40 Years Ago (1982)
What had seemed a typical fall afternoon suddenly turned into a tragic disaster when the grain elevator in Raymond exploded at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.
The causes for the explosion has not yet been officially declared, but the results have been gravely felt from the people in the area – four people were killed by the blast, and as of Wednesday afternoon three were listed in critical condition at St. Elizabeth’s Burn trauma Center.
The first two found dead in the explosion were Movitta Jo King, 42, of rural Raymond, who worked as a bookkeeper at the elevator, and Diane Kissinger, 24, who had stopped by the co-op with her husband to buy some dog food.
Later in the night, two other missing persons were found dead in the debris. There were Earl Nelson of Malcolm who had stopped by to purchase a pair of gloves, and Don Elenga, an employee of the co-op.
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State Fire Marshall Wally Barnett said that it wasn’t until 2 a.m. that they found the last body.
The three people in critical condition from the explosion are Frank King, husband of Movitta Jo King, Frank Kissinger Jr., husband of Diane Kissinger, and William “Dick” Krone of Raymond, manager of the elevator.
All three suffered smoke inhalation, and are being kept on resuscitators. A spokesperson for St. Elizabeth’s said that Krone suffered burns on 65% of his body; Kissinger on 55%. All three were resuscitated at the scene of the accident and rushed to the burn trauma center.
Barnett said late Wednesday afternoon that the probable cause of the explosion was a leak in an underground 1.25-inch propane line between a tank and the grain dryer which ignited by a fuel oil heater below the office area.
The building proposed to be purchased for use as Waverly city offices and council chambers will be open for the community to walk through and ask questions about on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 1 to 5 p.m.
A special election to decide whether the city should buy the Randy Johnson Insurance Building, located by the Waverly Plaza, will be held on Nov. 30, and the open house was suggested as a way of letting the public get a fuller concept of what is to be done before they vote.
30 Years Ago (1992)
Eight Waverly High School students have been picked for this year’s All-State band and chorus, Waverly Bandmaster and Music Teacher Kathy Dalby said last week.
All-State music groups will perform final public concerts Nov. 20 and 21 at Lincoln’s Pershing Auditorium and East High School. Among the 145 students selected to be part of this year’s All-State is Nichole Underhill (oboe)
Percussionist Corey Hart has joined 20 students on the All-State jazz band.
Named from Waverly to the 165-member All-State band were Jason Keagy (trombone), Michelebit Weaver (flute) and Julie Anderson (clarinet).
In addition, Scott Trauthen, Matt Geiler and Bryan Mandigo have been named to the All-State chorus.
Jennifer Norris of rural Ceresco never imagined that she and her three children would see their home burn down when she got up to check hogs after being awakened by noises on her front porch last Tuesday morning.
“She said she thought there might be a burglar prowling around, what she was actually hearing were embers from a fire in their chimney falling down and hitting porch,” Ceresco VFD Training Officer Tim Greiner said.
Greiner and his wife Sue, who is president of the local Jaycee chapter, helped organize the community to come to the aid of the Norris family after their home was severely damaged by flames and smoke from a fire that swept-up one wall the house early last Tuesday morning (Nov. 10).
Greiner said the fire started in fuel oil burner and swept-up the south wall of the house, and while flames were brought quickly under control by responding Ceresco and Wahoo fire units, smoke and flame damages were still extensive
It could have been worse. A north wind helped contain flames to the south wall of the house and the Norris’ six-year-old daughter acted quickly in dialing the 911 emergency center in Lincoln (father and husband Brad Norris was at work at the time of the blaze).
“When we got there, we found them all safe in the yard,” said soon-to-be Assistant Chief Greiner.
20 Years Ago (2002)
Strong play at the net and tough serving by Syracuse took Raymond Central out of its normal attack, giving the Rockets the win in a Class C1 district final, 15-6, 15-12 in Snyder Arena at Nebraska Wesleyan University last Thursday night.
After falling behind 2-0 in game two, Raymond Central (22-7) responded with two ace serves from senior Krystal Smith, and two kills from seniors Megan Rolofson and Nicole Brophy to take a 5-2 lead. The Mustangs, however, wouldn’t score again until it was 12-6. Two kills by junior Samantha Nelson only temporarily stifled Syracuse’s momentum, as the Rockets scored points on four kills, two ace serves, and an ace block.
Nelson stuffed a Syracuse (21-6) attack for the sixth Raymond Central point as the team tried to rally, but it was too late.
Game two featured more side outs than game one and the Mus- tangs found a way around the block of Syracuse with two kills by Smith and one by senior Jamie Novacek. Rolofson added another kill to tie the game at three.
Smith, Jacobs and Jill Warner all had two ace serves, while Brophy led with 11 digs. Smith had six kills, and Nelson, Rolofson and Novacek had four each.
Raymond Central’s speech team was one of 18 schools participating in the Papillion LaVista Speech Invite Saturday, Nov. 9. It was the first outing for the varsity team with the novices second tourney after winning the Millard North Tournament the previous weekend. The combined varsity/novice teams marked Raymond Central’s sixth straight tournament win dating back to conference last year.
10 Years Ago (2012)
The combination of Olivia Boender’s power and Danielle Root’s finesse propelled Waverly to a 27-25, 25-20, 27-25 victory over Elkhorn South in the Vikings first state tournament since 1998.
Boender, a Nebraska recruit, finished with 22 kills, three blocks, three ace serves and 21 digs on Thursday morning at Grand Island High School. Root added nine kills, including five in the second set, to help Waverly own a 42-36 advantage in kills.
The victory moved Waverly one away from advancing to the state championship match for the first time since reaching the Class-B State final in 1975. The Vikings lost a state volleyball title in 1974 after the program captured the first three state volleyball tournament championships from 1972 to 74.
Waverly voters elected incumbent Mike Werner to four more years as the city’s mayor.
Werner defeated challenger Doug Larson with 64.5% of the vote in the Nov. 6 election, according to unofficial results from the Lancaster Election Commissioner’s Office. Werner received 965 votes to Larson’s 524.
Werner said that vote of confidence means the city needs to continue in its current path. He added that the city’s progress is not solely his doing, but the work of many people including Waverly city council members and city employees.