The last few months have seemed to go by in a blur at the newspaper. It seems like it was just a short time ago when we were preparing for the school year and fall sports to begin and elections to take place, and now they’re all over, we’ve already jumped into the winter sports season and are preparing for the holiday season.

Julie Yackley was born in Inchheon, South Korea, and was adopted in May, 1986, by Don and Janice Yackley of New Prague. Even before the adoption her mother was diagnosed with cancer, a disease that claimed her life in 1993, when Julie was just 7 years old. A year ago, she lost her father to ALS - Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Vickie L. Vycital, age 71 of Elko, died Sunday, November 18, 2018 at her home with her family by her side.  Memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 27 at St. John Lutheran Church in Belle Plaine, with Pastor Mark Johnson officiating.  Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, November 26 at the Kolden Funeral Home in Belle Plaine, and will continue one hour prior to service time at the church on Tuesday.  Interment will be in Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

Helen G. Hoheisel, age 89, of New Prague died with family at her side on Sunday November 18, 2018, at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center in New Prague, MN.  Helen was born August 3, 1929 in Buckman, Minnesota to John A. and Loretta M. (Brashofsky) Theis.  She was raised and attended Catholic school in Buckman. She married Willard C. Hoheisel on November 30, 1950 at St.

Father Kevin Clinton, center, offers a blessing on several tractors the morning of Sunday, Nov. 18, at St. John the Evangelist Church of Union Hill. The brief ceremony was also to celebrate this time of blessings and thankfulness at the end of the harvest. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Anna A. Eischens, age 86, of Belle Plaine, died with her husband at her side on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at The Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine, MN.  Anna was born October 16, 1932 in Cedar Lake Township, Scott County, MN to Louis J. and Anna Rose (Dvorak) Svoboda.  She was raised, attended school, and lived her whole life in the St. Patrick/New Prague area.  She married Myron J. Eischens on May 29, 1974 at St.

Elko New Market Police Chief Steve Mortenson, left, receives a plaque from New Prague Police Chief Jim Gareis during the Thursday, Nov. 15, open house for Chief Mortenson’s retirement. Held at Elko New Market City Hall, Mortenson was honored by fellow law enforcement officers and residents of Elko New Market. Mortenson is retiring after eight years as the city’s police chief and 29 years in law enforcement. For more see an upcoming print issue of The New Prague Times. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

New Prague Area Schools presented Veterans Day ceremonies throughout the day on Monday, Nov. 12, in cooperation with the New Prague Veterans Honor Guard.
The first of the ceremonies was held at 8:30 a.m. at New Prague Middle School.

New Prague High School’s Ellen Popple placed second in diving at the Section 2AA Swim and Dive meet Friday, Nov. 9, at Minnetonka.
The second place finish earned her a spot at this week’s State Class AASwim and Dive meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Diving preliminaries were scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. Those advancing beyond preliminaries will compete in the finals on Friday, Nov. 16.

A Czech cultural organization whose ambassadors have appeared in events throughout Minnesota and other states for close to two decades will come to an end next month.
Domaci Inc., and its groups, the Domaci Czech Folk Dancers and the Czech Heritage Junior Royalty, will hold its final performance and royalty ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 2. Directors Arnie and Deb Ziskovsky, the founders of Domaci Inc., have been leading and coordinating the ambassadors for 19 years, and they are ending it with their annual event, Hometown Holidays at the Park Ballroom in New Prague.

Alexa Barta, a graduate of New Prague High School and the University of Minnesota- Morris, has earned a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award for 2018-19.
A statistics and Spanish graduate of UMM, Barta will spend nine months teaching English in Brazil, beginning February, 2019.
Barta earned an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award, which will place her in a classroom abroad to provide assistance to local English teachers. She also will represent the United States as a cultural ambassador during her time overseas.

With all the election news last week, it might have slipped your mind that last week, November 5-9, was Winter Weather Awareness Week. That said, with the weather we’ve had since election day, no doubt, you are aware that winter weather is here.

For the fourth straight year New Prague High School Alum Ben Dietz is being recognized by the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) as an “All-American.” The ATA All-American selection requirements are rigorous with individuals earning points and ranking throughout the year when they compete at qualifying state, regional and world competitions. Earning All-American points and ranking within the top ten can be quite challenging because the best of the best are often competing against each other for the points at the competitions.

A few changes could be in the works for the Dakota-Rice- Scott League baseball next summer as the Minnesota Baseball Association has changed its criteria for classification of teams.
Currently 12 of the 13 teams in the league are classified as Class C teams and one (Elko) is Class B. The association is implementing a points system to classify teams, based on population of the community, the number of players with collegiate and professional experience on their roster from outside the community, and success in the state tournament over the past five years.