“Principal at Omaha middle school is on leave; starter pistols were discovered in school office” news comment

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Omaha World Herald Writer, Bob Glissmann, reports that Beveridge Magnet Middle School Principal, David Lavendar, is on leave after the discovery of starter pistols in the school’s office prompted an evacuation of students and faculty. It details that the school notified parents of the leave, ensuring them that leave is not due to related conduct with students. He also revealed that further details cannot be revealed at this time due to privacy laws. After explaining what the school did, the article talked about some of what police did to ensure there were no explosives or ammunition left in the building. At the end of the article, it notes that Michaela Jackson will serve as interim principal. 

I thought this press release, published only two hours ago, was a good way to reveal what little information the school could about the incident and procedures following it. They could have interviewed Michaela Jackson, whomever she may be since it didn’t tell us how she’s qualified to be the interim principal, to get a good idea of what she’s thinking or feeling. I did point out that the chief human resources officer for OPS was the one who sent the letter out to parents, making sure the letter was written in a way that did not alarm parents. He added in the student conduct, too, so there was no rumors about the leave.

Possible injuries in Mega City Mall explosion, the details behind it are still unclear

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An explosion went off at Mega City Mall food court Thursday, December 5th, at 9:53 a.m. Police were at the scene of the incident only minutes later, arriving at 9:58 a.m. to evacuate and investigate.

Grandmother of two, Makaelyn Glienke, was in the food court buying candy when the explosion occurred. Glienke and her grandsons immediately ducked under the nearest table they could find to protect themselves.

“I didn’t have my glasses on, so I didn’t see exactly where the explosion came from. I was just glad I had my meds with me,” said Glienke.

A little further away from the food court, seasonal mall worker, 19 year-old Ellie Cropley, was getting Santa’s Workshop ready to open for the day when she heard the explosion.

“I saw people running, so I followed them to see what was happening. I immediately called my mom after I found out it was an explosion,” Cropley said.

A Mega City Theatre employee, Kristine Honomichl, was using the bathroom at the time of the explosion.

“The bathroom stalls began to fall down as I was using the restroom. This was just my luck,” said Honomichl.

At a press release right after the incident, Captain Ross Fuglsang assured the public that police are unsure if the explosion was due to electrical equipment or something more intentional at this time.

“We are working closely to make sure the investigation is timely and thorough,” Fuglsang said. “We will have more information this afternoon.”

They are trying to clear debris and get inside the building to investigate further and to see the extent of the damage done by the explosion.

“Our sympathy goes out to all the families impacted by today’s event,” Fuglsang said.

There is a second press release scheduled to be held this afternoon at 2 p.m. in the same space.

News Press Release: Zoo saddened to announce the death of beloved polar bear

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Midland Zoo is saddened to announce that Homer, the beloved 16-year-old polar bear, unexpectedly died this morning at 7 a.m., only an hour after his feeding. 

The cause of death at this time is unknown but zoo director, Chris Bacon, assures that there will be investigations that take place to determine the exact cause.

“The zoo will perform a necropsy to try to determine the cause of death. The results will not be available for several weeks,” senior staff veterinarian Dr. Shanda Lear said.

The two polar bears housed in the exhibit with Homer, 9-year-old male Yukon and 10-year-old female McKenzie, were immediately removed from the polar bear exhibit and are now being monitored by veterinary staff. 

Polar bears have thrived at Midland zoo since 1985 with their unique exhibit that allows the bears to engage in natural behaviors: playing in manufactured snow, digging in gravel, and hunting trout in the chilled pool.

It was only last week that the zoo mourned the death of 10-year-old female bobcat, Regina, whom died of renal failure last week and two weeks ago, a 6-year-old female giraffe, Kenya, died after her neck broke when her horns got caught in her stall. The three deaths all have been heart-breaking but are in no way related. 

“Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly,” zookeeper Sara Getty said.

Article 4 Profile Final Draft; Morningside sophomore continues to cultivate her passion for agriculture.

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Photo Courtesy of Megan Drey

At first glance, sophomore Megan Drey may not seem like your typical farmer. With her long dark hair and the largest grin ever seen on a person, her welcoming attitude and caring tone wouldn’t lead you to believe she spends her day working alone in a field. But, this young and outgoing woman has a passion for land like no other. 

Drey grew up working on her family farm in Early, Iowa, with her parents and two sisters. Since there were no boys, all three daughters would be on call to help her father with the farm chores.

One job Drey helps with is the castrating of the pigs. This last summer, Drey was helping with this chore, holding the pigs as her dad did the cutting. 

“I don’t have any boots so I just wear his and they are a bit big,” Drey said.

She had just put a pig down and was going to catch another one but felt something in her boot. She told her dad to hold the pig she just picked up while she dumped out her boot, because she felt something in it. 

“I found out that he accidentally threw one of the pig’s balls in my boot,” Drey said. “He just laughed because he knows how much I hate doing that job.”

Despite the messy and unpredictable work the farm offers, Drey enjoyed helping her father as a child. 

“Megan has always been so willing to come help me with any chore that needs to be done. Even when she’s on school breaks, she’ll wake up early to come drive the graincart or wagons and spend the day out on the field until about 6 or 7 p.m.,” Dean Drey, Drey’s father, said.

Even though she’s willing to spend her days on the field and in the barn, she never thought that she would be doing any type of agriculture for a career.

“Once I came to college and was away from the farm for the first time, I realized how much I missed it and that’s when I decided that’s what I really like to do,” Drey said.

Drey decided to come to Morningside College, only an hour away from home, to double major in applied agriculture and food studies and accounting, with a minor in business. 

“My dream job after graduation is to potentially work at a Farm Credit of Farm Bureau office, serving farmers either being an insurance agent or being an ag lender,” Drey says. “I really want to be able to have a job that allows me to be flexible so I can go back and work on the family farm.”

Drey’s love for agriculture is so big that she not only works in Agriculture department, but is also the Treasurer of the Ag Club. The club allows her to be a leader on top of working with familiar materials. 

“Megan works well with others and is willing to participate in a variety of activities. She was actually a part of a group of students that represented Morningside at the 2019 National Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis, receiving first place in the categories of ‘Community Service’ and ‘Fellowship’ in the Alpha Tau Alpha Conclave. They competed against 10 other schools including Division 1 schools,” Agriculture Club advisor, Daniel Witten, said.

Only on her second year, Drey has some time to go before she can live her dream of working with farmers as well as on her farm. Until then, she plans to continue working on her father’s farm when she goes back home for breaks and weekends, further increasing her love for the independent, diligent work the farm offers her.