LIBRARY HOURS
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 2-6 p.m. Wednesday: 12-7 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m.-noon
LaVail Aschoff, Director
Building Readership
Adult Fiction
“Winterkill” by C. J. Box — It’s an hour away from darkness, a bitter winter storm is raging, and Joe Pickett is deep in the forest edging Battle Mountain, shotgun in his left hand, his truck’s detached steering wheel handcuffed to his right—and Lamar Gardiner’s arrow-riddled corpse splayed against the tree in front of him. Lamar’s murder and the sudden onslaught of the snowstorm warn: Get off the mountain. But Joe knows this episode is far from over. And when his own daughter gets caught up in his hunt for the killer, Joe will stop at nothing to get her back...
Adult Non-Fiction “Northeaster: A Story of Courage and Survival in the Blizzard of 1952” by Cathie Pelletier — Cathie Pelletier’s breathtaking account of the 1952 snowstorm that blanketed New England weaves together a rich cast of characters whose lives were uprooted and endangered by the storm. Housewives and lobstermen, loggers and soldiers were all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard’s chaos, there were remarkable acts of heroism and courageous generosities. Doctors braved the storm to help deliver babies. Ordinary people kept their wits while buried in their cars, and others made their way out of forests to find kindhearted strangers willing to take them in.
Kids’ Books
“In Between,” by April Pulley Sayre — Newly hatched, but not ready to fly. Eager to explore, but not ready to leave mama's side. No longer a tadpole, but not ready to leap from water onto land. Animals, just like people, can find themselves in awkward in-between stages. How do we get out of the in-betweens? With patience and time—and sometimes a little push! Join celebrated author-photographer April Pulley Sayre for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into nature’s in-between moments.
Prescribed burns set for WMAs, state park areas
Controlled burns to remove tree and brush piles will end as the snow melts. Prescribed burns then will begin this spring on some Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife management areas, state parks and state recreation areas where weather allows.
Burning allows habitat managers to positively affect more acres. Those burns not completed this spring will be attempted this summer, fall or winter as weather allows.
Burned acres often become more attractive to wildlife species, and for some species, the effect is immediate. The long-term effects on wildlife habitat are much better if prescribed burning is used as a management tool than if habitat is not burned.
Historically, wildlife habitats were shaped by wildfires that occurred throughout the year. Burns help set back undesirable plants that invade native woodlands and prairies, as well as other grass and wooded areas. Eastern red cedar trees, honey locust, buckbrush, sumac, dogwood and other undesirable deciduous trees and shrubs can be managed with the help of burns.
Used in conjunction with grazing, prescribed burning also can set back smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass, increase diversity in grasslands and improve habitat for wildlife.
