To the Editor:

My name is Zander and I am a 5th grader at Faith Christian School in Kearney, Nebraska. My class is studying the 50 states and I have chosen Nevada as my state.

Our assignment is to find out as much about our states as we can and I was wondering if you would help me out. Would you be willing to send me any information about your state? Some examples could be maps, brochures, souvenirs or anything else that would be helpful.

We will be having our states fair at the end of the school year to display all of our information. Thank you.


Mr. Vanwinke’s

 5th & 6th grade class/Zander 

Faith Christian School

P.O. Box 3048

Kearney, NE 68848

Letter to the Editor:

During the February 22, 2018 Ely City Council meeting, City Attorney Odgers, addressed the public’s concerns about the “meeting” held after hours on February 13, 2018 at City Hall.  He acknowledged that Mayor VanCamp, Council members Gardner and Hanson, Administrator Switzer, Municipal Judge Mike Costner and the Attorney were in the building after normal business hours.  Odgers wanted to clarify to Mr. Alworth that it was not a “meeting”.

Odgers stated that was the only time these folks could get together to go over agenda items and that Hanson was leaving town prior to finalizing the agenda.

Odgers also reported Judge Costner entered the building but stayed downstairs with Switzer.  The agenda items discussed included the reduction of pay for certain employees and the possible elimination of the City Treasure’s position.

These items along with the agenda items for the possible 25 percent reduction in salaries of the Administrator and Attorney were removed from the agenda that evening.

Councilman Ernie Flanges spoke in public comment as a citizen, to let those in attendance know he was not involved, he never entered City Hall and did not want to even know what was being discussed and wanted the record to reflect this.

Councilman Carson had no problem removing the items from the agenda because he is waiting for an legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office in Carson City.

Councilman DeFelice questioned the Attorney as to why the individuals were in City Hall after hours, even though it was decided by the Mayor and Council last year, there was not to be any business activity conducted after normal business hours in City Hall.

Attorney Odgers threw up a smoke screen and never did answer DeFelice’s question.  So that my friends is “Their story and they are sticking to it”.

It is still my opinion, those above mentioned agenda items were placed on the agenda after the proposed reduction in salaries for the Administrator and Attorney were put on the agenda.

Plain and simple, they were retaliatory in nature.

 Jim Alworth

To the editor:

Part of the newspaper’s duty to the citizens of Ely is informing the public of important issues impacting the town. City residents deserve to have confidence that newspaper staff performed their due diligence and checked sources instead of publishing rumors without follow-up.

Generally, reputable papers do not publish letters to the editor making unverified claims of incendiary behaviors with no supporting evidence. In other words, good newspapers don’t publish gossip.

In the past few weeks, Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth have become each other parrots and have dominated the letters section with claims for which they provide no evidence (i.e. secret meetings) and views that are well out of the mainstream (i.e. Mr. Stork’s pet project to close the recycling center).

In their most recent letters, Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth parrot the other’s claim of a supposed “secret meeting” held after hours at City Hall. They provide no evidence or insight into why they are peddling this claim. Do they have a recording of the meeting? Do they have a source that attended the alleged meeting?

Based on their current and past letters, the two simply seem to be blowing each other full of hot air.

In the future I sincerely hope the paper does a better job with its duty to inform City residents of important issues. The paper should not be promoting rumors by letter writers that are pure speculation or fabrication. With all the time Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth have to write almost daily letters, they should spend some time providing evidence for their incendiary claims.

In response to the most recent letters from Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth, I will simply point out that their claims are unverified and nothing more than gossip at this point.

Going forward they should consider proofreading their letters and revising for clarity if they want people to understand their message. The letters are loaded with extraneous information and tangents. They allege law breaking without citing specific laws that they purport city and elected officials have violated.

If Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth have actual evidence of wrong doing, why not provide this evidence to local and state media so they can pursue the issue further?

Until Mr. Stork and Mr. Alworth provide independent evidence, sources, and verification their claims should be treated by the newspaper and Ely residents as rumors and gossip. They are not fit for publication, nor are they representative of the views of most Ely residents.

The city council is currently facing difficult decisions. Providing special highlight to the fringe opinions and conspiracy theories of a failed council candidate and a fired city clerk adds nothing but hot air to the discussion and does not move the city forward in accomplishing its goals.


Alexander Jones

Ely Resident