An ExtraORDinary Friday

A few photos from tonights festivities.  Our FFA BBQ had fantastic turnout – nearly 450 came through to enjoy the gorgoeous weather and good times.  Two more days of fun to come!

Delicious homemade ice cream

The Two Larrys get arrested.

Shoot-out at the ExtraORDinary Corral

English Mania

Pretty cool 4 minute clip on how the English language is transforming global problems, given by Jay Walker.  According to Walker, China will become the largest English speaking country this year.  If anything, watch it just to hear Chinese students in huge crowds recite “PERFECT” English.

Deadline Extended for Wildlife Watching Photos

We’re going to extend the deadline to vote on the Wildlife Watching Extravaganza through the weekend.  The poll will close 5p Sunday afternoon with a final tally counted.  We’ll contact the winners first thing Monday morning..  You can find them here and the poll is at the bottom.  Keep up the great responses, we’re closing in on 200 votes!

ExtraORDinary Days Update!

We’re getting down to the wire on all the events and activities for ExtraORDinary Days.  Just a few quick reminders:

– Sign-up at the Chamber to have that special person you love locked away in the Wild West Jail.  $10 gets your favorite somebody 20 minutes in the slammer, with special escort from John Q. Law.

– Friday night our local FFA hosts a 5:30 free-will barbecue.6p Friday night, the Wild West shootout begins on the west side of the Courthouse square.

– Saturday morning you’ll have your choice of Volleyball or Softball tournaments to compete in.  Registration forms are available at the Chamber (308.728.7875)

– Duck races begin at 9a sharp Saturday morning – the Ord Golf Course tee box #5.  You can purchase your ducks at a variety of local Chamber businesses.

– The kids fishing contest kicks off at 10a @ Auble’s Pond.

– Interested in delicious foods?  The Taste of Ord Ethnic Food Fare begins at 4 and runs through 8p.

– Join the action at 7p for the bed races on 16th Street in downtown Ord.  We’re still accepting teams through Friday.

– White Line Fever ends the action Saturday night with a street dance at Jane’s Steakhouse, hosted by the Loup Valley Jaycees.

– Sunday, expand your mind with our Loup Valley Arts Council Annual Art Contest, starting at noon on the courthouse lawn.

So much more can be found here for fun this weekend.  Get out there and enjoy the best Ord has to offer!

Small Business Administration Workshop June 11

The SBA and USDA are coming to Ord June 11 to provide local lenders and small businesses information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (new loan guarantees, etc.).  The brief workshop will be hosted at the Loup Basin Technology Center (801 S St.) from 8:30-11:00a and will be free of charge to attendees.

The agenda:

• 8:30 Registration/Check-in
• 9:00 Welcome & Introductions – Nebraska Business Development Center
• 9:15 USDA Rural Development
• 10:00 Break
• 10:15 Small Business Administration
• 11:00 Question and Answer Session

To register, contact:
SBA – 402-221-7212 or barbara.foster@sba.gov

Vote Now for May Wildlife Photos

Through this week (Friday 5/29 @ 5p) you have an opportunity to select your favorite May wildlife photos.  Click here to vote (the poll is at the bottom of the page) and spread the word.  The winner will get $200 in ChamberBucks, the runner-up $100.

Next week we’ll kick start accepting photos on the area rivers.  Good luck!

Valley County Unemployment Drops 1.1% in April

The Lincoln Journal Star reports good news on the unemployment front – Nebraska’s overall unemployment dipped from 4.6% in March to 4.4% in April.  Valley County clocks in at 3.2% unemployment for the month of April, an increase from April 2008 of .4%.  Not bad increases at all considering the scope of the national recession.

The kicker?  Valley County’s unemployment rate *decreased* from 4.3% to 3.2% between March 2009 and April 2009, respectively.  That resulted in a total decline in unemployment of 1.1% in one month.

The the national unemployment rate still hovers close to 9% at 8.9%.  Michigan still clocks in at tops in the nation, above 12% unemployment in April 2009.  Adding frustration to the national unemployment news is a new report that college grads are finding this job market one of the toughest in recent memory.  According the ABC News, only 19.7% of college graduates have found employment this May.

Sobering thoughts for our youngest professionals entering the job market.  One possible lesson to learn from this: I anticipate the economy is experiencing a turn-around, quite possibly faster in Nebraska than on the coasts.  That would reflect our decline in statewide unemployment along with several other indicators of Nebraska’s economic vitality we’ve seen in the past month and a half.  Include the fact our local ethanol plant should be producing fuel soon, and you have a scenario mush like we had last year at this time: a workforce shortage.

Share your Memorial Day Stories with Us

Quite a lot is going on this weekend in Valley County and we’d love for you to share your stories this weekend.

From fishing adventures, boating on the Calamus, the Fort Hartsuff historical reenactment, canoeing, the Shrine Circus or celebrating those that have sacrificed for their country, send an email to kristinavolf@frontier.com along with photos and we’ll post them to the blog.

We do have tickets available for the Shrine Circus through 5p today at the Chamber office, 1514 K Street.  You can buy advanced tickets for $8; you’ll save $2 off the price of tix at the door.  Kids 12 & under get in FREE.

Have fun out there!

Memorial Day Weekend Updates

Hey folks – today marks the end of the May Summer Media campaign with the public vote beginning tomorrow.  You have until 5p CST to email us (calebpollard@frontiernet.net) photos of wildlife in Valley County.  You can see what has been sent along here.

Also, noon today marks the closure of the Central Community College Survey.  If you haven’t voted yet, you can do so here.

Enjoy the Memorial Weekend in Valley County.  As long as the weather allows, we’ll be sharing canoeing and fishing photos from the weekend.  Have fun and be safe!!!

It’s Official – Green Plains Renewable Energy Aquires Ord Ethanol Plant

Great news in Ord today – GPRE to Acquire Two Ethanol Plants In Nebraska. From the article (FTA):

These plants are in excellent locations. Within the 14 contiguous counties surrounding Ord and Central City, there are over 300,000 cattle on feed and approximately 300 million bushels of corn grown annually. This close proximity to large feedlot operations and vast corn supplies will reduce our energy and feedstock costs at these facilities. The Central City and Ord plants share the same process technology deployed at the majority of our plants, which should allow us to integrate them into our business with little disruption,” added Becker.

You can read more on the article here.  Congrats to all that were involved in making this process a reality.  This brings a nice positive change to the community!  Great work!!