Legacy Lives On

Some people have a way of touching people that impacts lives long after their mortal existence expires.

Lori Bartling is one of those people. She was known in the Cheyenne County Courthouse for her compassion, her support of the Plains West CASA program and as the court magistrate.

“She had a heart of gold,” says Krista Bruns, director of Plains West CASA. “She loved children.”

Her heart for children was shown in how she supported the CASA program.

“Her and her sweet granddaughter would help put up the [Christmas] tree,” Bruns said.

The Christmas tree was decorated with tags anonymously connected to specific foster children. Bruns said Bartling left a lifetime impact on her.

Bartling died in January of this year. The family encouraged people to donate to Plains West CASA in lieu of flowers, resulting in a scholarship fund. In addition, the family wanted to host an event with all of the proceeds benefiting Plains West CASA. The event was held at Lazy S Ranch with a pulled pork and chicken wings dinner while the Husker game was televised. The night was appropriately named as Bartling was a dedicated Husker fan, and the fundraiser was held the same week as her birthday.

The night brought in $3,000 for the fund. Bruns said the hope is to grow the account to where each foster child who applies for a scholarship will get one. Additionally, the scholarship is renewable. Bruns said while many scholarships are available for freshmen and first-year students, financial stress can occur in following years.

“This is one way we can support them,” she said.

The scholarship is for children in the foster program of Cheyenne, Kimball and Deuel counties.

The fund committee recently awarded its first scholarship, a $1,000 award to a 2022 senior.

To donate to the scholarship fund, contact Bruns at Plains West CASA in Sidney by email at [email protected].