The Atkinson Graphic -

Get your copy of this week's Atkinson Graphic, available later today, and read the articles that accompany these headlines, “West Holt Medical Services held its Annual Meeting,” “Andy Hoffman succumbs to brain cancer”,” “Moving to a new home”, “Selected to play”, “Stuart students compete in Spelling Bee,” “WHMS adds Endocrinology,” “West Holt Speech to honor Parents,” “Little Husky wrestlers in O’Neill and at home meet,” and so many more including sports from both West Holt and Stuart Schools! Don't miss out. Subscribe today - In-State is $40.00; Out-of-State is $46.00; or get an E-Edition for $20.00 and read The Graphic on-line anywhere!

The West Holt Boys Basketball Team will be playing in the District game on Monday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Norfolk Catholic High School. The game will be broadcast on KBRX 102.9 FM and on KBRX.com

The West Holt boys' District Basketball game can be found on this link at 6:00 p.m. tonight. https://youtu.be/x3byJjU2qww

The West Holt Boys Basketball Team will be playing in the District game on Monday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Norfolk Catholic High School. The game will be broadcast on KBRX 102.9 FM and on KBRX.com

The West Holt Boys Basketball Team will be playing in the District game on Monday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Norfolk Catholic High School. The game will be broadcast on KBRX 102.9 FM and on KBRX.com

The West Holt Boys Basketball Team will be playing in the District game on Monday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Norfolk Catholic High School. The game will be broadcast on KBRX 102.9 FM and on KBRX.com

West Holt Medical Services has announced that the retail pharmacy will once again be open to walk-in customers starting Monday, March 1st. All customers will be required to wear a mask and use the temperature screening kiosk before entering.

Get your copy of this week's Atkinson Graphic, available later today, and read the articles that accompany these headlines, “Bridge work progresses,” “Carey suffers from “stubborn knees”,” “Farm Bureau donates to Holt County Fair”, “FFA Star and Proficiency finalists named”,” “Chavez wins Holt County Spelling Bee,” “Fire and Rescue gives awards,” “West Holt back-to-back champions at Lutheran High Northeast, Ainsworth meets,” “Virtual victory for Stuart Speech at Grand Island NW,” and so many more including sports from both West Holt and Stuart Schools! Don't miss out. Subscribe today - In-State is $40.00; Out-of-State is $46.00; or get an E-Edition for $20.00 and read The Graphic on-line anywhere!

Here is the bracket for the West Holt Huskies Boys' Basketball Sub-District games.

Stuart Broncos Boys' Sub-District Basketball Bracket

State Wrestling for Class D begins today. West Holt Husky Isaac Pistulka has qualified for the State Tournament. Here is his schedule: Wednesday - Class D – Weigh-Ins: 3:30 p.m. - 2nd session (4 rounds of competition)--5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. • Class D-Championship Round 1—Quarterfinals--Consolations (Round 1 & 2) Thursday - 4 mats Class D – Weigh-Ins: 11:30 - 4th session (Semi-finals – all placing matches)--1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. • Class D-Semifinals, Consolations Round 3, Consolation Semifinals,

NPPD has moved from a Level 3 Emergency back to a Level 1 emergency, where we are asking customers to conserve energy. As we have noted the current situation related to the weather is rather fluid and we expect that peak hours tonight after 5 p.m. could change our status and once again early in the morning hours, much as it did Tuesday morning. We will continue to keep you updated as soon as we have information. We still encourage customers to conserve energy anywhere possible such as lowering their thermostats and not using ovens, dishwashers and washing machines and dryers which do use large volumes of electricity.

The Stuart girls' sub-district game will start at 4:30 p.m. in Bartlett today. The Lady Broncos take on St. Mary's.

The West Holt Lady Huskies played Neligh-Oakdale in the D1-5 Sub-District on Monday at Elgin High School. The Lady Huskies got the win 49-32. Tonight West Holt will take on EPPJ. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Elgin High School.

Black Hills Energy recommends efficiency to minimize impact of prolonged frigid temps LINCOLN, Neb. – Feb. 15, 2021 - As current artic conditions continue to impact large sections of the country, Black Hills Energy is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the impact on homes and businesses is minimized. “To date, our system has performed as intended. We have worked to ensure homes stay warm, but we need your help,” said Kevin Jarosz, vice president of operations for Black Hills Energy in Nebraska. “There are steps you can take today to minimize the financial burden and reduce increased energy use generated by these frigid temperatures.” Here are some tips to keep your family warm while the demand for energy is so high: • If health concerns aren’t a factor, set your thermostat to 68 degrees in the winter and reduce it 2 to 3 degrees while you’re away from home or sleeping. • Hold off on doing chores. Doing laundry or washing dishes can use energy to heat the water and your dryer. If you can, only wash full loads using cold water, air dry your clothes, or even better, wait until the extreme cold weather passes to complete these activities. • Check your furnace filter – make sure it’s clean and properly installed facing the correct direction. • Make sure your furnace vent, gas fireplace vent and tankless/conventional water heater vents are free from any obstructions or debris. • Adjust your humidity. A well-humidified house at 68 degrees is as comfortable as a dry house at 75 degrees. • Use kitchen, bath and other ventilating fans only as needed. In just one hour, these fans can exhaust a house full of warmed air. • Reduce hot water usage. Use low-flow faucets and shower heads and take short showers instead of baths. Set the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees or put it on the “warm” setting. Black Hills Energy also realizes increased nationwide usage could result in higher bills, and there are a number of resources available to support customers: • The easiest way for families to access emergency assistance funds is to call 211, and a representative will connect them with a utility assistance case worker in their area. • Customers in the Black Hills Energy service territory are eligible for Black Hills Cares funds, a utility assistance program made possible by donations from fellow customers. The Black Hills Energy Foundation matches those donations at 100%. • Nebraska’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is currently open via DHHS: Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) • Budget Billing is a free, stable payment option offered by Black Hills Energy that makes bills more predictable by averaging the amount you pay each month so you can avoid spikes in a bill caused by seasonal anomalies. “There has been widespread energy demand across the country, and our reliable system and team is ready to respond to the historic cold. We applaud and appreciate the businesses who have scaled down their energy usage to allow more capacity for homes. They’ve set a good example of steps we can all take to ensure we’re collectively resilient through this storm,” Jarosz added.

The area is being hit with rolling blackouts this Tuesday morning, February 16, 2021. There have been reports of the Stuart and Bassett area with power out, also northeast of Atkinson and Cleveland Township area without power. Currently the Village of Stuart is running on generator power. These are part of the rolling blackouts affecting 14 states from Texas to North Dakota. If you do have your power shut off it should last for approximately 60 minutes. The blackouts were issued by the Southwest Power Pool, which is a group of utilities across 14 states. The supply of reserve energy has been exhausted, mainly because of the reliance on wind energy and over half of the windmills in Texas are inoperable due to rain and freezing temperatures.

Tuesday AM Update from NPPD: To maintain system reliability, NPPD has just been informed by SPP that we need to do emergency coordinated interruptions of service. These 30-minite interruptions of service occur in real-time, so we have very little, if any, notice as to where these interruptions will take place. Mark Becket Nebraska Public Power District

Smith to Hold Virtual Mobile Offices Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) will hold virtual mobile offices to meet with constituents of the Third District. In order to ensure sufficient capacity, the virtual mobile offices are divided by time zone. Constituents living in the Central Time Zone should plan to attend the meeting on Tuesday, February 16, and constituents living in the Mountain Time Zone should plan to attend the meeting on Thursday, February 18. Those interested in attending must pre-register at the links provided below. A mobile office allows constituents to meet directly with Congressman Smith about federal issues and take advantage of the constituent services available through his office, such as assisting individuals with challenges they face while working with a federal agency, ordering flags flown over the U.S. Capitol, and booking future tours in Washington, D.C. Smith, who has offices in Grand Island and Scottsbluff, will hold the mobile office online on Tuesday, February 16 and Thursday, February 18 at the following times and links: Eastern/Central Nebraska Virtual Mobile Office Tuesday, February 16 12:00 p.m. CST Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xzMAKEQVRTSxbeVyMGG6XQ Western Nebraska Virtual Mobile Office Thursday, February 18 11:00 a.m. MST Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CoVDY602So6qP5-rV2YK9g For additional information, please contact Congressman Smith’s Scottsbluff office at (308) 633-6333 or Grand Island office at (308) 384-3900.

Get your copy of this week's Atkinson Graphic, available later today, and read the articles that accompany these headlines, “Ross is new Holt County Treasurer,” “Veterans can get COVID-19 vaccine,” “West Holt Champions at home invite”, “Kunz has “life changing event”,” “Shane is TeamMates Mentor of Month,” “Stuart Speech is runner-up at West Holt,” “Three Husky wrestlers qualify for District Wrestling meet” and so many more including sports from both West Holt and Stuart Schools! Don't miss out. Subscribe today - In-State is $40.00; Out-of-State is $46.00; or get an E-Edition for $20.00 and read The Graphic on-line anywhere!

A funeral mass for John “Big John” Osborne, age 87, of rural Riverton, Wyo. will be held on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Margaret’s Catholic Gymnasium in Riverton. A rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church. Interment will follow the funeral mass at Mountain View Cemetery. He was a 1952 graduate of Atkinson High School. For those unable to attend, the funeral Mass will be livestreamed on St. Margaret’s Catholic Church’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stmargaretriverton/ A complete obituary will be included in this week’s issue of The Atkinson Graphic.