2009 Alliance High School graduate Megan Dimmitt has been crowned Chadron State College’s Homecoming Queen.

Dimmitt was crowned queen last night, just four days after winning the title of Miss Northwest during the Miss Chadron-Miss Northwest Scholarship Pageant and earning her third trip to the Miss Nebraska Pageant in North Platte next June.

Dimmit, who is also a Chadron State cheerleader, is studying criminal justice. She was nominated by the Criminal Justice Club.

Another senior from northwest Nebraska, Donald Hlava of Gordon, was crowned Homecoming King.

Hlava, a graduate of Gordon-Rushville High School, is pursuing a major in business administration. He was nominated by the College Republican’s Club.

Other Homecoming activities at Chadron State College include the homecoming parade Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Area firefighters, who have battled numerous catastrophic wildfires in the region this summer and into the fall, have been chosen to serve as the parade marshals.

The Eagle football team will host Western New Mexico Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at Elliott Field. Following the game, a groundbreaking ceremony for the multi-million dollar expansion and renovation of the Armstrong building will take place.

The Spotted Tail Fire was human caused and was triggered by actions on public lands prohibited by current fire restrictions on National Forest System Lands, which is a federal offense.

The individuals involved in the incident have come forward; have been cited by federal law enforcement and are in the process of adjudication.

Jane Darnell, Forest Supervisor said, “The Spotted Tail Fire is an unfortunate reminder that we have unprecedented fire conditions that remain volatile, even in late October.  We implemented fire restrictions early this spring as a tool to limit activities that could lead to public danger, natural resource or structural damage.  Violations are serious, and we are fortunate that quick action helped limit consequences in this incident.”

Darnell offered appreciation for the public watchfulness and immediate assistance that allowed effective investigation, as well as cooperation of local law enforcement.

The Spotted Tail Fire started October 20, five miles south of Chadron on Forest System Lands, burned 83 acres and was contained October 22.

Adventurist Aron Ralston, who endured unthinkable sacrifices to survive an accident in the Utah wilderness, told audience members at Chadron State College on Tuesday to embrace their own “boulders,” just as he has come to appreciate the one that caused him to lose much of his right arm.

Ralston’s presentation, the first installment of this year’s Galaxy Series of fine arts and cultural events at Chadron State, drew a near-capacity crowd in Memorial Hall. The Boulder, Colo., resident spoke and answered questions for more than an hour and a half about the experience, which happened in 2003.

“We are all going to encounter adversity, encounter challenges, traumas, loss, grief, finals week, and all of the rest of it,” Ralston said. “These boulders are not something to be pushed away. Not something to feel like a burden, but rather maybe be something you embrace. Perhaps they’re something that you might even smile at, or welcome.”

Ralston recounted the five days his right arm was pinned beneath the weight of the half-ton boulder, and provided graphic detail of the thoughts and actions that led to him severing the limb with a dull knife in order to survive. He also told of the joy he experienced once free from the boulder, and the ensuing five hours of hiking and rappelling that led to his rescue.

“What you probably don’t know about me is the respect that I have for that experience,” he said. “When I walked out of that canyon, almost 10 years ago now, indeed I left something behind, but I didn’t lose anything.”

Ralston interspersed humor with the dark account, acting out the scenes of the experience. He spoke about the lows, which at one point prompted him to carve his epitaph in the nearby crevice wall. A high point, he said, was finally coming up with the idea to use the force of his body against the weight of the boulder to break the bones in his arm, making it possible for the knife – part of a cheap multi-tool which had become dull after chipping away at the rock – to cut through his arm.

The worst pain he’d previously experienced, he said, was having his hand slammed in a car door as a child. “That was my 10. Now, it was a zero.”

Despite the pain, Ralston describes the experience in the Blue John Canyon as the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

He said the boulder’s first gift was showing him what is most important – relationships with family and friends. He said his memories of loved ones, and the desire to return to their side, kept him going through the darkest periods. He also told an out-of-body experience in which he encountered a vision of who he now believes to be his future son Leo, now 2 ½.

Ralston said his mother, who went to great lengths to pinpoint his whereabouts and notify authorities, served as a vital component of his rescue in addition to serving as inspiration to live.

“We don’t do anything alone,” he said. “As remote and as isolated as I was in the bottom of that canyon, what I have learned is that we are never alone. We are always connected. The love that surrounds us, the energy that fills this universe, that is what binds us. We will always have that with us.”

Since narrowly escaping death, Ralston has become the only person to accomplish the feat of climbing the 59 highest mountains of Colorado in winter. He’s the only person with a disability to have skied from the summit of Denali, and the first amputee to row a raft through the Grand Canyon.

Ralston’s story is told in his book “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” which served as inspiration for the movie “127 Hours.”

—Justin Haag, CSC Information Services

Listen:

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Voting for Chadron State College’s homecoming royalty competition began Monday, Oct. 22.

The contest, which is decided by an online vote of the student body, features a total of 48 candidates – 25 for queen and 23 for king. The winners will be announced during the spirit rally in Armstrong Gym on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Each CSC club or organization is eligible to submit one female and one male student for the competition. Following is a list of those who have been nominated.

Queen Candidates:

Dani Buckley, Palmer, Alaska; Tess Clemetson, Riverton, Wyo.; Megan Dimmitt, Alliance, Neb.; Erin Dunn, Valentine, Neb.; Lindsey Ferguson, Springview, Neb.; Mercy Gagnon, Lome, West Africa; Mariah Gaston, Custer, S.D.; Amy Graham, Valentine, Neb.; Keanna Gross, Johnstown, Neb.; Reba Jackson, Hay Springs, Neb.; Sarah Kingsbury, Winner, S.D.; Sarah Labor, Hot Springs, S.D.; Kate Phelps, Hastings, Neb.; Emilee Pilkington, Scottsbluff, Neb.; Sarah Porter, Fremont, Neb.; Steph Reynaga, Alliance, Neb.; Jill Schiltmeyer, Elgin, Neb.; Brooke Schumacher, Peetz, Colo.; Molly Seefus, Fort Calhoun, Neb.; Brittany Senecal, Aurora, Colo.; Kassy Thompson, Crawford, Neb.; Arielle Tiensvold, Rushville, Neb.; Jocelyn Utecht, Hastings, Neb.; Katie Whalen, Aladdin, Wyo.; Heather Wing, Chadron, Neb.

King Candidates:

Coleman Ahrens, Palmer, Alaska; Adam Bahl, Gering, Neb.; Kaleb Britton, Rapid City, S.D.; Darren Burrows, Columbus, Neb.; J.P. Carwin, Peetz, Colo.; Tell Deatrich, Curtis, Neb.; Kyle Duarte, Glendale, Ariz.; Conrad Gachne, Gering, Neb.; Andrew Harper, Harper, Ore.; Bryce Harrington, Grand Island, Neb.; Donald Hlava, Gordon, Neb.; Jens Johnson, Chadron, Neb.; Nate  Martens, Newton, Kan.; Justin McConnell, Chadron, Neb.; Brendan Mead, Knoxville, Iowa; Sam Parker, Harrison, Neb.; Curtis Perriotte-Olson, Campbelltown, Australia; Joseph Reedy, Vale, S.D.; Danny Reynaga, Alliance, Neb.; Michael Sobotka, Inman, Neb.; T.J. Thomson, Golden, Colo.; Ty Trump, Blue Springs, Neb.; Jonathan Woodden, Chadron, Neb.

—Justin Haag, CSC Information Services