Commercial / Residential Cleaning Services * Cleaning for Health and Maintenance * What’s hiding in your business? SEWARD•COUNTY Commercial Janitorial Wednesday Cleaning September 2, 2020 Commercial & Residential Carpet Cleaning I NDEPENDENT VOL. 124 NO. 36 Seward, Nebraska Rug Cleaning sewardindependent.com Upholstery Cleaning Tile Restoration Water Damage Cleanup AUTOMOTIVE SPECIAL FOOTBALL RETURNS 111 N. 3rd St., Ste. 2 • Seward, NE PAGE 8 SPORTS PAGES 13-16 402-643-6054 campbellcleaning.com Local & Veteran-Owned CONCORDIA’S CHOICE Commish board University’s search for new president down to final two candidates by Brady Oltmans approves surveyor [email protected] by Hope Moural Concordia Univer- [email protected] sity’s search for a new president has come The Seward County Board of Commissioners ac- down to two. cepted a new county surveyor bid during the Aug. After a year-long 25 meeting. process, the school has The board appointed Brian Foral as Seward moved into the final County’s new surveyor, replacing Ron Nissen, who weeks of its selection passed away in July. for a new university Foral previously worked as Butler County’s president, following the surveyor. departure of the Rev. Also during the meeting, the board: Dr. Brian Friedrich. • authorized board chairman John Culver to sign The chairman of Con- on a yearly drug fund certificate/report for both the cordia’s presidential county attorney and sheriff’s office. search committee, Dr. • authorized Culver to sign a Nixle/Everbridge Robert Hermann, said he expects the board of service agreement from Seward/York Emergency regents to determine its Manager Gary Petersen. Nixle is a software plat- choice for new presi- form that allows emergency alerts to be sent to dent to at its September BRADY OLTMANS/SCI mobile devices and beyond. meeting. A Concordia University student walks across campus between classes on Aug. 20. • authorized Highway Superintendent Terry Concordia an- Wicht to advertise for stockpile gravel bids for was named chair of information on the teristics they wanted nounced on Aug. 16, the upcoming winter season. Bids will be opened that committee and school and the hiring to see in a president. 2019, that Friedrich during the board’s Sept. 22 meeting. said the committee process. More than 20 was set to leave his There were listening • approved a 1% increase of restricted funds for conducts most of the leg were willing to stand groups for students, position as university the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget. County Clerk Sher- work throughout the for nomination after faculty, staff and the president effective Jan. ry Schweitzer said although it is not planned to be hiring process while that process. Those city of Seward. 1, 2020. At the August used, it allows the county to make sure a 2.5% cap being limited by the names went to a review “Some of those 2019 board of regents is followed when going through final calculations. meeting, the Rev. Russ school’s bylaws. Con- panel of the Lutheran things that came out cordia bylaws state that Church-Missouri Syn- were someone who was With the increase, the cap is set at 3.5%. Sommerfeld was cho- The next Seward County Board of Commission- sen to serve as interim candidates do not apply od, of which Concor- a good communicator,” for the job in a conven- dia is a member, who Hermann said. “Some- ers meeting will be Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. on the third president. Sommerfeld floor of the courthouse. served through a se- tional sense. Instead, approved candidates one who is relational. mester disrupted by the they are nominated. they thought would be Someone who under- coronavirus pandemic. “Nominations can a good fit for the Synod stands the financial He told graduating come from Concordia at large. aspects of higher students during the faculty, the Concordia “They wanted to education. Someone CU, Bryan announce Aug. 1 commencement Board of Regents, the make sure the presi- who can work with an ceremony that he felt a Concordia University dent is publicly Luther- administrative cabinet special connection to system board and any an,” Hermann said. in a board of regents.” new partnership the class, considering congregation in the “They spent some time Information gather- his interim presidency Lutheran Synod,” Her- on that.” ing, interviews with On Sept. 2, Concordia in natural sciences and status. mann said. “Any one of Out of that group, faculty, staff and stu- University and Bry- allow them to continue A search commit- those four entities can nine names came back dents have been ongo- an College of Health receiving financial aid tee consisting of two nominate an individu- approved. Two of those ing with the remaining Sciences announced a as they receive a degree regents, three faculty al.” individuals asked to be two individuals in the partnership to provide from each institution.” members, two staff Concordia received removed from consid- race for Concordia’s students an opportunity “We are excited to members and two more than 50 nomi- eration. The remaining presidency. Hermann to receive two degrees partner with Concordia non-voting members, nations after working seven went through expressed his optimism while adding just one with this program as including the Con- with Synod leadership vetting through Con- that a decision would semester. we continue to focus our cordia student body in the winter of 2019-20. cordia. be made by mid Sep- Students will start efforts to serve more president, was formed The search committee The presidential tember when the board at Concordia and then students in our area to to find the university’s contacted all those search committee convenes again that become dual-enrolled at achieve their bachelor of next president. nominated at that asked community a preferred candidate Bryan College of Health science in nursing,” said Dr. Robert Hermann point and gave them members what charac- would emerge. Sciences in its second Bryan College of Health semester. In this part- Sciences President Dr. nership, students will Richard Lloyd. then have the ability to Concordia’s biology receive financial aid, program has grown to a Making masks to stop the spread live on Concordia’s cam- student-to-faculty ratio pus and participate in of 15:1. Each faculty by Brady Oltmans led to only 487 total cases and co-curricular activities member in the program [email protected] seven deaths since the start of while earning a bach- has earned a termi- the pandemic. elor of arts degree in nal degree and 90% of KaiPing Albright watched Then she wondered what if a biology. When students recent biology graduates begin classes at Bryan, either go into a graduate the spread of coronavirus in disease like that came to Amer- they will be classified school program or earn March through historic lenses. ica. as both a Concordia and employment within six She experienced the Severe “We didn’t have anything Bryan student while months of graduation. Acute Respiratory Syndrome to protect ourselves here,” she outbreak in 2002 when she pursing a bachelor Bryan nursing stu- said. “The only thing we could of science in nursing dents complete more was living in her native Tai- do was to make masks.” wan. Over a two-week stretch degree. than 1,235 faculty-led Albright started making her “This partnership clinical hours. That’s Taiwan’s original 29 probable first masks on March 26 for four with Bryan College of the highest amount in cases and no deaths grew to 116 friends going through chemo- Health Sciences will the state. The first-time cases and 10 deaths. Numbers therapy. They took time but provide Concordia’s pass rate average for increased sixfold – 680 cases and served their purpose. Then she students with access graduates on the Na- 81 deaths – in a month. Jour- wanted to branch out with no to a well-established, tional Council Licen- nalist Ying-Hen Hsieh wrote in idea how. Nearly half a year lat- high-quality nursing sure Examination – the nature.com that inexperience er, she’s streamlined the process COURTESY PHOTO program,” Concordia exam for the licensing at containing outbreaks and a and people have started coming A Herbie Husker plush acts as the Provost Dr. Tim Pre- of nurses – over the lack of expert assistance from to her. mask model for all of the Albright uss said. “Nursing is past three years stands the World Health Organization “I think in the beginning we family’s showcase photos for new already Concordia’s higher than Nebraska contributed, at least in part, to didn’t know how important it Project 13 designs. This mask fea- principle pre-health pro- and national averag- the outbreak in Taiwan. was to give out masks,” Albright tures the U.S. flag, as well as that of gram. This partnership es at 97%. All Bryan Albright watched the progres- said. “So I tried to make good KaiPing Albright’s native Taiwan. will streamline that graduates who actively sion of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) masks.” process for our students, seek positions earned from her home in Seward. She The effort started with KaiP- Together they went to Walmart, provide them flexibility employment in the field saw the Taiwanese govern- ing, husband Brian, and their selected fabric, and returned to to pursue vocations in within four months of ment’s preemptive reaction that 12-year old daughter, Kayla. (continued on 2) nursing or vocations graduation. [email protected] EVERY SEED COUNTS PO Box 41 Seward, NE 68434 Campaign The Legacy Fund for Seward County is an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation. DONATE NOW! Go to SewardCountyLegacy.org for more information! 2 SEWARD COUNTY INDEPENDENT | SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 Masks County moving to MCHS receives certification (continued from 1) create the masks with Phase 4 of reopening Memorial Health speed in mind.