Creek Valley Science Teacher Retires after 35 Years

CHAPPELL--Thursday, May 16, signalled the last day of school for the Creek Valley School system in Chappell, and as students were going through their last day of the academic year before starting their summer breaks, two long-time Creek Valley employees said their farewells as they head into retirement.

Dave Howard, the Creek Valley Science teacher, said farewell after 35 years of teaching. A solid turnout in the Commons at Creek Valley High School wished him well, and everyone enjoyed retirement cake and refreshments while offering congratulations and reflecting upon his tenure at the school.

"I started teaching at Leyton back in 1988, and then moved to Arthur County for a few years before coming back to teach at Lodgepole, and then moved over to Creek Valley when the schools consolidated and taught here for the last 20 years," Howard said.

Howard has lived in Sunol for the past 27 years with his wife, Connie. "I was teaching in Lodgepole, and she was working in Sidney, so it was a good mid-point for us to have short drives to and from work every day," said Howard.

Howard has had the experience of teaching the sons and daughters of former students for many years. "As the science teacher at Lodgepole and then Creek Valley, if you were going to graduate, you had to come through me. Now I teach the children of children I taught many years ago. It's a small and well-knit community here, and I have the honor of knowing just about everyone, from knowing them as children and then teaching their children," he said.

Howard was presented with a sculptured apple on a base with an inscription by Amy Hostetler, the K-12 Principal at Creek Valley schools. Howard also was the beneficiary of another great gift recently as he was the winner of the Sutton Home Gallery Grand Prize at the 33rd Annual Spring Expo at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds back in April. $5000 worth of brand-new furniture and home furnishings were won by Howard and his wife after their names were drawn from all of the entries at the event.

"It really was a great surprise and comes at the best possible time. We wanted to do some fix-up work at the house, and now we have beautiful furniture to be the centerpiece and motivate us to make the upgrades we've wanted to do for a long time now," he said.

Asked about what he thinks he'll miss most about teaching, he said, "I think it's going to be the day-to-day process I'm going to miss the most, especially when the summer is winding down and it comes time to prepare for the new school year. Adjusting to just slowing down and taking it easy is going to be a challenge," he said.

Howard's immediate plans for retirement are to remodel the house and just enjoy some time relaxing and enjoying life.

The retirement party also had another long-time Creek Valley employee calling it quits, as Food Services worker Terry Crane decided to retire after eight years of serving meals to the students at the Creek Valley schools. She was presented with gifts, including a wood kitchen hanger inscribed with advice for a "Recipe For A Great Retirement".

"I'm going to miss being with the children the most, but I live close by and will be able to see them out and about. It was great being able to work here and be around young people, and I plan on keeping in touch with them, as this is a small town and everyone sees everyone else around town all the time. I'm not going to give them a chance to get rid of me," she said with a laugh.

A California native, Crane moved to Chappell in 2016 and began working in the school system.

"I came out here to be closer to my daughter and grandchildren, and I love the area. It's such a nice small-town with a great sense of community," she said.

Although the two are now retired, their roots in Chappell are strong, and they will continue to be fixtures in the area. Although they won't be working at Creek Valley any longer, they will still be an important part of the fabric of the community, which is one of the big advantages of small-town life here in western Nebraska.