CONNECTIONS - Nebraska State RC&D Association

C O N N E C T I O N S
More Honors for Five Rivers RC&D & Staff-
October 2012
Volume 4, Issue 3
Meints Receives 2012 “Outstanding Executive Director”
Award
Bobbie Meints, Executive Director of Five Rivers RC&D was honored with the
“2012 Outstanding Coordinator/Executive Director” award at the annual Nebraska
RC&D Association Conference. Meints was nominated due to her commitment not
only to the Five Rivers RC&D and the Nebraska RC&D, but to her commitment to
community and economic development in general. Bobbie is able to incorporate her
outgoing, empathetic, communicative, and innovative personality in order to achieve
the goals of the organization.
In this issue:
Meints Receives
2012
“Outstanding
Executive
Director” Award
2012 Nebraska
RC&D
Conference
Household
Hazardous Waste
Collections
Electronics
Collection
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Envisioning the unique ability of the RC&D Program to creatively address community
needs, Bobbie’s passion for community and economic development coupled with
the passion and effort of the Five Rivers Council has resulted in the organization’s
successful restructure after the loss of formal federal funding. Meints was quick to
credit the people with whom she works, explaining “this nonprofit is able to accomplish
all that it does only because of the caliber of people who invest their time for
their community’s benefit. The board members of Five
Rivers RC&D are all volunteers who build strong partnerships
and rapports with community members to
achieve one common goal….to make a difference.”
Updates
Five Rivers
Council
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Upcoming Events:
Five Rivers RC&D Council
Meeting
October 18th ,2012
9:30 a.m.
Five Rivers RC&D
140 N 4th St
Tecumseh, NE
Electronics Collection
October 20th, 2012
9 a.m.—12:00 p.m.
Pawnee City, NE
Pawnee Co. Shop
WMA “Weed Walk”
For more information on this, please contact Five Rivers
RC&D at 402-335-3347 or
5rivers.meints@gmail.com.
Pictured above: President, Jessica Jones
presents Bobbie Meints, Executive Director,
Five Rivers with the 2012 Nebraska
RC&D “Outstanding Executive Director”
Award
October 24th, 2012
10:00 a.m.
Elk Creek, NE
SENTC Meeting
November 1st, 2012
10:00 AM
Five Rivers RC&D
Tecumseh, NE
Western RC&D Conference
March 17th—20th,
2013
Scottsbluff, NE
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CONNECTIONS
RC&D Celebrated at
2012 State Association Conference
The Northeast Nebraska Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council hosted state the annual RC&D State
Association Conference during National RC&D Week September 24 - 28. Thirty-five people from across Nebraska participated
in the 3-day event held in Wayne. The conference theme was “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” which provided a perfect
opportunity to share local successes of the Northeast Council. It also gave new meaning to the sites visited on the motor coach tour.
Gill Landfill, the first stop, was an eye-opener for many. It was started in 1981 with 270 acres, but has expanded to
include 1200 acres making its’ capacity large enough to last 40 years. 600-900 tons of garbage is brought in each day
from a radius of 90 miles. In recent years they’ve added methane capture to their ventures and serve the ethanol
plant near Jackson with 10% of their energy needs.
Pictured Above: RC&D Members tour the
Gill Landfill courtesy of Anthony Gill.
Pictured Above: Participants of the 2012 State
Conference enjoy a hayrack ride through Ponca
State Park.
Ponca State Park Superintendent Jeff Fields provided a hayrack ride tour of the park. Four different kinds of geothermal
systems are in use in their facilities. Straw bale cabins are very “green” in their construction and offer a look at
an alternative type of building. And all park guests and staff are encouraged to recycle everything possible.
The Laurel Recycling Center has been in operation since 2004, but continues to expand to meet consumer needs.
This facility is open 24-hours a day with an easy-to-use drop off system for all wishing to recycle. They take everything
except glass and TVs. Security Shredding is also located there, but operates as a private enterprise. This
mobile business grew out of a need to protect consumer identity.
Awards for the year had the Northeast Nebraska RC&D Council bringing home the Outstanding Council honor.
Plainview FFA received Outstanding Youth Involvement, Outstanding Executive Director went to
Pictured Above: State Association, Treasurer,
Norm Hansen Presents the Northeast RC&D
with the 2012 “Outstanding Council Award”
Bobbie Meints of the Five Rivers RC&D, and Darol Ellwanger of the PrairieLand RC&D took home the Outstanding Volunteer
award. The Panhandle RC&D received the Program Support Assistant award for Joyce Mick and the Top Project Award for
the Intertribal Gathering.
Five Rivers RC&D also took home the “Outstanding Booth” Award at the 2012 State Conference. Congrats Five Rivers!!!
Pictured Above: Dennis
Wacker accepts two
awards on behalf of the
Northeast RC&D for the
Outstanding Council honor
as well as the Outstanding
Youth Involvement Award,
which went to the Plainview
FFA.
New officers elected for the Association were President Dan Hruza from Ord with Loup Basin
RC&D, and Vice-President Twila Phillips, Mullen, of the Sandhills RC&D. Continuing to serve as
Secretary is Jessica Jones from the Five Rivers RC&D at Tecumseh and Treasurer Norm Hanson
of the Great Plains RC&D. All twelve RC&D Councils in Nebraska are continuing their efforts to
meet local needs across the state.
State Association Treasurer, Norm Hansen
Presents Five Rivers President, Jessica Jones
with a check in the amount of $50.00 for the
“Outstanding Booth” Award.
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CONNECTIONS
Household Hazardous Waste Events Collect Over 13 Tons!
With the help of over 30 volunteers, household hazardous waste (HHW) collection events in nine
cities throughout the Five Rivers RC&D area September 18 th through September 21 st were successful
in collecting household paint, pesticides, acids, oil, batteries, solvents, and other miscellaneous
chemicals. The volunteers and six members from the Red Willow County Hazardous Waste Collection Team collected
materials from participants, opened cans, dumped chemicals in collection barrels, and disposed of unusable material.
Red Willow County HHW hauled all the waste back to McCook for proper disposal.
The nine collections sites in Nebraska City, Auburn, Falls City, Humboldt, Pawnee City, Syracuse, Tecumseh, Fairbury
and Crete, were attended by over 450 households disposing of 26,559 pounds of potentially hazardous materials.
Over 960 florescent light bulbs were disposed of on-site in an automatic grinder that collected mercury from the
bulbs. Small batteries, such as, A, B, C, D series, 9-volt, buttons, lithium, Ni-Cad, Ni-mH, lantern, handheld radio
batteries, laptop & small electronics, cell phone batteries, etc. were also collected.
“The public appreciates the opportunity to clean up around their homes and properly dispose of these hazardous
chemicals and the counties appreciate keeping these items out of landfills and ditches. It really is a win-win situation
for everyone. Every person who dropped off their materials expressed their gratitude. They really do believe in doing
what they can to protect the environment,” said Five Rivers RC&D Executive Director, Bobbie Meints.
Funding the project were financial contributions by the sponsoring County and a grant provided to the Nemaha NRD
from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Waste Reduction and Recycling Program. Five Rivers RC&D
administered the grant and organized the events.
For more information on the results of the Household Hazardous Waste Collections, contact Five Rivers at
402-335-3347 or 5rivers.meints@gmail.com.
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CONNECTIONS
Electronics Collection & Recycling Event Coming to Pawnee City!
Five Rivers RC&D will be sponsoring another electronics collection and recycling
event, all appliances and batteries included, in Pawnee County this month. The
funding for the events was made possible by PC Recycling through a grant received
from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. The event will
take place in Pawnee City, Nebraska at the County Shop on Saturday, October
20th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Pawnee County Shop.
The event is open to all households in and around the surrounding county. Businesses are welcome to bring in items
for recycling for a small fee. The grant allows one complete computer system (monitor, tower, printer, etc) per
household at no cost, any other electronic devices (no limit) at no cost, as well as
all appliances and batteries free of charge!!! Residents are also encouraged to
bring in televisions to be recycled for a small fee, depending on the size.
Five Rivers RC&D will sponsor additional electronic collections and recycling
events throughout Southeast Nebraska in the Spring of 2013.
For more information and a complete list of items and fees, please contact Five Rivers RC&D at 402-335-3347 or
5rivers.meints@gmail.com.
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CONNECTIONS
October 2012 Five Rivers Area Project Updates
5 Rivers Weed Management Area: The WMA continues to educate landowners and managers throughout Southeast Nebraska on how to
properly identify and control invasive weed species. The WMA is hosting another “Weed Walk” at Rod Christen’s pasture near Elk Creek, NE
on Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at 10 am. This is a free informative walk with lunch provided. Please RSVP to Bobbie Meints at Five Rivers
RC&D at 5rivers.meints@gmail.com or 402-35-3347.
Stay tuned for more information or visit http://5riverswma.com for additional WMA activities in your area.
Nemaha County Drug Coalition (NADAA): NADAA's annual Red Ribbon Fest will be held next Friday, October 19th! This will take
place from 5pm to 7:30 pm inside Auburn High School. There will be games, food and fun - all for FREE to Nemaha County elementary students
and their families! For more information, please contact the NADAA Coordinator, Laura Osborne, at nadaacoordinator@yahoo.com or
402-274-9485.
Johnson County Can (CAN): JCAN continues to work on promotion for Red Ribbon Week, their annual Fall Banquet, the Winter Billboard
Campaign, the Power of Parents, and more. If you would like to volunteer or for more information on CAN, contact Sandy Weyers at
sweyers@esu4.org.
Byway 136-Heritage Highway: The Heritage Highway Organization has a new passport program with over 16 different locations spread
out along Highway 136 from Red Cloud to Brownville, NE. Visit each one, get a stamp, and get entered in the drawing! Be sure to bring your
camera to capture those interesting sites along Byway 136 and enter the photo contest! For more information on activities of the Heritage
Highway, go to www.heritagehighway136.org.
SENTC: The group is already working with Enterprise on the 2013 Travel Guide, which will highlight the group’s 25th Anniversary! The group
continues to meet monthly. To become a member, please contact Yvonne Dalluge at my.blue.heaven@windstream.net. For information on
Southeast Nebraska traveling, go to www.visitsoutheastnebraska.org.
Steamboat Trace Trail: The fire rings have been installed, the Adirondack shelters have been built, and work continues to be performed
along the trail. The Peru Development committee continues to work closely with Five Rivers RC&D, the Nemaha NRD, Peru State College,
and the city of Peru.
SouthEast Nebraska Grassland Association (SENGA): SENGA and Five Rivers RC&D continues to partner to bring in Neil Dennis to
present on grazing topics during the month of December. The event is still in its planning stages with more information to come-So stay tuned!
For more information or if you are interested in joining the SENGA group contact Paul Rohrbaugh at (402) 869-2396 or Bobbie Meints at
(402) 335-3347 for more information.
Household Hazardous Waste Collections: Five Rivers RC&D hosted nine collections in four days throughout southeast Nebraska. Locations
included Nebraska City, Auburn, Falls City, Humboldt, Pawnee City, Syracuse, Tecumseh, Fairbury, and Crete. The Hazmat Team from
Red Willow County in McCook, NE collected the hazardous materials and several local sanitation haulers collected the non-hazardous waste,
such as empty paint cans. The collections ran from September 18th through the 21st and attracted hundreds of participants happy to properly
dispose of their hazardous materials.
Electronics Collections & Recycling Events: Five Rivers RC&D is once again working with PC Recycling out of Omaha, NE to offer Electronics
Collections & Recycling Events throughout our eight county area. The next event is scheduled for October 20, 2012 from 9 am to 12
pm at the Pawnee County Shop in Pawnee City, NE. Additional events are being scheduled for the Spring of 2013. Stay tuned for more information
or contact Bobbie Meints at 402-335-3347 or 5rivers.meints@gmail.com.
The Neil Dennis Event: Five Rivers RC&D and SENGA are working together to host The Neil Dennis Event: “A Focus on Animal Density
and Impacts as Management Tools”. Neil has spoken in Center and Creighton, Nebraska; multiple times in North Dakota, including the University
at Bismarck; Baker, Montana; Seymour, Missouri at the Powerflex Customer Appreciation Event in 2010; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at a
Grazing Conference; Florida; as well as Saline, Kansas at 2011 Zero-Till Conference. Now he is coming to Beatrice, Nebraska on December
3rd, 2012! You won’t want to miss it! For more information, contact Five Rivers at 402-335-3347 or 5rivers.meints@gmail.com .
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Five Rivers RC&D
140 N 4th Street
PO Box 626
Tecumseh, NE 68450
Tel: 402-335-3347
Fax: 402-335-3450
E-mail: 5rivers.meints@gmail.com
"Nebraska RC&Ds: Local Effort - Regional Impact"
Vision:
Recognizing the value of the
region, the Five Rivers RC&D
serves as a model of positive,
proactive leadership for continued
growth and prosperity.
Five Rivers RC&D Council
Jessica Jones, President
Jim Davidson, Member
Jim Frager, Vice-President
Michael Dux, Member
Alfred (Doc) Gigstad, Secretary Howard McNiff, Member
Mary Kruger, Treasurer
Scott Nelson, Member
Alan Richard, Past President
Dale Haverty, Member
Mission:
To educate citizens, develop
leadership, and revitalize the
area through cooperative
partnerships and leveraged
resources.
Scott Kudrna, Member
Robert Lorenz, Member
David Sickel, Member
Rex Adams, Member
Tom Hamer, Member
Ron Puhalla, Member
Paul Rohrbaugh, Member
Myron Dorn, Member
Ken Brockman, Member
Carol S. Crook, Member
Willis Luedke, Member
Marvin Bohling, Member
Staff:
Bobbie Meints, Executive Director
Wilmer Schlake, Member
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