 Norfolk Police Officer Pascal Vantilborgh has announced his candidacy for Stanton County Sheriff. The Stanton Register received the following release at 11:51 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 8 My name is Pascal Vantilborgh, and I’m proud to announce my candidacy for Sheriff of Stanton County.
My wife Odessa and I have built our lives around one simple mission: helping, serving and protecting the people of our communities. She supports young children with developmental needs at NENCAP, and I’ve dedicated my career to keeping our communities safe. I’ve served in law enforcement since 2011, working in Madison County, Stanton County and for the past 6 years with the Norfolk Police Division. Over the years I’ve developed close working relationships with neighboring Police Departments, County Sheriffs and State Patrol, as well as area Judges and Attorneys. When I worked nonstop in Pilger after the tornadoes, I saw our communities come together in a way I’ll never forget. That’s when I knew this is where I belong and I’ll do everything in my power to serve and support it. I want to bring back what a lot of agencies have forgotten: “To Serve and protect”. I believe this County deserves law enforcement that is ethical, equal and transparent. I will prioritize renewing trust and cooperation between the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office and the committed volunteers of our area fire and rescue departments, so we can better protect our community together. I will work hard to be a Sheriff that is trusted by the community and approachable to everyone. It’s time to bring back community oriented policing to ALL of Stanton County. I’m asking for your support on Election Day, vote for experience you can trust. Vote Pascal Vantilborgh for Stanton County Sheriff.  Stanton County Deputy Tyler Evans announced his candidacy for Stanton County Sheriff. The Stanton Register received the following release at 7:19 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2. After 13 years in law enforcement — and proudly serving the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office since 2015, first as a deputy and now as a sergeant — I am excited to announce my intent to file for Stanton County Sheriff.
Stanton County is my home. It’s where I’ve built my career, built relationships, and committed myself to protecting and serving our community every single day. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand the strengths of our county and the opportunities we have to continue providing reliable law enforcement to keep the citizens of Stanton County and visitors safe. I’m incredibly thankful for the support of my family. My wife, Logan, is a dedicated teacher with Stanton Community Schools, and together we are raising our two daughters here in this community we love. Their encouragement inspires me every day to work hard and help ensure Stanton County remains a safe place for all families. I’m stepping forward because I believe in:
My mission is simple: provide fair, effective, and compassionate law enforcement while ensuring every resident feels safe, supported, and respected. I’m grateful for the trust this community has already placed in me — and I’m ready to continue serving in an even greater capacity.  Stanton County Chief Deputy Aaron Kleensang has announced his candidacy for Stanton County Sheriff. The Stanton Register received the following release at 9:42 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1 Stanton County Chief Deputy Aaron Kleensang, law enforcement officer with 20 years of experience, is proud to announce their Republican candidacy for Sheriff of Stanton County. With a commitment to justice, transparency, and community safety, Aaron Kleensang is ready to bring fresh leadership to the Stanton County Sheriff's Office.
"As Sheriff, my priority will be to ensure that every resident of Stanton County feels safe, heard, and respected," said Kleensang. "I believe in fostering trust between law enforcement and the community. I would also like to address the changing climate in the courts and probation systems. Kleensang states he wants "to ensure that our department is pro-active and operates with integrity and fairness." Kleensang brings over 20 years of experience in law enforcement and a proven track record of leadership. Kleensang has served as a Corrections Officer, Police Officer, SWAT team member, Firefighter and EMT. Kleensang is also currently the President of the Woodland Park board and has served on the board for five years. Kleensang has worked the night shift for the last decade to reduce crime by proactively working to deter crime and to earn the respect of colleagues and community members alike. Kleensang has received the Mothers against Drunk Driving award twice over the years. The campaign will focus on additional training for deputies, improving public safety with pro-active law enforcement, and building stronger community partnerships. Kleensang invites residents to join the movement for positive change by attending campaign events, sharing their concerns, and supporting the vision for a safer, stronger Stanton County. Kleensang stated "it would be an honor to serve as Sheriff of Stanton County and I have tremendous respect for Sheriff Unger and his decades of diligent service to the residents of Stanton County." Kleensang is supported by his wife, Megan of seventeen years and two daughters, Penny and Phoebe. For more information about Aaron Kleensang's campaign, please visit the below. Media Contact: Aaron Kleensang 402-850-3712 [email protected] or [email protected] Social Media Facebook: Kleensangforsheriff Instagram: Kleensangforsheriff  After 39 years in law enforcement in Stanton County — and 33 as sheriff — Mike Unger announced Monday morning that he will not be seeking re-election next year.
The sheriff released the below statement to the Stanton Register: I wish to officially inform the citizens of Stanton County that I will not be seeking re-election for the office of Stanton County Sheriff. It has been an honor to serve as Sheriff these past 33 years after being a law enforcement officer in Stanton County since 1986. This was not an easy decision, but I think that I have given everything I have to offer to this county and law enforcement itself. I will not be going anywhere before the end of my term in early January 2027 and have every intention of being the working and active sheriff you know until my final day. I have seen this job change in a lot of ways since I began chasing bad guys back in 1981 as an 18 year old U.S. Army Military Policeman in West Germany. I wished I could say that the system and changes were all for the good, but to be quite honest, the criminal justice system is broken from the top to the bottom and in need of major overhauls. For some, you will be happy to see me go and yet many others have asked what are we going to do without you? Trust me you will survive, as I’m nothing but the keeper of the gate and the time has come for the changing of the guard. My life has been serving the public as a Soldier, Peace Officer, EMT and community volunteer. I believe I was put on this earth to serve and help others. My family and close friends have sacrificed so much for me doing this job the way I know it is supposed to be done. I think it’s time I put them first and try to pay back all they have given me. I’m proud to finish this post with a lot of accomplishments and knowing I always did my best, was always the first through the door and never asked anyone to do anything I had not done or was willing to do. I’ve been blessed with outstanding deputies and staff over the years. I hope that I have helped others and comforted them in their time of loss and tragedy as I have seen a lot in this job. I believed in treating everyone equally no matter your name or your social status and believe I accomplished that. Thank you to everyone whether you supported me or not for the opportunity to have spent a majority of my adult life serving Stanton County as your 22nd Sheriff. God’s Blessings to all!!!  A Stanton County jury of nine women and three men found Tyler Kocian guilty on four counts Tuesday afternoon.
The decision was delivered just after 1 p.m. following a day and a half trial. The case involved a high speed vehicle pursuit through eight counties last February. The pursuit began in Holt County after Kocian — formerly of West Point — was suspected of stealing liquor from a store. He failed to stop for law enforcement as he continued east and went around stop sticks in Norfolk and entered Stanton County on Highway 275, where he again failed to stop for activated emergency lights and ultimately struck a Stanton County Sheriff’s unit forcing it to spin out causing more than $7,800 in damage to the patrol unit. Kocian continued to be pursued by the Stanton County Sheriff’s office and a Madison County Sheriff’s unit into Cuming County, where spikes were successfully deployed by the West Point Police Department. Kocian continued to flee on deflated tires on Highway 275 and then Highway 91 into Blair, where he was stopped and taken into custody by the Stanton County Sheriff’s office and has been in custody since. Kocian faces up to 50 plus years in prison on the convicted felony charges of Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony, Criminal Mischief and Operating a Motor Vehicle to Avoid Arrest and a misdemeanor charge of Willful Reckless Driving. “This was a lengthy and very dangerous pursuit that put a lot of people at risk including my deputy trying to do his job and we really appreciate the assistance of the Madison County Sheriff’s office and West Point P.D.,” Sheriff Mike Unger said. “It was unfortunate our request for assistance from other law enforcement agencies during the course of the pursuit were not granted.”  A teenage was accidentally shot southeast of Stanton Saturday night while hunting.
According to Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger, at about 10:25 p.m., the Stanton County Sheriff’s office was dispatched to a gunshot wound incident that occurred several miles southeast of Stanton involving a 17-year-old male from Clarkson who was hunting raccoons with an adult family member. The youth was accidentally shot when exiting a pickup to pursue a raccoon by his own firearm. The youth was then transported to FRHS by Norfolk Resuce where he underwent surgery and was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha for further treatment. The incident is being investigated by the Sheriff’s office and appears to have no malice involved and was unintentional. “Always remember firearms are dangerous and need to be handled with extreme care, even by experienced hunters and gun enthusiast," Unger said.  The two modular elementary classrooms outside the Stanton Elementary building were intended to be temporary. Purchased in 1984, Board President John Mandl said the buildings certainly weren’t meant to be used for so long that the school district would be forced to install a new roof.
But Mandl — who has served on the board for 23 years — says Stanton has done that — and much more to those “temporary” buildings and its aging elementary facility. After more than 40 years of struggles, the Stanton Board of Education is hoping to take a bond to voters this fall for a new elementary building. On Monday night, the Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to go to special election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, for the $28.2 million bond. The date was reported during the meeting as Nov. 11, but that is in correct. The correct date is Nov. 4. “We want to discuss, consider, take all necessary actions for approving this resolution,” Superintendent Darren Soucie told the board. With no one from the public attending or asking questions about the project, the board spent just eight minutes on further discussion before voting to pass the resolution. David Morfeld made the motion and Brian Wehrer seconded it. The resolution passed 6-0. Stanton’s levy has continuously dropped over the last five years. The 2025-26 levy was also approved Monday. At 69.4 cents, it is nearly 30 cents lower than it was in 2020 when it was at 97 cents. It’s been nearly 10 years since the district last discussed a new elementary school. Once the talk became serious again, disasters struck, including the 2019 flood and COVID-19 pandemic. There was also an administrative change when Dr. Michael Sieh retired in 2020 and Soucie was hired. During that time, Stanton’s board continued to put bandaids on the elementary building. Since just 2020, Stanton has remodeled the entrance hallway, redesigned the front entrance to improve security, replaced the back door, replaced doors on the modular, reshingled the modular roof, rerouted sewer pipe due to deterioration underground, replaced cement for drainage by the modulars, updated air gap plumbing in the kitchen, replaced a sink in the restrooms, replaced drinking fountains, replaced three heat exchangers on the roof, covered gym lights to LED, replaced toilets in the restrooms and updated video cameras. Despite all those updates, more issues remain. Among the problems are fire code violations, security, site, handicap accessibility and plumbing issues. There’s no exit corridors, which mean they exit directly exterior or through intervening rooms. There’s no fire sprinkler system, which would be difficult to install due to bearing height of the domed concrete construction. The administration access point is considered a security risk because visitors have access to the school upon entry, rather than having to enter through the offices. The ADA issues range from no existing toilets meeting current code, wheelchair access, signage, clear floor space requirements, plumbing fixture heights, a ramp to only one modular and a dilapidated storm shelter outside the building. Elementary Principal Sarah Remm said Stanton has 192 students in grades PK-6, which are currently in three different buildings. The proposed building would have 14 classroom and allow all of them — including pre-kindergarden and those in fifth and sixth grades — to be in the same building. The building would also have an early childhood center. The new school — located where the Best and Denney houses are that the school purchased last year — would be built next to the current school in a roughly 18- to 24-month period, meaning it could be in use during the 2027-28. The current building would be demolished after completion, setting up an improved drop-off and pickup scenario for students in that space. The elementary building currently utilizes the two modulars for art, band and the fourth-grade classrooms. All classes would be moved to the new facility, as well as having the elementary classes from pre-kindergarten and fifth- and sixth-grade moved from their current locations. Soucie that would free up classrooms at the high school by moving the fifth- and sixth-graders. They would likely sell the current pre-school building. Stanton’s new elementary would have a safe and secure administration area, where visitors would have to check in before having access to the rest of the building. There would be an 800-person gymnasium to allow for recess and competition events. This would not replace the high school gymnasium. The current facility has a multipurpose room that serves as the cafeteria and gym, which makes inside recess difficult. The new facility would have a different location for the cafeteria, allowing both rooms to be used at the same time. There would also be a library that could be accessed without having to walk through it to get to the classrooms. All restrooms and locker rooms would be ADA compliant as well. As for the cost of the facility, for non-ag land valuation, it would be $22.33 per month per $100,000 valuation or $55.83 per month per $250,000 valuation. For ag land, that is valued using the LB2 valuation, which is valued at 50 percent of actual valuation, meaning ag land actually valued at $500,000 would be taxed as if it was a $250,000 value. Instead of a month cost of $111.67 for that ag land, it would be half — or $55.83. The advisory committee for the building is made up of John Mandl, David Morfeld, Shad Pohlman, Micah Buller, Sarah Remm, Darren Soucie, Austin Brown, Karla Renn, Greg Wegner, Ashley Hekrdle, Tim Reese and Scott Rutten.  A 22-year-old Norfolk man is dead following a shooting northeast of Stanton on Wednesday. At this time, no foul play is suspected in the death, according to law enforcement.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger said a call came in about 2:15 p.m. regarding a a shooting at a farm house on 840th Road about five miles northeast of Stanton. Upon arriving at the scene a male victim was located outside at the house deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. While no firearm was located near the body, upon clearing the residence a handgun was located inside the residence. Unger said the male, who has not been identified publicly, did not reside at the location, but he did have a reason to be there. The Sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the manner of death, evidence was collected at the scene and a forensic post-mortem is being scheduled in Omaha. “We don’t believe foul play is involved, but until we get all the evidence collected, examined and a post-mortem is done, we cannot definitely say,” Unger said. Unger said several persons have been interviewed regarding the incident, and the Sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate. “There is no belief that there is any threat to public safety at this time,” Unger said.  Stanton football coach Dave Stoddard embraces Chip Bartos, Central Valley coach, following Stanton’s 40-28 win over the Cougars on Friday night. Stanton is undefeated and No. 1 in Class D1 while Central Valley came into the game also perfect and ranked No. 2 in Class D2. (Photo by Carrie Pitzer) As Dave Stoddard and Chip Bartos stood on opposite sides of the field Friday night, they were opponents.
But as they hugged after Stanton won the 40-28 battle, their friendship was evident. “I have a lot of respect for him,” Central Valley coach Chip Bartos said about Stoddard. “We talk a lot as eight-man coaches. That’s how this game came to be.” It was Stoddard who first approached Bartos about a possible matchup. When Bartos received the email from Stanton’s head coach, he wasn’t immediately sold on playing the Class D1 defending state champion. “What did we have to lose? What did Stanton have to lose?” Bartos asked. “Stanton was bringing everyone back, so this became a fun game against someone they wouldn’t see the rest of the year — but someone who would challenge them. I got peer pressure from a couple buddies, so here we are.” Both coaches said the desire to play one another was mutual, especially after Stoddard discovered Class D2 teams didn’t want to play Central Valley. Central Valley actually put West Holt their top priority opponent and Stanton as No. 2. The Cougars ended up playing both teams this season and going 1-1 against them. As the game became closer, all eyes seemed to be on the two teams. Stanton was ranked No. 1 in Class D1 and Central Valley was No. 1 or No. 2, depending on the poll. Stanton was trailing heading into the final quarter in Wolbach. But the Mustangs scored 16 unanswered points to secure the win and stay undefeated. “This is a team where you can see why they’re No. 1, No. 2 in D2,” Stoddard said. “This is why we put them on the schedule. We knew it would be a dogfight.” The two coaches laughed as they embraced. While Stanton may have won the game, Bartos said Central Valley may have won more — points just for playing up and a chance to test his team without having the loss really affect them. After all, they didn’t slip in most polls and remain second behind Sandhills Thedford. “That’s the best part of this. That’s what I wanted out of this game,” Bartos said. “I wanted to know where we were weak and how to improve.” Stoddard admitted it was a dangerous game, but it was also a game he wanted for his players. As the Mustangs met in the middle of the Cougar field after the game, he told his players it would be a battle to defend their title. “This was a battle, and it’s going to be every game,” he said. “This was a great team, and we are going to see more great teams.” Bartos previously coached at Wausa and has made a name for himself at Central Valley, which has a reputation for strong football from the days of Greeley and Greeley/Wolbach. “With what Chip is doing, they’re really well coached,” Stoddard said. “They are really physical team, and he’s doing some great things at Central Valley.” Bartos was a bit taken back by Stoddard’s compliment. “I appreciate that he has respect for me because I haven’t done anything yet, and he’s a very successful coach. He deserves all the credit. He has a great team — him and his assistants,” Bartos said, giving compliments back to Stoddard. “I’ve taken a lot of things from him, like how he runs his program. The leadership stuff he does and giving ownership to the kids,” Bartos said. “What he’s done with the Stanton program to continue building the foundation is incredible. They are a powerhouse year after year, and it’s something special.” The teams won’t see each other again for an entire year. Since the NSAA released two-year schedules, the teams will meet again in 2025. Next time, they’ll play in Stanton.  A Stanton County farmer was rescued Sunday night after being trapped in a corn bin.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger said a 911 call was received at 7:03 p.m. Sunday with an 84-year-old male was trapped in a bin with corn up to his neck about five miles northwest of Stanton off of 563rd Avenue. Deputies were on scene in less than five minutes. Stanton Fire and Rescue and Norfolk Fire and Rescue arrived shortly after. “Fortunately the farmer had tied himself off with a rope around his waist and that stopped him from going completely under the unstable corn as his rope tightened,” Unger said. “Efforts were then undertaken to stabilize the corn around him using grain bin rescue shields, and two firefighters entered the grain bin while tethered to safety lines as other first responders used a large grain vacuum to suck corn from around the victim.” After nearly an hour, the farmer was rescued and removed from inside of the bin. Stanton County Public Power assisted by lifting the victim from the top of the bin to the ground. LifeNet was on scene and assisted local EMTs with evaluating the victim before he was taken by ambulance to Father Regional Health Services in Norfolk. “This was a true team effort that led to a successful conclusion of a very dangerous farm accident that often has a darker outcome,” Unger said. |
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