Hearing, comments on LB281 to rebuild 4-H Camp
THEDFORD - Nebraska State Senator Mike Jacobson, District 42 (which contains Thomas and Hooker Counties), attended a meeting to talk about LB281. LB281 is a bill Jacobson introduced and Senator Tom Brewer, Dist. 36, co-sponsored, on behalf of rebuilding the State 4-H Camp near Halsey. The camp burned in October, 2022, in the Bovee fire.
More than 30 people attended the meeting at the Sandhills Corral to hear his strategy for the bill’s introduction, to interact and to answer the question, “If money were no object, what would you like to see at the new camp?”
Senator Jacobson explained that funding would come from the Department of Economic Development; $30 million of a $50 million fund would be set aside for building a youth outdoor educational facility. This funding is what was used in 2021 legislation to build the rail park near Hershey in Lincoln County.
The State 4-H Camp began in 1959 with Director Eleanor Horst and campers living in tents while the Eppley Lodge and cabins were built by her husband, Gene Horst, and others. It opened to campers in 1963. A 60-year anniversary celebration was being planned for this year. Half of the cabins were burned in a 1965 fire. Through heroic efforts of the Horsts and others, the Lodge was saved.
The camp at Halsey was the last of four 4-H camps in Nebraska and was central in offering other camps, adult workshops, receptions, family reunions and year-round lodging. The buildings that burned were owned by the Nebraska 4-H Foundation with a lease agreement of the ground through the US Forest Service and 4-H camps organized through UNL Extension.
The hearing for the LB281 is Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln in Room 1525 at approximately 1:30 p.m. Central. Jacobsen recommends if you plan on attending, be at his office, Room 1523, by 1 p.m.
If you are interested in testifying, prepare your comments, rehearse them and ensure they are no more than three minutes. Bring 10 printed copies to give to the Page prior to reading on the floor. Comments must include your name and the community you reside in.
If you wish to testify, contact Twyla Witt at 402-430-6794. She will coordinate carpooling.
The Capital Cafeteria is open, so lunch prior to the meeting is available.
For those who cannot atttend in person, there is a link to submit written testimony: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/feature/citizen.php.
You cannot testify in person if you submit comments online. You may send letters of support by U.S. Mail, however, to place your thoughts in the public record, you must comment online or in-person.