The Crofton Journal -

Renovations of the bell tower are beginning at St. Rose of Lima Church at Crofton. The crew started work of the removal of the “dome” of the church. The removal is due to long-term moisture and leakage problems on the walls on the inside of the church. The team desires to transport the dome downward to the rectory grounds as a permanent fixture as a memorial for the area people. A new leak-proof “steeple” will be erected.

Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area South Shore boat ramp has reopened July 3, just in time for the holiday weekend. The ramp had been temporarily closed since the middle of May after waves deposited a significant amount of sediment in the South Shore inlet.
A contractor began removing the sediment July 1.
“We are excited to restore access to this heavily used boat ramp, just in time for July Fourth,” said Jonathan Voelker, Lewis and Clark SRA park superintendent. “We appreciate how patient everyone has been with this inconvenience during peak season.”
Learn more about Lewis and Clark SRA at OutdoorNebraska.gov.

The 2025 Crofton High School alumni banquet was held on July 5 at the St. Rose Fellowship Hall with a good crowd filling the tables to catchup and reminisce. Crofton Alum from the Class of 1980 and WJAG radio host, Jeffery Steffen, emceed the event and introduced the special classes, and Alumni committee member, Terry Mueller, Class of 1975, gave the alumni update. This year’s host class was 1980 and next year will be 1981. The oldest alumni was Marv Hegge from the Class of 1953, and the urthest traveling alumni was Laraine (Diekmann) Derr (Class of 1960) of Juneau, Alaska. Next year’s banquet will fall on Saturday, July 4.

This started with both the 12U baseball teams (12U Mueller and 12U Lancaster) who both participated in the 12U Cedar/Knox Little League tournament that was hosted in Crofton at Crofton Volunteer Fields on Thursday, June 26th, Saturday, June 28th, and Sunday, June 20th.
12U Mueller earned tournament runners up. They defeated Hartington 1 6-5 on Thursday to put them in the winner’s bracket. Once there, they lost to Laurel 6-2 and then defeated Wynot/Fordyce 6-5 on Saturday to put them in the championship game.
The championship was held on Sunday, June 29 with 12U Mueller against Laurel, who defeated Crofton 12-2 to earn the tournament championship.
12U Connot/Lancaster started out their tournament campaign with a 8-1 loss to Laurel. They lost their second game to Hartington 1 5-4 on a walk-off hit.

Wyatt Tramp was selected to play in the Sertoma 8-man Nebraska All-Star Game last Saturday in Hastings Nebraska. He was voted as one of the Defensive team captains. The East team won 14-8 breaking a 3 year losing streak to the West team.

Nebraska Extension, in collaboration with Nebraska Game & Parks, Lewis and Clark NRD, and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, invites livestock producers and land managers to attend a Summer Pasture Walk on Monday, July 14, 2025, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Trent Arens Farm, located at 88184 528 Ave, Verdigre.
This free event provides a hands-on opportunity to observe and discuss pasture management strategies in a working livestock system.
Attendees will engage with Extension educators, partner representatives, and fellow producers on topics including forage production, grazing management, and pasture improvement.
No registration is required. For more information, contact a local Nebraska Extension 402-254-6821.

Knox County 4-H members gathered on Friday, June 28th in Center to participate in an Outdoor Adventures Workshop. A total of 12 youth spent the morning learning about the art of nature journaling, locating and finding animal tracks. The morning workshop ended with a field trip along the Verdigre Creek, where the 4-H members learned about native plants and fishing using a seine! Many thanks to our Nebraska Game and Parks partners as well as Verdigre Niobrara Valley Sportsmen members, Jesse and Peggy Krupicka for the creek exploration!

The Knox County Attorney’s Office reported on June 27 that on June 27, 2025, Alias Reed plead No Contest to First Degree Murder for killing Curt Strom and First Degree Murder for killing William Reffett in Bloomfield, Neb. on Feb. 20, 2024.
District Judge James G. Kube accepted the pleas in the District Court in Madison, and set sentencing for July 29, 2025 in the Knox County District Court in Center.
The mandatory sentence for each charge is Life in Prison without Parole. The State dropped two charges of Use of a firearm to Commit a Felony and waived seeking the death penalty.
Knox County Attorney, Hanna Knox Jensen, thanked the Nebraska State Patrol, the Bloomfield Police Department, and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office for their thorough and professional investigation of these crimes.

4-H members across Knox County are gearing up for the 2025 Knox County Fair. A total of 40 4-H members participated in 4-H Project Day held on June 10th in Center. Youth in attendance each made four projects to exhibit at the upcoming Knox County Fair. The projects included a picture frame where they learned how glass etching works. A flagpole made from PVC pipe, and the painting of the pole will be customized later by the youth. They made a heritage family from wooden blocks and customized them by color and other special additions to their family. The youth also made a storage seat out of a milk crate where they picked out their own fabric for the seat. These projects are all an introduction to building skills in different project areas, allowing the 4-H members to take them home, and customize their projects!

Crofton Volunteer Fields’ teams had a successful week as several teams competed in their league tournaments and other contests. The 18U softball team won the 2025 Nebraska Softball League Tournament on Sunday, June 22 in Crofton. The team earned the championship by defeating Wausa (9-2), Verdigre (9-3), and Osmond twice (7-1 and 10-0). A special thank-you goes out to all those who helped run the tournament. Meghann and Cody LaCroix and a helpful following of local volunteers ran the concessions stand, prepared the fields, and umpired in the field. The Crofton Volunteer Fire Department donated the use of one of their water trucks and two of its members (Kellen Wieseler and Andy Dennis) to water down the fields throughout the day. This helped keep the field conditions playable for the players, coaches, and umpires!

Clara Wuebben participated at the Nebraska State 4H Communication Premier Event on June 19th and 20th in Lincoln. She qualified for state in Illustrated Presentation and Public Speaking. She placed in the top 5 (in no specific order) for her illustrated presentation Enjoyable Edible Earth. She received the Illustrated Presentation Top 5 Finalist Award. The next day she participated in the public speaking contest where she received a top purple in her heat for her speech The 4H Rollercoaster.

As the baseball and softball season nears the end of the season it was another successful week at Crofton Volunteer Fields. In the above picture Isaac Guenther is pitching while Braxton Hames is playing shortstop in the background.

Two Crofton Warriors on the 12th annual Northeast Nebraska All-Star team in the game in Norfolk on June 13. Wyatt Tramp and Braxton Foxhoven represented the team on the Red Team. This year’s Red Team coaching staff included: Cody Volk of Pender; Amp Ferg of Pender; Jason Konicek of Norfolk; Mitch Hyde of Norfolk; Dan Swinton of Pender; and Mike Naeve of Winside. After four quarters of play, the Red Team came up just short of the win, falling 42-22.

The Crofton American Legion Post 128 with assistance from the Sons of the American Legion held a flag retirement ceremony on June 16th, and honorably burned flags that were worn and tattered.

The big news came from the 12U softball team that won the 2025 NE Nebraska Softball League tournament in Osmond, on Sunday, June 15th. The 12U team started the tournament with a 7-1 win against Verdigre before the girls went on to defeat Winside 3-1. The Lady Warriors then defeated Randolph 6-3 before winning a close game against Osmond 9-8 to win the Championship. In the end, the team had great pitching, defense, and teamwork throughout the day.

In 1963, Gail and Wanda Peterson moved to Crofton. At that time, Gail started teaching Industrial Ed and Driver's Ed, along with coaching track and cross country. In June of 2010, Gail was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coach Association Hall of Fame. Wanda worked at Gurneys for 30-plus years. During this time, they raised their family and had a large garden. She has since downsized their garden to two very nice and neat flower beds. The flower beds in the back of their home have hostas, day lilies, coral bells, clematis, miniature roses, and miniature potentilla. In front of their homes, and around the sides are more of the same plants and flowers. Their huge yard is neatly groomed and kept up with the help of their daughter and son-in=law.

Reservations are still being accepted to the 60th CHS Alumni Banquet, an evening dedicated to "Music & Memories." The milestone event will be held on Saturday, July 5th, at St. Rose Hall in Crofton. The celebration will begin with a social hour at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a program highlighting cherished moments from decades past. Alumni from all class years are encouraged to attend, reconnect, and share the tradition that continues to bring generations of CHS graduates together. Five-year anniversary classes will be honored and have reserved seating.

Tammy Matuska and the Modern Woodmen of America recently hosted a celebration of years of service for four retired Crofton firemen. Larry Stallbaum, Steve Kuehler, Wendell Strom and Leroy Walter were all recognized as the organization as “Hometown Heroes” at a reception on Sunday, June 8. Combined, the volunteers had served the community for 149 years. “Thank you for your service to the Crofton Community, and thank you to everyone who stopped and sent cards to congratulate our Hometown Heroes!” said Tammy Matsuka, Modern Woodmen of America.

On June 16, the Crofton American Legion and Auxiliary will be holding a special ceremony for the retirement of American flags in Crofton’s South Park. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 16. Battered, torn, or flags that are old and need to be retired can be dropped off at Uptown Style this week on Wednesday from 1 p.m.– 9 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. Those with flags to retire can also bring them along to the South Park on Monday evening as well.

The Crofton Community School’s “Students of the Term” have been released for the fourth term of the 2024-25 school year. The Students of the Term are: High School: Christopher Neuharth Junior High: Jarrett Johnson Students are nominated by teachers for many reasons, not just grades. Some of the reasons students were nominated are helping faculty and staff, tutoring students that are struggling, coming in for extra help before and after school, or just being a good classmate. Teachers can nominate a high school student and a junior high student. Others nominated: High School: Ella Tramp, Cecilia Wortmann, Madelyn Buschkamp, Callie Olson, Karoline Schendt, Natalee Steffen, Jack Schieffer, Cali Bauch, Bo Drotzmann, Corbin Bernt, Cameron Hansen, Jacee Athony, Alexa Suing, Macy Baker, Keisha Strunk, Madelyn Loecker, Kaden Arens, Pamela Dennis Junior High: Isaac Steffen, Breckin Jansen, Yebrahin Torres, Emma Birger, Blake Connot, Baileigh Sailer, Berkley Hames, Bella Hetzel, Ella Jessen