By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The Guthrie County Fairgrounds will host figure 8 stock car races on Saturday, July 19 beginning at 6 p.m. Admission cost is $10 (kids 5 and younger admitted free). A pit pass costs $20.
Special to the Times Vedette
On July 16, a total of 10 players participated. Sandy Rumelhart got a 16 and a 17; Jim Carico got a 17; Larry Gardner got a 16; Chet Vaughan had two 16s; and Lela Schwartz won the kitty with a 20.
The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library, 400 Grand St., on Mondays at 8 a.m. and at the New Homestead independent living dining hall, 2306 State St., at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Organizers say there is always room for more, and they will be glad to teach you how to play. They play for quarters on Wednesday and Friday.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
Casey Fun Days has arrived (July 18 and 19) with a theme of “Continuing to Thrive in 2025.” The schedule of events has been announced. Full details and any updates/changes will be posted on the Casey Service Club Facebook page (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064639183671). Most events will be held in the area of McPherson Street near the Casey Public Library, City Hall and downtown businesses. Some events will be held at Casey City Park (Rutt Park, 300 E. Second St.).
Friday events kick off with a kids’ parade at 6 p.m., followed by a foam party (6:30-8:30 p.m.) and bags tournament. From 8:30-11:30 p.m., Tin Lizzie’s will have a beer tent with live music by The Bird Hunters.
Saturday downtown events include the 5K and 1-mile runs at 7 a.m., with a pancake breakfast from 7-10 a.m. A bake sale will begin at 8:30 a.m. The big parade begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by Methodist Church lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Also at 11 a.m. is a corn-shelling demonstration. The Historical Society building will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. From noon to 2:30 p.m., a car and tractor show will be held. At 3 p.m., the Science Heroes Show will be begin. Tin Lizzie’s will host a beer tent and live band (Burnin’ Sensations) from 8:30-11:30 p.m.
Saturday events at Rutt Park include inflatables from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., decorate your own piggy bank from noon to 2 p.m., lunch by the ACGC Class of 2026, and bingo at 1 p.m.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards held a joint meeting July 16. As part of the Consent Agenda, the Guthrie Center board approved the resignation of High School Principal Brian Sauser, and the contract recommendation for Bob Bolton as a route/activity driver.
Interviews will be held with four candidates for the principal vacancy, including internal and external candidates. Superintendent Josh Rasmussen said the districts are also looking to hire several special education paraprofessionals.
The boards discussed possibly changing the way senior trip fundraising is done. Rasmussen said some families are challenged in coming up with the required money.
“How do we get it so it’s not a mad rush at the end?” Rasmussen asked.
The boards discussed the possibility of spreading out the fundraising effort over several years, starting in a student’s sophomore or even freshman year. No formal action was taken on the issue.
Rasmussen shared information and led a discussion of each district’s “wants versus needs lists” of potential facility repairs/upgrades.
Adair-Casey Transportation Director Todd Batey described his list of the fleet of buses, which includes the age and mileage of each bus. Batey said many of the buses are 2015-2020 model year vehicles, which creates a challenge in making sure the district can plan to replace buses gradually rather than many in the same year, for budgeting reasons.
Batey also said for some of the rural bus routes, a smaller vehicle, such as a Suburban, might be more cost-effective than a full-size bus.
“We can drive 15 miles and pick up eight kids,” Batey said.
Batey said he will continue to work on determining the most cost-effective routes and vehicles to meet the district’s needs.
Rasmussen noted that Adair-Casey’s roofing project is nearing completion.
The boards discussed the student registration fees. Rasmussen said students who qualify for free or reduced prices for meals also qualify for a reduced rate on fees, and he suggested a 50% reduction. The boards approved this.
The ACGC Booster Club golf outing and dinner is set for Saturday, July 26. Board member Randy Carney said 24 teams are registered, and there is room for two more teams.
The next regular meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards is set for Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. at Adair-Casey Junior High. The public is welcome.
The Duke Rentals/Precision Components crew includes Jordyn Smith, Tylar Beardsley, Aaron Elken, Zack Benevento, Matt Alluisi, Gabe Readinger, Zach Francis, Landyn Howard, Page Oldes, JR Ludwig, Tanner Cleek, Lucas Jensen, Tim Eivins, Lonnie Hall, Kevin Heckman, Race Bennett, Ray Simmons and Graham Jensen.
By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, July 2025
Refurbished and repainted lifts wait to be back on the job.
Most anyone traveling on Highway 44 on the eastern edge of Guthrie Center has undoubtedly seen the tall boom lift machines parked near the highway. Those belong to Duke Rentals, which is located at 2102 State St. Manager Jordyn Smith provided some history and information on the company.
“Ken Tolton is the owner of both Duke Rentals and Precision Components. Precision Components fabricates parts for machines,” Smith said. “We are a refurb shop here. We have over 11,000 different machines, from boom lifts to tele-handlers, to dirt work machines, and forklifts. We refurbish them here with whatever they need — everything from engines to hoses to hubs — then they get painted and then they go back to the store to rent.”
The company is based out of Atlantic and has been operating in Guthrie Center for six years. Duke Rentals operates in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Ray Simmons and Tylar Beardsley replace hubs.
“We operate pretty much all up and down Tornado Alley. We have at least 18 stores,” Smith said.
Smith has worked at the company for five years and described how the work has changed during that time.
“When we first started here, we were just working on forklifts. But we’ve grown and added some lots and buildings,” Smith said. “Now we have about 24 fulltime employees, and we get about 200 boom lifts a year. The work these machines do can be pretty rough on them.”
Smith said he and his crew enjoy the challenge of refurbishing machines so they can be productive again. He recalled one especially time-consuming job.
“There was a machine that had been working in a salt mine, so every single piece of the machine was rusted. We were breaking bolts left and right. It was a nightmare, but we got it taken apart and made it like new again,” Smith said.
According to Smith, the company focuses strongly on safety.
Race Bennett and Jordyn Smith run diagnostics.
“We understand that the machine we’re working on will be putting someone 80 feet into the air, so we take a lot of pride in our work, because we can’t get anything wrong,” Smith said. “And we have good testing procedures at the end.”
Looking to the future, Smith said the company will adapt as the industry changes. Although most of the fleet is diesel-powered, Smith expects that to gradually change.
“We’ve got some electric lifts that we’re going to start working on,” Smith said.
Another focus of Duke Rentals, both locally and nationally, is doing good in the community.
“We try to be helpful in our community. So sometimes if the meat locker needs help moving their big storage containers around, we’ll go help. Or one time, UPS was having work done, and they needed stuff unloaded from a trailer, so we went over there to help,” Smith said.
Another way Duke Rentals/Precision Components gives relates to cancer.
Owner Ken Tolton’s late wife, Linda, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008. As a result of that experience, the company now takes an active role in fundraising for the cause. For that reason, some of Duke Rentals lifts are painted purple, which is the color of pancreatic cancer awareness ribbons. Whenever a purple lift is rented, a portion of the money goes to the Linda Tolton Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation.
“That’s something pretty cool that the company does,” Smith said.
Right now, Smith and his crew are working to keep up with their workload.
“Summer seems to be a busier time, because that’s construction season,” Smith said.
But Smith doesn’t mind staying busy and working hard. He said he is glad to be part of the team.
“I came in here with almost no mechanical experience and not a lot of management experience, but they promote from within. So, that was really cool,” he said. “If you work hard, they’ll reward you.”
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
County Engineer Josh Sebern provided an update on the Secondary Roads department to the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. He described two options for meeting the county’s need for engineering work related to the many bridge projects on the horizon. Sebern said the county receives approximately $1 million annually in federal funds for road/bridge projects.
“One would be hiring a professional consultant, which I’ve gotten a quote for. Or advertise, hire and promote from within two positions,” Sebern said.
Sebern also suggested purchasing a drone for bridge review/inspection.
The consensus of the supervisors was to pursue Sebern’s plan to hire from within and to purchase a drone.
Facility Manager Brandon Thompson presented an update on his department. According to Thompson, summer weather and storms have kept his crew busy.
“We’ve been cleaning out the storm sewer inlets; there’s been a lot of debris,” Thompson said. “We’re going to be working on parking lot stripe painting once we get some dry days.”
Supervisor Brian Johnson asked if Thompson still finds 100,000 miles to be a good rule of thumb for when to replace vehicles. Thompson said yes because trade-in values fall more steeply after that milestone is reached.
The supervisors discussed the severe weather policy. The supervisors agreed that the board will make decisions about closing facilities during severe weather events and will consult with applicable departmental staff as feasible.
As part of the consent agenda, the supervisors approved two fireworks permits, for Mark Blomquist and for Rich Boals. Also approved in the consent agenda were the hiring of Mckenzie Laughery as full-time Administrative Assistant in the Sherif’s Department ($55,000 annually), and Synthia McCaughey as full-time Administrative Support Specialist in the Public Health Department ($25 hourly).
The supervisors meet regularly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.