The North Platte Natural Resources District will say goodbye to Assistant Manager Barb Hoehn when she retires on Friday, April 30.
Hoehn had worked at the Farm Service Agency for 32 years before retiring, but she wasn’t finished with contributing to the community. In 2016, Hoehn applied and was hired at the NPNRD. She said one of the reasons for working at the NPNRD was the people.
“It was John Berge (NPNRD general manager). He’s a fantastic person to work for, he has a lot of great ideas for things we can do to improve the water in western Nebraska, and I was excited about that,” Hoehn said.
The position has covered many aspects, from administering the budget to helping to put together grants and getting the geothermal greenhouse project started.
The greenhouse’s purpose was not just to grow fruits and vegetables, which it does, but to look at water conservation and to see if a greenhouse could be a viable business for area producers.
The greenhouse project also has an outdoor educational facility with 70 plots of native and introduced grasses, a learning/classroom area, tree identification plantings, and a perimeter of pollinators that will include beehives.
Hoehn said retiring will bring some changes, but she’ll continue volunteering at the greenhouse and seeing all the people who “have become like a family” to her.
With Hoehn’s retirement, the NPNRD will be shifting some of its staff. Long-time Water Department Manager Scott Schaneman will take on the role of assistant manager, Craig Uhrig will move up to water department manager, and intern Ethan Woehrle will become a full-time water technician.
