A couple of photos from district softball. The one below a tight action shot, and this one is just a nice moment of celebration.

After winning the Class A, District 7 championship, Grand Island Senior High’s Sara Petska is hugged by her teammates Emily Mierau (left) and Alissa Christensen (right). Petska drove in the winning run in the top of the seventh inning to give the Islanders the win over Columbus, 4-3.

Nice late afternoon light. Perhaps the sun really did get in her eyes….

York third baseman Kourtney Burianek just misses an infield fly during a B-5 district game against Aurora in Hastings. Aurora won the game, 6-1.

This photo that didn’t make our paper, but I like it — the photo that is — not the final score of the game.

The Missouri mascot celebrates after Missouri defeated the Huskers on Saturday Oct. 4, 2008 in Lincoln, Neb.  The final score of 52-17 gave the Tigers their first victory in Memorial Stadium in 30 years.

Finding a different angle for marching band photos is a challenge, but I liked this one. If only the town’s name was facing the camera….

Marching past the town of Henderson’s water tower, members of the Heartland Huskie Band including (from upper left) tuba player Jordan Hiebner, clarinet player Abigail Bechtel and mellophone player Luis Romo practice for this year’s Harvest of Harmony Parade. The band placed first in Class C last year.

Not sure what the best way is to show that our area’s population is less diverse, but this was a good try.

Two Grand Island Senior High students walk beneath some of the flags from many countries representing the country of origin of Senior High students. According to a recent study, Hall, Howard and Merrick counties saw a fall in foreign-born population living in the area from calendar year 2006 to 2007.

LeRoy Peters of Henderson tosses a husked ear of corn into a horse-drawn trailer during a hand cornhusking demonstration at Husker Harvest Days on Sept. 11, 2008. “I picked 103 bushels per day for 10 days in 60 bushel corn,” he said speaking of his youth. “I got 13 cents per bushel. I had to furnish my own team and wagon. We were young and we were strong.”

I was hiding under a tent staying dry when I shot this weather feature at the Husker Harvest Days site.

Rain gear and umbrellas are common as Husker Harvest Days visitors, like these four exiting a shuttle, cope with rain for most of the morning Sept. 11, 2008.

While helping to celebrate Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska’s 40th year, Chantal McDonald celebrates one of three ringers in the ring toss area during a carnival Sept. 10, 2008. McDonald took home three bottles of pop as a result of her tosses.

A nice portrait of a rodeo clown that didn’t make the paper.

Oregon Trail Rodeo clown Barry “Boom Boom” Johnson talks to Doniphan-Trumbull fourth-graders about the dangers he faces in his work during a grade school field trip at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Hastings.

I wasn’t expecting much from this assignment, but came away with a nice photo.

The look on scratch ticket lottery winner Darrell Penas’ face tells the story as he waits to receive the 2008 Toyota Tundra 4-by-4 double-cab truck behind him outside Coffin’s Corner in Grand Island where his daughter, Andrea Zuelow, bought $100 worth of scratch tickets as a gift for Penas. The truck was the second top prize winner in the Nebraska Lottery’s $2 Truck$ & Buck$ Scratch Game.