Elkhorn cemetery needs help with tornado cleanup, survivors need help with rides: Short Takes

Now, they need help again.

In addition to the many trees damaged and debris from the storm, about 500 monuments were toppled. Most have been restored to their correct position.

To reset each, though, will cost close to $30,000 even with substantial donations by monument companies.

Trees along the cemetery’s south border were taken down, at a cost of $28,000, but now the damaged and dead trees inside the cemetery grounds need attention.

The cemetery sign needs to be replaced and damage to the maintenance garage repaired.

Prospect Hill is a small, nonprofit cemetery with limited resources, established in the 1870s. The majority of operations are handled by volunteers at Schroeder Plumbing and Reichmuth Funeral Home.

“We have a very small paid staff for cemetery maintenance dedicated to mowing, trimming and cleaning of the cemetery grounds,” Rory Schroeder said. “We have reached out to multiple state and government organizations seeking assistance for all of these issues but find that the cemetery does not fit their categories for assistance. We will continue to seek support for our small association.”

Donations can be made to Prospect Hill Cemetery of Elkhorn, P.O. Box 67, Elkhorn, NE 68022.

Women’s Center hopes to raise $3,000

Women’s Center for Advancement is aiming to raise $3,000 by March 3 for transportation for survivors of domestic violence.

Often, transportation is a barrier to freedom, which is why the WCA provides hundreds of rides to fleeing survivors when they need them the most.

For many in the community, the first step to freedom often happens when they open that Uber door and drive away from violence. A $30 donation can make that moment possible.

Search for WCA at SHAREomaha.org and click donate to contribute.

Stray to Spay group needs kitten food

Stray to Spay is already seeing kittens being born in the cold weather and is putting out a request for kitten food.

The group often fosters kittens from Omaha’s large community cat population while it looks for space in adoption rescues, Amanda Guidero said.

The group’s goal is to reduce the size of cat colonies, which it does by spaying and neutering feral adults and getting friendly cats and kittens off the streets and into homes.

If you’d like to help, go to straytospay.org/en.

Birding programs set at DeSoto

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is holding birding programs.

The programs kick off with bald eagles on March 1 at 9 a.m. at the Visitor Center. Early March is typically peak viewing for bald eagles on the refuge.

Join a refuge ranger for a program to learn about bald eagles and then head out to view the birds on the refuge. Binoculars will be available for loan. Participants will need to drive their own vehicles and will caravan out to areas on refuge for eagle viewing.

On March 15 at 10 a.m., the focus will be on bluebirds and their life history, including the importance of the nesting box program in the species population recovery. As part of the program, participants will help build new nesting boxes for the refuge (limited supply).

To sign up or learn more, contact Park Ranger Peter Rea at 712-388-4803 or peter_rea@fws.gov.

Olsson funds chair at UNL College of Engineering

Olsson, a national engineering and design firm based in Lincoln, has pledged $1 million to establish an endowed chair for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Engineering.

The Olsson chair of engineering will be awarded based on teaching and research ability, with a preference for a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The endowed chair will support an annual salary stipend and provide funds for scholarly research. Olsson is the first corporation to establish and fully fund a chair in the college.

“We are proud to partner with the College of Engineering to build Nebraska’s engineering workforce,” said Brad Strittmatter, Olsson president and chief executive officer. “Olsson was founded in Lincoln in 1956, and because we care deeply about Nebraska’s future, Olsson wants to ensure the University of Nebraska remains a destination for exceptional engineering faculty who engage in transformational research and offer the best possible learning environment for the next generation of Nebraska engineers.”

Strittmatter is a 1997 civil engineering graduate from Nebraska and is on the college’s advisory board. He and his wife, Lisa, serve as University of Nebraska Foundation trustees and are volunteer co-chairs of the college’s campaign committee for Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future.

Olsson’s gift was made as part of the Only in Nebraska campaign, an effort to engage 150,000 unique benefactors to raise $3 billion to support the University of Nebraska. A key campaign priority for the College of Engineering is to create endowed professorships and chairs to support collaborative research and competitive salaries to help recruit and retain exceptional faculty. The gift commitment was made through the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Walcott named curator at quilt museum

Sarah Walcott has been named the new Ardis B. James curator of collections for the International Quilt Museum.

“Sarah is the perfect choice to serve as the museum’s next curator of collections,” said Leslie Levy, the Ardis and Robert James Executive Director at the IQM. “Her institutional knowledge and expertise of the art form are valuable to our leadership. We are excited for her to help guide the museum and its collection into a new era.”

Walcott is the second curator of collections at the IQM since the museum’s establishment at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1997.

Omaha Fashion Week to hold runway sale

Omaha Fashion Week announced that its Shop the Runway Sunday will be March 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Omaha Design Center.

The event will feature looks straight off the runway from the spring 2025 season and is being hosted in collaboration with ShowHaus. ShowHaus is a community hub focused on bringing viability, accessibility and sustainability to independent designers and hyper-local fashion weeks around the country.

This event is free and open to the public. Go to omahafashionweek.com for tickets.

Short Takes is a compilation of lightly edited press releases from various organizations. If you’d like to have your information included, send it to ducey@owh.com at least 10 days before the item needs to run. Photos are encouraged with a photo credit and caption.