introvert at the time, but enjoyed the class’s polite response and attentiveness.

“That day was my turning point, in the sense that I found some success and self-worth and I thought, ‘Hey, this could be kind of cool,’” Brening said. “I tell that stor y to the

■ Yes Ma’am celebrating seven years this summer

By ROGER HOLSINGER Assistant Editor

Photo by Joe Dutton

Perry Brening sings and plays his guitar during lead worship at the Mitchell Berean Church just outside of Mitchell.

kids at school and I tr y to emphasize how you have this line: on this side it’s have to and on this side it’s want to, and how we cross over that line is a myster y.”

From then on, Brening said it was effortless and more enjoyable to play. He used to listen to music on his parents’ eight-track tapes and records through headphones that he described as looking like volleyballs cut in half. With his guitar in hand, he learned the licks of the Eagles, Deep Purple, Jim Croce and many other influential artists.

“I was just eager to just sit down and play,” Brening said. “My goal was, ‘Man, if I could play a guitar and play that, like the radio, I’ve arrived.’ That’s how I used to think.”

As he learned to master his guitar one riff at a time, he also fell in love with good melody, which he said is the driving force behind any form of music.

“I’m a firm believer that ever ybody has a melody in their head,” Brening said. “If we were just to stop right now and get into each

person’s mind, we would find that we all have a melody playing there and they are never the same. Some people might have ZZ Top, Metallica, while others are kind of Norah Jones and kind of laid back.”

After graduating from Gering High School in 1980 and attending Western Nebraska Community College, Brening pursued his bachelor’s degree at Chadron State, majoring in vocal music. Chadron State was also where he met his musical confidante and future wife, Robin, during histor y class.

“I had this shirt on and I used to be a cyclist,” Bening said. “That was how we first met, through a crazy bike marathon T-shirt, of all silly things.”

He said he was a vocalist needing an accompanist and he eventually asked if she would play. She agreed, without asking for pay.

“I’ve got a wife that is more valuable than the rubies and diamonds like Proverbs has. She’s an amazing girl,” Brening said.

See BRENING, page 2

Almost seven years ago, three women with a love of music decided to share their passion with the people around them.

Today, Yes Ma’am continues to enter tain old and young alike, with the singers never forgetting the sacrifice made by soldiers during World War II and the Korean War. The trio is made up of Michelle Coolidge, Angie Hoff and Mar y Mau. Michelle and Angie knew each other while they attended Bayard High School, while Mar y grew up in Winside, located northeast of Norfolk.

Michelle sang in high school, and Angie played the piano.

“But she sang along with the altos,” said Michelle.

“No one knew that I could sing until I went to college,” added Angie.

After graduating from high school in 1986, Michelle enrolled at Nebraska Wesleyan University. After a year, she transferred to Chadron State College and graduated in 2 1/2 years with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

After college she worked for Platte Valley Mor tgage in foreclosures. For the last eight years she’s worked at Western Nebraska Community College as the administrative ser vices c o o r d i n a t o r, w o r k i n g

with finances and the college facilities. Her husband is Dan and the two have an adult son, Michael.

Michelle said she came from a musical family, adding that while she never thought of being a rock star, she would have enjoyed the “theatrics” of music more than being in a band.

Angie graduated from BHS in 1984 and during high school was the accompanist for choirs and show choirs. She said she began learning the piano when she was in kindergarten and by age 7 was playing for the public. During high school, college and after college, Angie was a member of several regional bands, performing onstage for 15 years.

After high school, she attended Concordia University then transferred to CSC on a full-ride music scholarship. She graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in humanities and psychology.

After college, she retur ned to Bayard and worked in special education and as a sign language interpreter. Her talent on the piano and keyboards landed her work with a number of local bands for a few years, then in 1992 she began working for the Adolescent Psychology Unit at Regional West Medical Center. In 1996, See YES MA’AM, page 4

She’s got the music in her ■ Barb Becker can’t imagine life without music

By ROGER HOLSINGER Assistant Editor

Barb Becker says she can’t imagine her life without music.

The accomplished pianist says she might be able to live without playing music, but “not being able to hear (music) would be worse than not being able to play. I just have to have it. I can’t be in a quiet house,” she said.

While almost ever y high school music student since 1989 knows her, she says many people in the community know her just as “that Barb lady” who is always playing the piano at the high school musicals, show choirs and chorus performances.

She has been an integral part of the Scottsbluff High School Music Department for nearly 25 years.

But had she followed her dream, she might have never tickled the ivor y at SHS. Barb (Gregg) Becker is the daughter of the late Don and Ruth Gregg. Both her parents were musical, and so music began to influence her life at an Photo by Roger Holsinger early age.

Barb Becker has been a part of the SHS music department for more Her mother worked as a than 25 years, first as a student and now as a para-educator and homemaker and her father accompanist. She said that she can’t imagine her life without worked at Nebraska Machiner y Company, eventually ser ving as music and that she really enjoys working with students.

the manager. Barb had three older siblings — Jim, Janice and Bob (all deceased) — and has two younger siblings — Richard and Jennifer.

She said her parents grew up in the Marsland area and graduated from Crawford High School. The two were also members of the Squaw Mound Band when they were children and teenagers. She said her mother never had the opportunity to take piano lessons so she made sure all of her children did.

Barb was born in Scottsbluff and attended Longfellow Elementar y School. When she was 6, she began taking piano lessons and was trained for 12 years in classical music by Rudolph Barta. Then in high school, she began to accompany the musical groups while still taking classical instruction. She also competed in regional competitions with the winner asked to play with a symphony.

She graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1977 and then attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, studying music education. She played the oboe in high school and continued that in college with the dream of someday playing for the Boston Pops.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

While taking her classes that first year, she discovered that being a band director was not for her and left Greeley and enrolled at Nebraska Western College (now Western Nebraska Community College). She studied computer programming and earned her associate’s degree.

She married Kelly Becker in 1979, and the couple had two children — Jeremy and Amanda. The couple later divorced.

SHS Music Instructor Gar y Bacon approached her and asked if she would be interested in helping with his classes. She said at that point her children were in school.

“I thought, ‘I could do that.’ I didn’t need to sit at home.”

Bacon, who was also her high school teacher, hired her to work a couple of hours a day.

She said that before she began working at the school, she thought about going back to school and completing her secondar y math degree.

“But playing the piano sounded like a lot more fun,” she added.

While she didn’t help with the musical that year, she had plenty of experience helping while in high school and junior high.

She said when she was in ninth See BECKER, page 4

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Photos by Joe Dutton

Jack Jones, right, of Scottsbluff learns how to properly place his fingers on the neck of his guitar to play just the right chord.

Perry Brening has played guitar since he was 9 years old and enjoys teaching guitar in his spare time to students from all over the valley.

Jaycee Rice, right, of Gering learns basic guitar chords in the music studio behind Perry Brening’s home in Gering.

BRENING: Striking the right chord Continued from page 1 His first music-based job was in Bayard Public Schools as a band director. He said he loved the job, and the community was rich with tradition and music. He later became a full-time worship leader at the church in Scottsbluff for 10 years, but eventually went back into public education at BMS. “When you leave something and come back, you realize how much you missed it. You learn to appreciate it more,” Brening said. “I find it a real privilege to work at the middle school here in Scottsbluff and work with these kids; they are just an amazing group of kids.”

He also offers private sessions at his home.

Robin teaches piano to an estimated 60 students a week in their home and was recently honored for teaching Miss America 2011, Ter esa Scanlan, how to play the piano.

Her sessions mostly take place in a separate studio built behind their home.

The studio is equipped with a cherr y wood baby grand piano, complete drum set, bass guitar and even a guitar-shaped fly swatter.

In his spare time, Brening is involved with the praise band at Mitchell Berean Church by leading worship and is the front man for his band, The Per fect Blend. He, his wife and friend John Carlson play the melodies they all grew up with.

“We play many different venues, from ver y intimate to larger settings,” Brening said. “Presently, we have a play list of 190 plus songs ranging from Dan Fogelberg to the Eagles and Billy Joel to any acoustic ar tist wor th mentioning as well as oldies from the ’50s and ’60s.”

Brening can point to several successful students over his many years of teaching who have moved on with their music careers, joining bands and making CDs. He said he loves seeing them live out a dream and still have the passion they did when he was teaching them.

“My goal for a kid is to come back and bury me with their talent,” Brening said. “My whole goal is to get them started on this jour ney and then push them out of the nest.”

As a middle school teacher, he said he has a lot of great moments, but the best part is being able to high-five students in

the hallway after they find self-worth in themselves, either through music, athletics or anything involved with school.

Despite his love for music, nothing comes closer to his heart than the relationship he has with God and the passion to share it with others. He said he doesn’t take any day for granted and has been blessed with a beautiful wife of almost 29 years and his two sons, Nick and Chris. He said he has performed at a lot of funerals and has always wondered what his own legacy and purpose in life will be. He starts thinking about the words on ever y

headstone and how his own obituar y will read.

“It really boils down to, I want people to look and think, ‘You know, he believed in Jesus Christ as

his Lord and Savior. He believed in God. He wanted God to get the glor y and he had a passion for what he was doing.’” Brening said.

“Those are the tough questions: What are you going to leave? What are people going to say?

What are your kids going to say?”

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Photos by Logan Allen

ABOVE: Schmall’s hampered dexterity made it impossible for her to use a typewriter, until her special education teacher fashioned a plexi-glass cover to fit over the keys.

The cover had a hole for each letter. Clutching a plastic dowel her uncle made for her, she was able to hone-in on each letter and plunge the dowel through the holes for the corresponding letters.

RIGHT: Marsha Schmall has cerebral palsy, a condition that severely impairs her speaking, as well as her walking and coordination. Even though her life has been full of obstacles, she has remained happy and productive, finding inspiration in her faith and writing on her Underwood typewriter.

Lifelong disability hasn’t kept her down

By LOGAN ALLEN Staff Reporter

“If I didn’t have my faith, I don’t know what I’d do. It keeps me going,” Marsha Schmall says.

She formed the words slowly, opening her mouth wide to let the vowels escape and exaggerating her consonants to make herself understood. But even through labored speech, her infectious smile shined through, in the crinkles and crevices around her bright eyes and the slightly upturned corners of her mouth.

Schmall was born with spastic cerebral palsy, a condition that severely impairs her speaking, as well as her walking and coordination.

Her birth was difficult. She was a breech baby, resulting in an injury that caused her condition. And as a result, her entire life has been a constant lesson in patience and endurance.

From the beginning, she has shown everyone around her she would beat the odds.

Once doctors confirmed her condition, they said she wouldn’t survive childhood.

When she reached her 18th bir thday, they said she wouldn’t live to be 30. Now, at 64 years old, she is a living testament to the potential and fortitude of the human spirit.

She grew up on a farm six miles outside of Minatare, the first child of Herman and Esther Schmall. Marsha’s mother noticed the signs of CP early in the way Schmall’s muscles tightened abnormally. She would ballup into the fetal position, her muscles contracted and firm, hands clenched in tight fists. Her doctor wasn’t sure what was wrong but suggested she attend physical therapy. Unfamiliar with the condition, her physical therapist thought she was a strong baby, and said that she wouldn’t be surprised if she started walking before she was 9 months old.

Many years passed before Marsha would be able to walk on her own. It meant so much more than putting one foot in front of the other, a difficult feat in itself, because she didn’t have full control over her limbs. She had to conquer her fear of falling as well, because unlike other children who have better coordination and reflexes, she couldn’t protect herself if she fell. A fall could have been disastrous — leaving a deep bruise or a gash to the head.

The family made yearly trips to Lincoln so doctors could check Schmall’s progress. As a child, she had to stay in Lincoln for 14 months to be fitted for leg braces and for physical therapy.

“I didn’t like going to Lincoln, because I never knew if they would keep me there,” she said.

With the aid of leg braces, she began to walk the summer after she turned 8, and it’s a defining memory for her. She was outside with her mother at the farm. And with her mother’s encouragement, something clicked, and she put one foot in front of the other.

At school, in Scottsbluff, she couldn’t wait to show her teacher, Miss Tucker, what she had finally accomplished. And together they would take walks around the school.

She worked with a speech therapist twice a week, as well, and made tremendous strides. But it wasn’t until she learned to use a typewriter that ever ything changed.

Two Underwood typewriters sat at a table in the back of her special education class, and they held a special allure for Schmall, because if she learned to type, she would sound, at least in print, like everyone else. Mr. Bill Plank, who remained her special education teacher until she was 18, sensed her curiosity, and he devised a way for Marsha to type.

“He was an amazing man,” said Schmall’s sister, Tricia Mackiem about Plank. “He was completely devoted to that small classroom.”

Marsha developed a passion for literature and writing early on. But her hampered dexterity made it difficult for her to strike the correct letters. Plank enhanced the typewriter, fixing a durable plexiglass covering over the keys. The cover had a hole for each letter. Clutching a pencil in her fist, she could hone-in on the letter she wanted to type and plunge the pencil through the hole for the corresponding letter. Typing was slow going, but it didn’t matter.

She was finally able to communicate unbridled all the thoughts and ideas swirling around in her head.

Her parents bought her a small, baby blue and white Under wood typewriter of her own and fixed a replica of Plank’s cover over the keyboard. Her uncle, who worked in a plastic factory, made her a special plastic dowel with a large, soft grip

that was easier to grasp than a pencil.

“As soon as Marsha had the typewriter, she would be in her bedroom typing,” said Mackie.

Mr. Plank made sure that she read a book or two every couple weeks, and then he would have her write reports to make sure she retained what she read. She found the stories inspiring, and thought it would be something she would want to do.

She became known as the writer in class, bringing original stories to school often.

“I would read them in class,” said Schmall. Everyone loved her stories and encouraged her to continue writing.

Plank also encouraged students to write letters to the president. He wanted to show them that they could do things that seemed impossible and teach them that nothing is worse than failure from lack of trying.

It was a different world for handicapped people when Schmall was a child.

“Many places were not handicap-accessible. It wasn’t easy,” said Mackie.

Doctors recommended that Schmall’s parents put her in a facility. But they wouldn’t even consider it.

“I feel guilty sometimes,” said Schmall, about how her family had to sacrifice because of her condition. But her family doesn’t see it that way.

“Ever ybody loves her.

She’s been an inspiration,” said Mackie.

Cerebral palsy isn’t a progressive disorder. But Marsha has lived so long that she has developed health complications because her muscles don’t hold up her skele-

Using the Xs and Os on her typewriter, Schmall made “drawings.” This image of a church won her honorable mention at the Scottsbluff Christmas Contest in 1965.

tal structure well. Ner ve damage in her spine, caused by compressed vertebra, hampers her ability to move her extremities. Surger y was unsuccessful, and doctors said the damage would progress, affecting her right leg, then her left leg, and finally her left arm.

Schmall is a member of Hope Congregational Church in Bayard. Pastor Ted Meedor has been a huge part of Marsha’s life.

He brings her the tape of the

service each week and the bulletin. Before she lost the ability to type, she wrote a weekly devotional for the church bulletin, and now the church reruns her devotionals every week.

She is now confined to a wheelchair, and no longer has the dexterity to use her typewriter. Fortunately, before the ability left her, she wrote an autobiography, titled “The Strength of God Within Me, Kept Me Going.”

In the book, she recounts

her life in staggering detail.

She spent a grueling nine months at her desk, spending long hours compiling the notes and journal entries she’d made throughout her life, filling in gaps and editing it to completion.

“Her faith is the key,” said Mackie. “It is the purest form of faith I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never seen it falter — the strength and determination I’ve seen in her overcoming every health issue, every phase of her life.”

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YES MA’AM: Preserving WWII-era music Continued from page 1 she began working for the state as a rehabilitation counselor for the blind. Angie’s son, Jacob, 15, has ser ved as the group’s roadie and knows all the songs by heart.

Mar y was also ver y active in music at Winside High School. After graduating in 1989, she attended a few colleges before graduating with an applied science degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College. Following graduation in 1993, she moved to Bayard and began working for DuganKramer Funeral Home.

After six years, she moved to Jolliffe Funeral Home for three years and now is employed by Heritage Estates as the social ser vices assistant and chaplain.

Mar y’s husband, Stacy, is employed at 21st Centur y Equipment in Bridgeport.

While all three had musical backgrounds, Mar y is the only one who had hopes of breaking into the music industr y.

“The first time around, I was a music major and I loved being involved in music. We even had our own little band in Winside,” she said.

In 2006, all three women were in Bayard preparing for another Chimney Rock Pioneer Days celebration.

Mary and Angie were on the committee, and all three had worked together when the Morrill County musicals were active.

Angie said the three of them formed for a onetime gig, “and it went ver y well,” she said. “People continued to ask us to perform.”

“We never sat down and talked about forming a group. We just enjoyed singing and singing as a group. About four years ago, we all went in together to purchase a sound system, so I guess that made it official,” said Mary.

During those early years the women performed as a duet when scheduling problems prevented the three from being available at the same time.

“But it r eally didn’t work out. We needed all three of us,” said Michelle.

Angie produces the background tracks for the group and also sings “alto-ish” while Michelle is alto and can sing lower parts and Mar y is a soprano. The name of the

Photo by Roger Holsinger

Photo by Roger Holsinger

The members of the group Yes Ma’am, from left, Michelle Coolidge, Angie Hoff and Mary Mau, have officially been together since 2006. They say they especially enjoy singing the World War II-era songs to veterans.

group — Yes Ma’am — is somewhat of an acronym as the Ma’am stands for M a r y, A n g i e a n d Michelle. The group sings primarily World War II-era songs, including popular tunes by the Andrews Sisters the and McGuire Sisters.

People interested in seeing the group perform are encouraged to attend the WNCC Jazz Band’s spring concert on April 6 when Yes Ma’am will perform three Andrews Sisters numbers.

Angie said what she enjoys most about the group is the bond that the three women have formed and “how it affects the people who hear our songs.” She said when they first began performing for veterans, it was often hard to hold back the tears.

“I’ll never forget the first time we performed at the local veterans home and we ended the concert with “God Bless America”. A few words into the song, the men and women began to stand up, sing along and salute. We didn’t make it through it because we weren’t prepared for that type of emotion,” Angie said.

She added she also enjoys hearing the stories from veterans when they perform.

“Many of them start to tear up when they’re telling us wher e they were when they first heard a particular song.

Of, course, then I tear up, but it’s all part of a great experience.”

Mar y said that after their shows they usually split up and visit with members of the audience.

And like Angie, Mar y said she is amazed with the stories that are told and how a particular song had such an impact on a person’s life.

“The emotions that are evoked are just amazing to me,” she added.

One of Michelle’s favorite memories happened in North Platte.

“We were performing at the Golden Spike (a tall visitor tower overlooking the Bailey Yard railroad switching center), and we’re always concerned about technical issues, especially when clouds start to build up. It was in July and we were performing in the courtyard under a little overhang when it started to rain.

“In order to keep the decorations from blowing away, large rocks were used to hold things down, but when it star ted to rain, all I remember is seeing people picking up the rocks and tossing them in our direction. It was hard not to laugh while it looked like we were being stoned by the organizers,” she said.

The three said when they put on the “uniform” that they do ever ything they can in order to better relate to their audience.

They said that it’s more than just singing; it’s about bringing back memories.

“And we’ve sung long enough together that we sound like one voice,” said Michelle.

Lately, the group has begun of fering a show that includes music from the 1950s and 1960s aimed at the children of the World War II veterans.

“It’s still new, but we’ve gotten a good response,” said Mar y.

The group generally performs at festivals and other celebrations and Angie said they average 15 to 20 appearances a year, including a Christmas concert.

The three said they have no plans on expanding, although they’d love to have a band that could be part of the show. They also said they have no idea how long they will continue to perform.

“For me, it’s a release,” said Angie. “It’s something dif ferent and I’ll keep doing it until I desire not to do it anymore.”

Mar y said as long as there is an audience that appreciates the music, she will continue performing.

“I think all of us will keep doing this as long as life allows and as long as it fits into our schedules and as long as we’re able to sing,” said Michelle.

The list of performances Becker plays at is long, including the annual Christmas concert at the high school. She played the oboe in high school and continued that in college with the dream of someday playing for the Boston Pops.

BECKER: She’s got the music in her Continued from page 1 grade, her class performed, “Half Past Wednesday,” and that she played her oboe in “Guys and Dolls,” along with “Carousel,” and her junior year she played in “Westside Story,” and as a senior played the numbers for “Showboat.”

“He (Gary) knew that he wouldn’t have to train me.

But when it came to nighttime rehearsals, I had to say no because I had children at home,” she said.

When she finally gave in to nighttime rehearsals in 1991, she played accompaniment for “Annie Get Your Gun” and has never looked back. She said the work requires a lot of hours and said it’s hard to describe what it’s like playing a musical score.

However, the musical presents the most musical pieces as approximately 35 pieces — ranging from very short pieces to extended pieces — are played during each production. She said she works with the leads beginning with individual parts then adds the accompaniment both in school and after school.

She said that she and SHS Music Instructor Brad Ronne work together as a team. Barb said with any musical performance she makes sure the vocalists “hear” their parts.

“They still have to hear what the piano part is and what it sounds like,” she

said. “It’s about as important for me to use my ears (in listening to the singers) as my hands.”

In addition to playing piano for the musical, she also plays piano for the high school choirs, show choirs and soloists.

Had Barb not chosen music as a career, she said she probably would have worked to become a secondary math instructor.

“I always wanted to be a mom and if I couldn’t do this, I’d probably teach math or be an accountant because math and music are connected,” she said.

Barb is also a grandmother. Jeremy and his wife, Kristie, have a 2-month-old son, Easton, while Amanda and her husband, Chad Libsack, have a 2-year-old son, Isaac.

She has also played with Valley Voices for eight years and plays at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Scottsbluff.

In addition to enjoying her role as a grandmother, Barb said she just enjoys being involved with students and helping them become successful.

So what’s next for her?

Twenty years from now she said she hopes she’s not playing the piano but instead watching her grandchildren or reading one of her favorite murder-mystery books.

But until then, “I’ll keep doing this as long as it’s fun and I’m able to do it.”

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It’s a family affair ■ Family roofing business perseveres through the tough times

By ROGER HOLSINGER Assistant Editor

In today’s unstable economy, keeping a business moving ahead can be difficult.

But one local roofing company continues to grow due in part to the commitment to the region — and because a third of the employees are part of the family.

Rich and Laurey Schank have owned and operated Schank Roofing Service in Scottsbluf f since April 2004. When they opened, Rich said he had an “old tr uck and ladder,” and things were tough. However, an emphasis on customer ser vice and being ther e when their customers needed them have made the business one of the busiest in the region.

Both Rich and Laurey grew up in Scottsbluff and graduated from Scottsbluff High School.

Laurey, the daughter of Charlene and the late Wendel Cawley, spent much of her childhood working in the family business, Cawley’s Tater Flakes, Inc., turning home-grown potatoes into tasty potato chips.

Her grandfather, L.L. Cawl e y, b e g a n p r o c e s s i n g horseradish and honey and then in 1926 he ordered a potato chip cooker and began producing the chips in his garage. The facility was enlarged in 1932, and in 1950 a new cooker was added and the business thrived, providing snacks through the region. During that time, Laurey said, she worked in the office and, when needed, in the factory. The business closed in 1983.

Laurey attended grade school at Lincoln Heights and graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1973.

Rich Schank, son of the late Charles and W illa Schank, was raised in Scottsbluff and graduated from SHS in 1977.

Long before he became involved in the roofing business, Rich’s uncle moved to Scottsbluf f in 1927 from Beatrice and founded Schank Roofing and Sheet Metal. Then in 1956, Rich’s father opened T win City Roofing and Metal. He said his father was 12 when the family moved to Scottsbluff.

“You can say all the males in the Schank family have been in some form of construction or in the air conditioning, plumbing or heating business. We’re a trade-oriented family,” Rich said.

Laurey said the two of them met at her uncle’s birthday celebration.

The two hit it off quickly and in March 1979 they got married.

Rich was working for his father and traveled throughout the state and into Colorado and South Dakota doing roofing jobs.

“At that time we were using a lot of tar,” said Rich.

“I hated that,” added Laurey.

Laurey said she learned quickly what to do and what not to do when her husband’s clothes were spotted with tar. She found out the hard way that drying those work clothes in the dryer with tar on them was not good for the dryer.

A couple of years after their wedding, they began a family, with Carissa born in 1981. Five more children followed: Kristian in 1986, Tiffany in 1988, Brock in 1993, Kelsey in 1997 and Caleb in 1999.

The couple then took a leap of faith and opened their own roofing business in 2004.

“We built it from the ground up. It was tough but we never looked back. I would not want to relive years three, four or five, but then things began to improve,” said Rich.

Something that really helped the business make a name for itself was becoming a State Farm Premiere Ser vice Provider.

Rich said a friend of theirs suggested they send in the paperwork, and in about a week ever ything star ted moving. Coincidentally, at about the same time, Bridgeport experienced a hailstorm and all of a sudden the company had a month’s worth of jobs.

“That was a Godsend,” said Laurey.

The business grew to five pickups, several dump trailers and consistent jobs.

The couple said they attribute the growth to prayer, being part of the State Farm program and providing strong customer service.

“I drive my family crazy at times because I will answer the phone at 9:30 p.m. and I don’t turn off my cell phone,” he said. “I want customers to know that I am here for them, no matter when. But that makes for a lot of 16-hour days.

“But having the kids involved has also helped.

When you have a third of your work force with a vested interest in the business, and when you have your name on your company, you tend to provide better service,” he said.

During the last few years, the region has been plagued with massive hailstorms, and Rich said the recent storms have begun to dictate changes in how companies deal with the events. One of the most visible changes has been dictated by insurance companies that want stronger shingles that are hail resistant. The price for the stronger shingle is higher, but most insurance companies offer a discount to policyholders that upgrade their roofs.

“One of the other problems is that more and more companies come to town after a hailstorm, work and then leave town. It’s a battle but we let our customers know we’re here before and after the storm.

It (the business) has to be more than just a price. People need to be here for

Photos by Roger Holsinger

ABOVE: Everyone in the Schank family has a role in the family roofing business — from left are Brock, Tiffany, Carissa Smith, Laurey, Rich, Kelsey, Caleb and Kristian.

LEFT: Rich Schank and his son Kristian examine the synthetic rubberized roofing material being installed on Gering Junior High School. Rich Schank said the majority of material being used now is more durable than when he started and hot tar was the main flat roof covering.

them long after the storm is gone, and that is why I really emphasize the importance of customer service to all of our employees,” he said.

Laurey said while most of her family is working in the roofing business, she stays at home.

“She’s our suppor t crew,” added Rich.

While Laurey might not be crawling on roofs, she has and continues to educate the couple’s children.

All but one of the six children has received an education at home. Kristian attended Community Christian and then the Gering junior and senior high schools. Carissa attended Longfellow Elementar y School for five years and Community Christian for five years then was homeschooled. Tiffany, Brock and Kelsey spent a few years in school outside the home, but returned home, and the youngest, Caleb, has always been homeschooled.

“For me, it (the decision to home school) allowed me to work with each of the children individually and to be able to focus on their needs and strengths one-on-one. Today, there are many more options for parents that want to home school,” she said.

The two said they don’t worry about their children not getting enough social interaction and all of them are active in social activities and church youth groups. Laurey said their Christian-based cur ricu-

lum allows them to teach their children in a different manner, and that each year the children are tested to make sure they are meeting state standards in education.

“I have really enjoyed being there with them and being able to get to know them better. I know I was missing out on parts when they went to school outside the home,” Laurey said.

Something else the two focus on is family time and having dinner as a family and sharing what they experienced. The meal also includes their children that ar e mar ried and their spouses.

Carissa has been married to Chris Smith for nearly nine years and Kristian and his wife, Crystal, are approaching their sixth anniversary.

“Each year we have always given them the choice to attend public school but they always say that they are fine right here. I think it has made them more self confident, are more independent and are very well-rounded children,” she said.

Laurey said she wouldn’t change anything about her life because she believes that ever ything happens for a reason, even when what happens isn’t the best.

An example of that occurred August 2011, when Rich slipped and fell off a roof. Laurey said that for years she prayed that her husband would stop chewing tobacco, and that fall made it happen. She said her next conversation included her asking God not to be so powerful in answering her prayers.

Rich said he has fallen of f roofs about a dozen times, but this fall was the worst. He suffered broken bones and was in the hospital for an extended time.

“It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. I’m not as young as I used to be, so now I’m a little more careful.”

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6 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Pride

Star-Herald

Photo by Logan Allen

Cheryl Engelhaupt has been director of the Scotts Bluff County Fair Scholarship Pageant for 15 years. Over the years, she worked with scores of talented young women, including Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011; Ashley Bauer, Miss Nebraska 2007; and Allie Boggs, the current County Fair Queen, who will compete for Miss Nebraska in June.

Pageant director guides girls to be crowned

By LOGAN ALLEN Staff Reporter

In the 15 years that Cher yl Engelhaupt has been the director for the Scotts Bluff County Fair Scholarship Pageant, she has had the pleasure of working with some of western Nebraska’s brightest and most beautiful young ladies, including 2011 Miss America Teresa Scanlan of Gering.

“Teresa and I go clear back to when she was 13, but I met her when she was 11,” said Engelhaupt.

Scanlan’s sister, Sarah, was Teen Queen at the Scotts Bluf f pageant in 2004. “I guess Teresa sat back and thought, ‘Maybe that’s something I could do.’ She was always beyond her years,” she said.

She remembers bumping into Scanlan at Herberger’s and asking her if she was going to compete in the teen pageant for 13to 16-year-olds. She said she thought so and ended up competing that year and won. A few years later she won Miss Scotts Bluff County and went on to Miss Nebraska, and then on to Miss America.

Her rise to Miss America was swift.

“She just turned 17 in Februar y to compete in June. And then from June to Januar y, she competed at Miss America,” said Engelhaupt.

Engelhaupt recalled being at the Gering Civic Center for a press event for Scanlan before she left to compete for Miss America.

She was impressed with the way Scanlan, at the tender age of 17, handled the attention, never missing a beat when reporters asked her question after question.

Engelhaupt leaned toward Scanlan’s mother and said, “She’s mesmerizing. I don’t know what it’s going to be, but she’s going to be famous one day.”

“I thought to myself, what are the chances, a 17-year-old Miss America,” she said. “But she has such a strong faith.”

Engelhaupt said she coached Scanlan while she was in her pageants.

After she swept the Scotts Bluf f County pageants and she went on to Miss Nebraska, she was under the direction of Jay and Amy Engel and the state directors, who got her ready for Miss America.

“Teresa is so advanced in her years,” said Engelhaupt. “She always was, even back when she was 13 years old. She’s just so smart.”

Four areas of competition decide who will be crowned queen at the Scotts Bluff County pageant: application, interview, talent and evening gown.

Along with their applications, the girls submit a copy of their school transcript for the judges to review before the inter view on pageant day. There aren’t any specific requirements for academic success, but usually the girls are good students. Engelhaupt said the pageant is open to any girl who wants to compete, but it does help to have a good transcript. Scanlan was salutatorian of her graduating class at Scottsbluff High School in 2010.

Engelhaupt said that the majority of the preparation is devoted to the interview, because it is one of the most important areas of competition. She’ll ask various political and current events questions that the girls might encounter at the pageant. She added that taking speech at school usually gives a contestant an advantage.

“When they start out at 13, it’s so fun to watch them, because it’s their first year and they’re timid and they’re scared, and you just encourage them.

This is a growing experience. And they’ll come back next year, and you see so much growth, just from the experience. They start developing that poise in front of the judges.”

If a young lady advances to the Miss Nebraska competition, she said, “They’ll go out and hire interview and talent coaches.”

She said that her local pageant is a foot-in-thedoor, the first opportunity for girls to enter the pageant world. But even for those that don’t continue on to higher levels of competition, it’s a program that encourages girls to be educated, well-rounded and socially conscious women in their community.

When she’s not working in the pageant world, Engelhaupt works as the Frontier 55 director for First National Bank in Scottsbluff, Chadron and Alliance, organizing events and activities for seniors.

Engelhaupt never competed in pageants, but she had two daughters who

did. She organized her first county pageant in 1999, because her daughter Angela was the Miss Scotts Bluff County Fair Queen. The program was in its third year. The previous organizer quit. “ We t h o u g h t , w e l l , maybe we could put a page a n t t o g e t h e r, s o s h e could give her crown to the next gal. With a lot of encouragement people gave me, we put on our first little pageant at Mitchell High School. I started 15 years ago, and I haven’t quit.”

On average, a total of 15 girls compete for Scotts Bluff County Fair Queen and Teen Queen titles. And about 15 volunteers help make sure the event goes without a hitch. Engelhaupt said that careful planning, attention to detail and an excellent pageant committee make the entire process run smoothly.

“I have a lot of good memories. My reward has been these little gals, and giving them a door of opportunity to go on and do great things.”

Another former contestant, Ashley Bauer, moved up through the ranks, winning Teen Queen, Miss Scotts Bluf f County Queen, and went on to be Miss Nebraska. “I truly have been blessed. Being able to develop these friendships with these girls, because they’re the ones that have the talent.

They’re the ones that have done this.”

The pageant also offers a Little Sister program, in which girls too young to compete are paired with contestants. They get to know each other during the week of the pageant and organize a dance routine for the pageant.

“You just hope that you can touch a lot of these little girls, so they’ll keep their sights high,” she said. “They look up to these girls and think, ‘I want to be like that some day.’ You just hope it’s a good example for these little girls, that they’ll get good grades, that they’ll stay with good friends.”

Last year, three or four of the teen contestants

had participated in the Little Sister program.

“Our little sister program has grown so much,” she said.

This year, the pageant will be on Aug. 3. It might seem far away, but there’s a lot to do in the coming months.

Allie Boggs is the current county queen. They are getting her ready for Miss Nebraska in June, and orientation for the pageant is in the first week of April. To get the girls ready for orientation, they’ve got to have their paper work and their talent ready in April.

“It’s kind of a year-round thing,” she said. “You’re always working with them, getting them prepared for Miss Nebraska.”

Courtesy photo

Engelhaupt remembers vividly seeing the former Scotts Bluff County Fair Queen, Teresa Scanlan, crowned Miss America. “I thought to myself, ‘What are the chances? A 17-year-old Miss America,’” she said.

“But she has such a strong faith.” Engelhaupt was with Scanlan to celebrate the monumental achievement.

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For Christmas, Amundsen made a mount of his son’s first whitetail deer trophy. He said taxidermy is a way for him to preserve special memories for his son.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 7

Photo by Logan Allen

This is an example of a fish skin mount of a largemouth bass. Amunsden said the fish lose all of their color in the freezer. The colors have to be airbrushed back into the fish, using pictures of the fish when it was caught.

Bluffs Middle School educator turns hobby into business

By LOGAN ALLEN Staff Reporter

In the basement of his home, Jon Amundsen creates art from life, in the form of taxidermy animals.

After about 20 years in the craft he has accumulated quite a collection, creating a kind of shrine to the Panhandle’s wildlife in his basement. Busts of antelope and whitetail deer hang on the walls. A bufflehead duck, hen and rooster pheasant and bobwhite that was his son’s first mount his son did by himself won him Best of Class at the county fair. And a couple large mouth bass and a rainbow trout make up the aquatic portion of his collection.

“I grew up in Morrill and love to hunt and fish,” he said, “and I grew up seeing some mounts myself, and so it kind of sparked the interest.”

As an avid hunter and fisher, it seemed natural to want to preserve his trophies.

“For an outdoorsman to buy a mount, it’s pretty costly,” he said. And in the beginning, he didn’t have the money to commission one.

“So I just picked up a couple books and read how to get started, ordered some videos and kept reading, and lo and behold, it’s led to 20 years later, to kind of this hobby business I have now.”

He said you have to be licensed by the state to do taxidermy on any big game or native species of Nebraska, and you have to be federally licensed to do any kind of waterfowl and migratory species.

“Even my 11-year-old son is licensed,” he said.

Taxidermy has been a special activity for him and his son. Last Christmas, Amundsen made a mount of his son’s first large game trophy, a white-tailed deer.

And he has a two-sided replica of a rainbow trout that he and his son made together.

Amundsen’s first projects were small game and fowl. He started with them because they take less time to complete. Then he moved on to larger game, such as deer, and more recently, he’s started mounting fish.

After he comes home from a hunting trip, the process begins right away.

He takes reference measurements of the animal, so he can order a form to

which he will graft the hide.

If it’s not a perfect form, he can add some exclusion wire and cotton to better replicate the original measurements. He skins the animal first. Waiting to do this step runs the risk of allowing the hide to spoil. Then he fleshes the hide, removing any of the grease and any leftover meat. Then it goes through a tanning process.

“I do all of my own tanning,” he said, “so I don’t have to ship anything out.”

Fish are typically more difficult to mount. He said there are two kinds of fish mounts: reproductions and skin mounts. Amundsen has both in his collection.

As the name implies, reproductions are not real animals. Essentially, they are recreations of the real thing. And it takes a particular eye for detail.

When he gets a good catch, he takes pictures of the fish and records its measurements, so he can order a mold in the fish’s likeness.

“The fish lives on, and you can catch it again some other day,” he said. “From a sportsman’s standpoint I agree with the reproductions.”

The mold is painted with brushes and airbrushes to make it look like the real thing.

The process of making a skin-mounted fish is similar to making a traditional mount of a deer or fowl. For this mount, he uses the fish’s flesh. He takes reference pictures of the fish for this process as well, because fish’s skin will lose all of its color in the freezer before he has a chance to make the mount.

“It’s kind of like a blank canvas,” he said. The fish regains its color through meticulous airbr ushing.

False eyes are added last to complete the realistic affect.

For the fowl, he said, he uses everything except the beak and eyes.

“The only skeletal structure that’s real on the birds would be the lower wing bones and the feet.” Like a fish’s skin, the bird’s feet lose their color in the freezer, becoming a dull grey. All the true colors have to be airbrushed back into the feet.

“The ducks get a little more tricky since they have a variety of colors,” he said.

“The bills on all my birds are artificial. It cuts down on shrinkage that naturally occurs. So a mount will gen-

Courtesy photo

In addition to running a taxidermy hobby business, Jon Amundsen coaches the seventh-grade boy’s basketball team at Bluffs Middle School. He played basketball at Morrill High School.

erally last longer because you don’t have the shrinkage to it,” said.

He said that a full-bodied turkey is the most difficult animal for him to mount.

“There’s a lot more feathers to place; it’s a larger bird.”

Getting a bird on ice quickly is important to pre-

vent spoilage. But if it is left in the freezer too long, freezer burn will dry out the skin, especially around the eyes or the beak, making those areas extremely difficult or nearly impossible to skin.

“The big thing you want to watch out for is freezer burn. You can leave a typi-

cal bird in the freezer for about a year, year-and-ahalf.”

However, if he’s making one for a client, he likes to complete the project as quickly as possible.

If this sounds like it’s a time consuming process, it is. An average deer can take Amundsen four to six hours to complete. It’s a hobby business that he loves, but he said, “I don’t want it to get to the point where I can’t enjoy my family and friends.”

Aumundsen is also a sixth-grade science teacher and seventh-grade boy’s basketball coach at Bluffs Middle School. He said he was inspired by a couple of his high school teachers to pursue the career. And his wife, Deirdre Amundsen, is a fifth-grade teacher at We s t m o o r E l e m e n t a r y School.

His first experience working with children was with the Panhandle Mental Health Center’s Program for Alternative Learning doing behavior modification.

“I ran a summer camp,” he said. “It was fun because it allowed me to introduce

kids to the fishing and the outdoors. I knew then that was where I needed to be, working with kids.”

He said getting the kids outside in the fresh air, experiencing nature was a therapeutic experience for them, and something he liked to see as an outdoorsman.

“The first time you take a kid fishing, they don’t know what to expect. They go through the process of baiting the hooks, the worms, and then catching that first fish. It’s pretty awesome to see that excitement.”

Occasionally, he’ll bring in a mount as a visual aid for his classes.

“A lot of kids haven’t experienced it, so I walk them through briefly of how it’s done,” he said. “Some of them get squeamish, and some really enjoy it.”

A few years ago, a student who was a fellow hunter showed a particular interest.

“He came down a couple nights and watched, and then we got him licensed and certified. He’s doing some pieces by himself now.”

P8 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Pride

Star-Herald

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SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 9

College mixup redirects banker’s career path

By ROGER HOLSINGER Assistant Editor

When Denise Forsstrom was younger, she had hopes of becoming a schoolteacher.

So she attended Western Nebraska Community College for two years and then completed her education at Chadron State College, graduating in 1994.

However, because of some misinformation from her advisor, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, but needed a Bachelor of Science degree to become an English literature teacher.

She said she had to make a decision about her future and while she wanted to teach, “I was tired of college and didn’t want to spend two more years (in college). I thought I could always go back if I wanted. I had my degree and I knew something would come up,” she said.

And it did.

Today, Denise ser ves as an assistant vice president and community banker for Valley Bank and Trust Company at its First Avenue location in Scottsbluff.

Denise, the youngest of five children was born in Sidney to Russell and Donna George. She grew up on a farm five miles south of Sunol. She graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in 1989.

She said after earning her degree from CSC, she remained in Chadron and worked. Then she heard about a possible opening with the bank and in 1995 she was hired by Gering State Bank as a proof operator. Using a three-foot long machine that included a 10-key adding machine, she would make sure the account number for deposits matched the amounts. She said she would proof hundreds of slips a day. Today, the process is done electronically in about half

Photo by Roger Holsinger

Denise Forsstrom never thought she’d end up working in finance when she first entered college. But she said she has learned to deal with life’s little changes. Forsstrom has been working for Valley Bank and Trust Company for 17 years and is the assistant vice president and community banker.

the time.

Prior to moving to Scottsbluff, Denise met Rick Forsstrom, but at the time she was dating one of his friends.

“A year later we were both at

During that same year, Gera wedding dance, both single, ing State Bank opened a Scottsand we hit it off.”

She moved from Chadron to bluff location and the bank offiScottsbluff, began working and cially changed its name to the two were married in June 1996.

See FORSSTROM, page 10

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10 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Pride

Star-Herald

FORSSTROM: College mixup redirects banker’s career path Continued from page 9 Valley Bank and Trust. At the new location Denise began working as a teller and then a loan clerk. She was then promoted to new accounts officer and then was made a loan officer. In 2003, she was asked to be the branch manager at the Alber tson’s branch and worked there until the store changed hands and the branch closed in 2008.

The couple welcomed their first daughter, Abby, in 1999.

“We both wanted more children, but then in 2002, I had a miscarriage. About a year later I was having some problems and my doctor suggested that I have a hysterectomy,” she said.

Denise, who came from a large family, and always wanted a large family, was not ready to stop at one child.

“Rick was content with one, but I wanted more. We never wanted Abby to be an only child because if, God forbid, something happened to the two of us, Abby would be alone and have no one else.

“I gave myself some time following the surgery to heal physically and mentally. We waited another year and we both agreed that we wanted to be parents again, so I started doing some research from international to domestic adoptions and something we found was that it was so expensive.”

She said during one of those Internet searches, she came across the Nebraska Children’s Home Society website. She found out that the NCHS is the only adoption agency in the area that didn’t charge an adoption fee. Adoptive parents must pay their own legal expenses, but “the agency sees itself as working for the child and that child has no source of income,” she said.

It wasn’t a quick process.

Even though the Forsstroms were already parents, they had to go through parenting classes and pages of paperwork.

“But that was OK and so was the two-day class,” she said. “At first we didn’t want an open adoption, but after the class we saw things differently.”

Something else that opened their eyes was hearing from mothers who had given up their children through closed adoptions.

“Being a mom, I don’t think I could have gone through giving up a child and knowing that I could never see my child again.”

On July 19, 2006, the couple was called to Regional West Medical Center. The birth mother needed a cesarean section and when they arrived after the birth, Denise said the mother didn’t appear interested in following through with the adoption.

“So we went home and I packed up everything that

we had purchased for the baby, because we didn’t want the mother and baby needing items. In Nebraska, a woman has 48 hours before she is allowed to sign the adoption papers. Those 48 hours came and went and we had just about given up when we got a call from the birth father. He asked us to come to the hospital.

“It is the best and worst day of your life. On one hand you’re taking a baby away from a mom, but at the same time you know that the adoption is the best thing for the child and you’re so happy to be bringing home your new baby,” she said.

About three days after her birth, Katie began her life with her new family.

Denise said that Katie knows who her birth parents are and has known them since she was about 2 years old.

“I think that is a good thing because she’ll never question where she came from. We have pictures of both her birth parents up, and one day she started asking some questions about those pictures.

“About the same time we were reading a book to her, ‘Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Bor n,’ by Jamie Lee Curtis, which deals with the subject of adoption. That really helped us and helped Katie to see that she is a member of our family, that we love her, but she also has two other people who care for her as well.”

Shortly after the adoption process was completed and after the bank branch closed at the Albertson’s store, Denise went back to the main bank in Gering where she worked on loan reviews and compliance. Then in 2009, she returned to the Scottsbluff location, working in the lending department.

In 2010, she was asked to manage the branch.

“I never thought I would be in banking,” she said, “but I really like being around the customers. I found out that I was pretty good at it.”

Something she said she doesn’t have a desire to do is to farm. Her parents still farm the land she grew up on, and each summer she takes about two weeks off and shows her daughters what life is like when it’s time to cut wheat.

“In July we go back to Sunol and help with the wheat harvest. The girls love riding in the combine and trucks. It gives them a taste of what it was like when I was their age. Something they really enjoy is eating lunches in the old station wagon.

“But two weeks out of the year is enough for me. It’s a hard life living off the land,” she said.

Denise also has an eye for photography, with three of her favorite images on the wall in her office. One of them is a view from their home near Lake Minatare,

Photo by Roger Holsinger

ABOVE: Part of Denise’s day at Valley Bank and Trust entails going over deposits and making sure everything balances.

Here, she works with teller Jessica McDaniel. Denise began working for the bank in 1995 as a proof operator.

Courtesy photo

Rick and Denise have two children. Their oldest Abby, right, is a seventh-grader at Bluffs Middle School while Katie is in kindergarten at St. Agnes School. The couple adopted Katie in 2006. The process was not easy, but Denise said it was well worth the classes and paperwork.

while two others are from her family’s farm.

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“I guess you could say that I am comfortable in my ruts.”

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SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 11

Couple helps Coyotes grow through unified sports

By JOE DUTTON Staff Reporter

In 1987, a blizzard struck Sterling, Colo., ultimately changing the course of a baseball coach’s life.

Pat Horner saw a man stuck in a snowdrift and got out of his pickup to help. After lending assistance, Horner kept seeing the driver around town. A special education teacher, the man learned Horner was a coach. The teacher told Horner that he should visit his school to see his program for athletes with special needs.

Since accepting the offer, Horner has worked in “unified sports,” which include special needs children in the programs.

“He says, ‘You need to come over and coach this,’ so I started coaching,” he said. “I’ve done nothing but unified sports. I’ve always had peer partners and athletes on the court together.”

After Horner got involved with unified sports through Special Olympics, his wife, Wendy Kemling, soon followed in 1989. Since then, the Scottsbluff couple has spent countless hours volunteering within the valley through unified sports.

Originally from Sterling, Kemling, who is the Scottsbluff Public Schools director of student services, and Horner, head of maintenance and mentor for Minatare Public Schools, have always had a soft spot for children and young adults that need a helping hand in life.

Kemling was inspired by a close school friend, Billy Kintner, to start participating in the program with Horner. She said he was a unique young man with autism that included savant characteristics.

“He joined FBLA and National Honor Society with me. He did a ton, and up until he passed away, he called me regularly. We conversed four or five times a year, even though he was in Wyoming and I was here,” Kemling said.

The couple said he was very intelligent and was an inspiration to the both of them.

“He is the reason why I am where I am today,” Kemling said. “He is the reason why I do what I do in my job as well as for this program.”

In 2005, Kemling and Horner moved to Scottsbluff for job opportunities in the area schools. Kemling said they first felt lost and it was hard to leave Sterling since they had formed such a strong program there. But with the

support of several families, they were eventually able to start a similar program in Scottsbluff.

“Leaving my students was the hardest thing, but after moving I picked up new favorites — but they’re all my favorites,” Kemling said. “They all have a special place in my heart.”

Kemling said the program also helps the players as students, and eventually they are able to get jobs, since the program helps build social skills.

Horner said the program here started with a high school-age basketball team.

At the time, they didn’t realize the potential for growth in the program.

“When I came up here, there were a couple of people that started to discuss Special Olympics with us.

There wasn’t really a youth age unified sports team in the area,” Horner said.

In 2006, with several families from the community, Kemling and Horner were able to create the Scotts Bluff County Coyotes Unified Sports team through the help of the players, who chose the name of the team.

They started with 15 young adults under the age of 18 and have since grown from there, making it an estimated 180 strong today.

Horner said they don’t turn anyone away. They try to help a lot of kids and not just those with cognitive delays.

“In addition to the support for our athletes, it’s a mentoring program for kids who are at risk in our schools that need that support. They need that family, and we provide that for quite a few kids,” Kemling said.

Horner said they have had some troubled kids that have turned around because of the program, and it has given them purpose to do something positive.

“I can think of two or three kids in particular that have done that. It’s a great thing to them,” Horner said. “They are understanding us and they’re understanding what they can do.

They see the power of it all.”

Horner said there is a transition within the athletes as they grow through the different age groups.

This year, the couple started an ages 8-12 basketball program and from there, participants work their way up into a 15-and-under group, then transition to a 16-21 group and finally to a 22-and-older group.

Horner described a player named Preston who was timid. But since he started

playing basketball three nights a week, it has turned him into a force to be reckoned with. Horner said the program has turned him from a kid who was hanging his head to someone who is a key player.

“This kid has transformed like you wouldn’t believe,” Horner said. “He now aggressively rebounds the ball, but rather than go back up with it, he dribbles back around to the top of the key and then shoots.

“He is probably one of the most improved players over the past two years.”

The program also includes a volleyball league that started with five teams and now is up to eight, with 11 or 12 players on a team.

“We have gotten the word out, and people just keep coming,” Horner said.

The Carpenter Center, YMCA and Scottsbluff Public Schools have allowed

the program to use their gyms. Horner said the support of such partners and volunteers is the most important aspect of unified sports.

“Our peer partners are awesome and what make the program run,” Horner said. “We’ve had people that have just come up to us and say, “I’ve been meaning to give this to you,” and sometimes they don’t even know us. I’ve had people come up and hand me checks out of the blue. I have even had one person that handed me a $1,500 check and said, ‘Could you put this in your program?’”

See COUPLE, page 12 Photo by Joe Dutton

Volunteer referee Pat Horner goes for a lay-up during an intermission of a Unified Sports game at the Scottsbluff YMCA.

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Pride

12 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Star-Herald

COUPLE: Couple helps team grow through unified sports

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Photos by Joe Dutton

Volunteer referee Pat Horner gives a high five to A.J. Bates of Scottsbluff during a Unified Sports game at the YMCA in Scottsbluff.

Volunteer coach Wendy Kemling places a beanbag on the head of Robert Salazar of Gering in order for him to gain balance, control and force him to look up when dribbling a basketball during practice at Longfellow Elementary.

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Ben Gibbon of Minatare plays with a basketball during practice at Longfellow Elementary with volunteer coach Wendy Kemling by his side.

Continued from page 11 Donations go to an account with the Special Olympics of Nebraska that is designated for the Coyotes. The funds have helped team members play in full uniforms along with warm-ups. Horner said he wants the players to have what everyone else has.

“If the high school’s having banquets, we’re having banquets. If the high schools have warm-ups, we’re having warm-ups.

The reason I do this is because I want to have the same opportunities as all other athletic programs.”

They recently had fan shirts and other fan gear made for families and fans who help cheer on the teams. Horner said there are typically 90 athletes with their families. Kemling said when the teams travel to a gym on the Front Range, they pretty much take over the place, walking in with nearly 200 people who help support the program.

“I’ve had people ask me, ‘How are you doing this?’ I’ve tried to tell them ‘I’ll come talk to you, but you’ve got to be willing to put the time in. Because if you don’t put the time in, you’re not going to get it done,’” Horner said.

Once players become Coyotes, they are Coyotes forever. Horner said he has even called players who moved away, just to let them know they are still welcome into the pack if they want to play a game.

“We love what we do, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Kemling said.

“It’s not about us. It’s about our kids, and it’s about being able to do what we need to

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Julian Murillo of Gering reaches toward a practice jersey as Wendy Kemling hands them out for a scrimmage game at Longfellow Elementary.

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SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 13

One busy lady ■ Dalton woman says she has the best of all worlds

By ROGER HOLSINGER Assistant Editor

DALTON — Colleen McKay says she likes to try to give herself at least one day off a week, but that doesn’t always happen.

“I have a hard time saying no,” she said.

McKay, who grew up in Dalton, left for a number of years.

When she returned, she was married and ready to begin a family.

“I have the best of both worlds. I get to be in the big city and then come home to quiet country living,” she said.

McKay works at least three days a week as the Dalton village clerk, and then she generally spends three days a week flying as a flight attendant for United Airlines. She also serves as a substitute bus driver for the Leyton Public School District and, with the help of some relatives, keeps her parents’ farm operating. She also tries to keep up with her high school children and, when time allows, spends time with her husband, Patrick.

“The flexibility that I have with my jobs and my employers makes it possible and I really appreciate the village board and the school district working with my flying schedule.

“It’s a good fit for me,” said McKay. Colleen (Winkelman) McKay was born in Cherry Point, N.C. Her father, Donald, was stationed there with the Marine Corps. She said her parents always laughed about how inexpensive it was for her to have been born on base.

“I think they used to say I cost about $5,” she said.

With their two children, her parents, Don and Connie (Rose) Winkelman moved back to the Dalton area in 1967 following Don’s discharge. Don was raised in the Dalton area while Connie was from Potter. Don began working for the Wheatbelt Public Power District, a job he held until he retired. A few years later, Colleen and her older sister, Lori, welcomed a sister, Donna, who was born at the Dalton Hospital.

McKay graduated from Leyton High School in 1983 and then enrolled at Kearney State College.

Not fitting in the college mold, McKay jokingly said she “ran away” to California and stayed with her aunt, Lynda Rose.

McKay worked numerous jobs in the San Francisco area. “I guess I was looking for something I liked,” she said.

In 1989, in what might be considered fate, she and some friends crashed a party where she met her future husband.

“Some of my girlfriends knew

the band that was playing at this New Year’s Eve party in Woodside and they told us they would make sure we got in. It was black tie and so we got all dressed up.

Patrick was the chef for the caterer and we hit it off.”

The couple exchanged vows in the Dalton Legion Park in June 1994.

While working for ITT Financial Ser vices in Pleasanton, Calif., in 1990, she heard that United Airlines was doing a mass hiring and decided to apply. She said she went through two inter views and was even trained as a flight attendant before she was officially offered the position. She was hired with San Francisco ser ving as her hub.

“It was different when I first started,” she said. “Passengers could still smoke on international flights and people dressed nice. I was glad when they stopped allowing people to smoke.”

Her main flight was nonstop from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., on a 747, the largest aircraft United flew at the time.

During her flights to the nation’s capitol, she said she would often see more news people than celebrities. But on other flights, while working in first class, she had the occasion to see and visit with a few famous people, including Bill Gates, Patrick Duffy and Betty White.

“Huey Lewis was on a flight I remember, but he didn’t fly first class, he rode with his band in coach.

“But my all-time favorite celebrity was Betty White. She was just a joy and I told her how much I enjoyed her work and added that my grandmother also liked her, and she replied, ‘Well, she and I are probably about the same age.’”

She said even though she had a solid job with United, she had to work another job to make ends meet.

“The money wasn’t the best when I started to fly and it was very expensive to live in Marin County. My parents couldn’t believe I was paying $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.”

In 1995, Colleen and Patrick moved back to Dalton.

“That was the same year that DIA opened and it was my new hub.”

The two moved to a farm west of Dalton that her parents had purchased years before and the two made the best of an older farmhouse. For the next few years she would make the 189mile (one way) drive from her house to the United Airline parking lot. She was flying a full

schedule and drove back and forth to DIA six to seven times a month.

In 1996, the couple welcomed twins — Dani and Cody. Colleen continued the full schedule until the twins began activities in junior high school. It was then she said she began thinking about trying to spend more time at home.

Then came Sept. 10, 2001.

“We had just finished one flight and I was supposed to have been flying the next day, but something got mixed up and we ended up landing at DIA and they told me to go home, so I did. The next day, I was sleeping when Patrick came in and woke me up, ‘You have to see what’s going on,’” she said.

While she didn’t have any friends die in the two United Airline flights that were taken over by the terrorists, she knew a lot of people that were stranded in airports.

McKay said the horrific event definitely had an impact on her, her flight crew and the public.

“Something that really changed was the awareness we had. Things were really tense for a while,” she said. “Security changes not only affected the public, but things changed for us including the screening process before we were allowed to do our job. Not only did we (those employed by airlines) become more aware of people and what was happening on our flights, the public also changed. They behaved better, were a little more patient and became more aware of their surroundings.”

She said passengers also became more helpful in all situations.

“If someone was getting out of hand, they took it upon themselves to help with the situation.

We definitely felt like they had our backs. Ever yone’s awareness became a little sharper,” McKay said.

She added that even during the boarding process, if she or someone else felt uncomfortable about a passenger or situation, security was quick to respond.

“We all worked more as a team to make sure everyone felt safe in taking a flight.

“Having air marshals on the flights is also comforting. We knew what flights they were on, but the public didn’t. But I think the public felt better knowing there could be a marshal on their flight,” she said.

McKay said something that continues to bother her about the whole tragic events of Sept.

11, 2001, is how flight crews have been ignored for valiant efforts that no one witnessed.

“I find it somewhat dishearten-

Photo by Roger Holsinger

McKay is a substitute bus driver for the Leyton Public Schools District and said there are days when she’ll drive a morning bus route, go to work at the village office and then drive again for an evening activity. But she said it all works out for her.

ing that a majority of the focus was on those who perished in the buildings and the firemen and policemen that were involved.

“Very little attention was given to flight crew members who did all they could do. There was a lot going on up there to save the lives of the people who were on those jets. In a small tube at 30,000 feet, your resources are somewhat restricted. In my opinion the pilots and flight attendants didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. They were and remain the first line of defense,” she said.

During the last few years, McKay said she believes crews and passengers are a bit more relaxed and that she feels safe when she is in the air.

Around 2009, she and Patrick decided that if she could pick up another job, she could cut back her flights to three days a week.

So she passed her bus-driving test and began working as a substitute bus driver for Leyton schools. She said the bus driving allows her to see her children participate in activities.

Then her mother told her that the village clerk position was opening up and suggested she apply.

“So I did. I was interviewed and appointed in July 2009.”

In addition to flying three days a week and working at the town

hall three days a week, she helped her father at the farm.

“If I was home, I’d hear him (her father) pull up in the yard and I would go out and see if he needed any help.

“One time I had just gotten home from a flight and was still wearing by high heels and dress and he wanted some help unhooking the plow. I asked him if I could change first and he said he was kind of in a hurry. So I backed the tractor up and unhooked the plow and all the (hydraulic) hoses and my hands were covered with grease and dirt.

“I went over to dad, he was wearing some jeans and when I went to wipe off my hands on his jeans, he looked at me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I needed to wipe my hands off; remember, I was in my United Airlines uniform, and he said, ‘not on my jeans,’” McKay said with a laugh.

McKay said she has no regrets moving back to a town of 320.

“It’s a great place to raise children and I’m very grateful for the time I got to spend with my father. I saw my parents every day, and today, mom always stops after having coffee with the ladies,” she said.

Her husband is employed with Kimball Health Ser vices and Dani and Cody are sophomores at Leyton High School in Dalton.

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14 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Pride

Star-Herald

Chiropractor reaps rewards of volunteering

By CHABELLA GUZMAN Staff Reporter

Dr. Sam Mark believes in bringing good health to others, and that part of good health is promoting a sound community.

When Mark isn’t working at Wills Chiropractic Clinic, where he is a partner, he volunteers with several organizations in the community.

A native of Torrington, Wyo., he attended the University of Wyoming before getting his doctorate in 2003 at Cleveland Chiropractic in Kansas.

“After my doctorate, my first job ever was with Wills Chiropractic,” Mark said.

“Dr. (Daryl) Wills and I are partners now, have been for about five years.”

Mark started down the road of chiropractic in high school. He said he had debilitating digestive and intestinal issues and his parents, Pete and Katherine, tried a wide range of medical procedures.

They found nothing worked before deciding to try chiropractic care.

He said his father also found relief from chiropractic care when he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer.

“It helped him a lot to take the edge off the pain without taking heavy narcotics so he could function the way he wanted to function.”

Mark’s father died in 1998, but what he had witnessed prompted him to look at the practice as a career.

“My experiences with chiropractic guided me in this path,” he said. “I always wanted to be a doctor, I just wasn’t sure what kind until my experiences with chiropractic paved a path for me.”

Helping people is a passion for Mark. He loves his work, but realizes the medical field is not for everyone.

“People will say it pays well or it would be cool to do,” Mark said. “Those people don’t do as well as those that

want to help their patients and have them do well.”

Mark was awarded the Visionary Super Star Award this year by the ScottsbluffGering Chamber of Commerce for the work he has done in the community.

“When I was a kid, my parents were active in volunteering for different things,” Mark said. “They instilled family values in us, and I get a lot of giving back from my church and my belief and faith.”

Mark has studied different people who have been successful in life, and he finds the most successful people give back.

“I’m a firm believer that you don’t get unless you give something back,” he said. “I didn’t get my own award because of me, but my patients bless me and come here.

They allow me to do what I do.”

He added that his wife and his two boys, Jacob and Zachary, allow him to benefit from spending time volunteering. Plus, a side benefit is showing his children the importance of giving back.

Mark’s volunteering includes helping St. Agnes Catholic Church with the annual Premier fundraiser. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, where he has spent time wrapping Toys for Tots and serving pancakes at a monthly breakfast.

He has been active in the Scottsbluff-Gering Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Scottsbluff/Gering Rotary Club and the Gering Business Club.

Mark volunteers in health care as an alternate delegate for the American Chiropractic Association for Nebraska.

He is on the Board of Directors of Nebraska Chiropractic Association.

“I helped out fellow chiropractor Tom Rohrick with the Monument Marathon,” Mark said, “coordinating the doc-

tors that treated runners when they finished.”

He said chiropractic has changed in the public’s view over the past decade.

“Changes have come dramatically,” he said. “People see that chiropractic does work. … For many it’s now the norm to have an eye doctor, family doctor and chiropractor.”

The health care field is awash in overworked doctors, but Mark admits he is not one of them. He knows a health care giver’s life span is less than the average person.

“We tend to take the burdens of our patients on, and if the doctor is not strong-minded, that can be a lot of stress,” he said.

Mark is fortunate, he said, to be allowed to have a shorter work week so he can refresh and be spot on when helping his patients.

“Volunteering takes away from daily life,” he said. “It lets me help other people and is so rewarding, physically and mentally.”

Photo by Chabella Guzman

ABOVE: Sam Mark is a partner at the Wills Chiropractic in Gering. He received his doctorate in the spring of 2003 and came to work at the clinic that fall. Here he explains the nervous system of the b o d y, w h i c h i s a n important part of anyone’s health Courtesy photo

LEFT: Sam Mark and his son Jacob show off a fish they caught. Mark has always enjoyed the great outdoors, having grown up hunting and fishing with his own father.

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Star-Herald

SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 15

Clerk magistrate oversees Panhandle’s busiest courts

By MAUNETTE LOEKS New Media Editor

Behind the counter of the Scotts Bluff County Court, things are always bustling.

Clerks are scheduling cases and filing paperwork for the Panhandle’s largest court. For 10 years, Scotts Bluff County Clerk Magistrate Dianne Lana has overseen the details that keep the courts running smoothly.

Lana ventured into a career in the law when she took a position as the Scotts Bluff Public Defender’s Of fice of fice manager. Lana worked for the public defender’s office, where she learned about criminal cases and some civil work in the child support enforcement area, for nine years. After being a stay-at-home mom until her daughter went to school, she was looking for a position and had an associate’s degree in the business/secretarial field from Western Nebraska Community College.

She also found law interesting.

“I found the flow of cases, from star t to finish, interesting — preparing for a trial, the different lines of defense, doing research, drafting orders and motions. My mom was a legal secretary, so I guess that I followed in her footsteps, unintentionally” she said.

Her mom can relate, on occasion, when Lana speaks about her job.

Later she transitioned to a position in the Scotts Bluff County Court, working as a court stenographer. Though it seems to conjure up a romantic image, it’s simply about transcribing the legal proceedings of the court for appeals and other court proceedings.

“I was always in my office, typing

away,” she said. “I was busy all the time.”

It was interesting, Lana said, expanding her legal knowledge about probate cases and small claims cases. It was the perfect training ground for Lana, who took the post of longtime Clerk Magistrate Joan D. Fisher when she retired.

As the clerk magistrate, Lana has a lot of duties. She supervises court staff in charge of filing, recording and documenting court proceedings, as well as working with customers.

In 2008, Scotts Bluff County also absorbed cases heard in Banner County. With the two Scotts Bluff County Court judges overseeing cases in Banner County, she said, it made sense for Scotts Bluff County to hear and handle cases. At the time, Banner County had one halftime clerk, but caseload numbers didn’t even justify that person.

“The transition has gone smooth,” Lana said of Scotts Bluff County absorbing Banner County functions. “Now, everything works smoothly.”

As clerk magistrate, Lana has some judicial duties. She can preside over misdemeanor and traffic cases, though she says it doesn’t happen often with two judges. She can also sign warrants, set bonds and preside over detention hearings. Most often, she will preside over informal probate cases, cases where the affairs of the deceased have been set out in a will and no legal matters exist for a judge to consider. She is bound by the same judicial code of conduct as judges.

And, perhaps one of the most important of her duties, Lana serves as the county’s justice of the peace.

During an average year, she presides over 100 weddings.

Photo by Maunette Loeks

Dianne Lana and Assistant Clerk II Delores Gutierrez review a court file at the Scotts Bluff County Court.

“Last year, I presided over nearly 150 weddings,” she said. “It seems like I have always done a lot of weddings.”

The weddings are simple civil ceremonies. Most often, she said, the persons she is marrying aren’t affiliated with a specific church or are looking for a low-key ceremony.

“I’ve done some ceremonies outside of the court room, but not nearly as many, that have taken place in the courtroom” she said.

Expect the unexpected — that is probably the reason that Lana likes her job the most, she said.

“You never know what to expect,” she said. “Every day is different, it isn’t always routine. And, there is always something new to learn.”

Laws are ever changing, she said, so the court has to keep up on

those details. Also, as technology advances, courts are implementing more procedures and other functions that can utilize technology.

For example, customers can now pay their tickets online, lawyers can file cases electronically and persons needing court services can find self-help materials online. Citizen resources are available online at http://www.supremecourt.ne.gov/citizens, for more information.

“With computers being used more and offered at places like libraries, we are seeing the access of the courts to the public increase,” she said. “It’s interesting when in 1998, we weren’t even on JUSTICE (the Nebraska courts computer records system). Gradually, stepby-step, we’ve been increasing our

use of technology. It helps to make our jobs easier, but it also helps the justice system by making court processes and forms more uniform.”

Lana, who has lived in Gering for more than 50 years, said she likes living in Scotts Bluff County. She enjoys the safety of the community, taking advantage of living just blocks from her work and being able to walk to work every day or enjoy time with her two grandchildren. She raised her three children in the community and she enjoys that her two granddaughters, 6 years old and 19 months, are here as well.

“I also enjoy the beauty of western Nebraska,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful place to have a family and raise a family.”

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19905788.qxp

3/28/2013

2:19 PM

Page B8

Pride

16 SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013

Star-Herald

Photo by Sandra Hansen

Ruby Ziegler believes life is a ministry, and hers has a solid foundation in Christ, who, she says, makes everything possible. She has good evidence this is so, having climbed the ladder from a student needing a job to care for her family to deputy warden at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution at Torrington, Wyo.

Courtesy photo

Alpacas have become a focus of Ruby Ziegler’s life away from the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution at Torrington, Wyo. Four years ago, while working at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins, Wyo., she knew next to nothing about the humming, long-necked critters. Now she owns 16 and is gearing up to shear and spin their hair for fiber art projects. She has collected them from as far away as New Hampshire.

Ziegler’s goal: turning inmates into contributing community members goals, Ziegler has continued her education and now has a Ph.D. in public TORRINGTON, Wyo. — safety, ser vice leadership.

Growing up in East Mo- In order to meet the needs line, Ill., as a preacher’s of the inmates and the d a u g h t e r, communities Ruby Ziegler they come I believe never gave a from and rewe’re all one thought to turn to, w o r k i n g i n race — human.

Ziegler bethe field of We’re all stuck on lieves it is cor rections. this planet called necessar y to In fact, she recruit a speEarth to do was focused cial kind of on being a what they call leader. veterinarian, Life.

“A leader until she with a ser– Ruby Ziegler came face to vant’s hear t face with a will place dissected frog. others’ needs above their “Cutting up an animal own,” Ziegler said. “Leadseemed repulsive, then,” ers have to set their egos recalled Ziegler, deputy aside, and develop others’. warden at the Wyoming They have to think outside Medium Correctional In- themselves.” stitution near Torrington.

On the other hand, folWith a soft laugh, she lowers can help develop added, “But after correc- leaders, Ziegler said. By tions, that frog didn’t seem looking back at the results so bad.” of their ef for ts, leaders Ziegler turned to correc- can learn from those they tions as a means to sup- have helped along their port her four children. Af- j o u r n e y o f c o n t i n u a l ter earning an associate’s growth. degree and completing the “Hopefully, no one ever corrections academy, her stops growing,” she said. first job was at North CenGood leaders continue tral Correctional Facility to grow and improve the at Rockwell City, Iowa. ser vice they provide to in“Now, that was an eye- mates, Ziegler said. She opener,” Ziegler said, not- practices what she preaching that daily assaults es and has studied a wide among inmates were com- variety of subjects includmon and the state’s cor- ing psychology, adminisrections department was tration, domestic and infocused more on punish- ternational terrorism, and ment than rehabilitation. computers. She has also “We’ve come a long way been an instructor. since then,” she said, leanZiegler’s quest for ing across her desk. knowledge and self-imThat was back in 1993, provement resulted in her when it was almost un- move to Wyoming. She arheard of to find females in rived in 2006 when she corrections positions. was hired for a newly cre“A lot of people believed ated position as housing t h a t w o m e n s h o u l d n ’ t manager at the Wyoming work in prisons. You really State Penitentiar y in Rawlhad to prove yourself. You ins, Wyo. The job dealt a had to work hard to show lot with what goes on in them you could do the the prison housing units, same job as male corrections officers,” she said, seated at her desk in the WMCI administration building.

“You have to lay down your femininity,” Ziegler explained. “It might make you more vulnerable and you can’t expect to be pampered.

“You put your professional face on, and regardless of your personal beliefs, you have to be nonjudgmental.”

Laughing, Ziegler added, “My husband says that when I put on my business clothes, even my walk changes.”

According to Ziegler, corrections staff are there to deliver a ser vice.

“We want to return inmates to civilian life in a better state than when they came in.” She admits that sometimes it is difficult, but, “I believe we’re all one race — human.

We’re all stuck on this planet called Earth to do what they call Life.”

To accomplish these

By SANDRA HANSEN Ag Editor

“

”

such as education, treatments, conflict management, things that deal more with the people, both inmates and super visors, rather than the physical plant, as the title might suggest. She was involved in testifying at hearings, and determining the classification of inmates, as well.

She transferred to the new WMCI in Torrington as deputy warden when the facility opened in 2010.

It is a state-of-the-art facility that offers a new start for inmates.

“Cor rections is much kinder and gentler now,” Ziegler said of her 20-year career. “We’re creating citizens. You can’t make anybody do anything. You’re more productive by chang-

ing their minds.”

Ziegler said one of the secrets to producing a contributing member of society is to give inmates a sense of community through retraining and education.

“If you have nothing, and you are already in a stressful situation of returning to society, you’re likely to revert to your old ways,” she explained.

“We want them to look at a more long-range goal and to invest in the community. There has to be hope they can cling to and a method to do that.”

Ziegler said prison is the first positive experience for a lot of inmates. The cor rections system intends to help these inmates become integrated

into society through making positive choices, such as obtaining their GED certificates.

Ziegler said she continues learning, both in her personal life as well as in her efforts to advance her professional life. She does aspire to becoming a warden, and acknowledges that she has a lot to learn.

She is especially aware of the challenge of developing people and the need for compassion and kindness in helping inmates overcome boundaries and instilling in them a motiva-

tion to be the best wherever they go and to ser ve other people.

“No one is just the crime they committed,” Ziegler said, explaining that a big problem for recently released inmates is stereotyping and labeling. That is why it is critical that inmates achieve a new level of self-esteem and know they can contribute to society by being involved and engaged in the community.

“It’s hard to care for others if you don’t care for yourself,” Ziegler said.

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