Students Miss Their Crane
		KEARNEY - Somebody may have taken the Cranes on Parade fiberglass crane from Kenwood Elementary School, but whoever did it can't steal the memories the students have of making the crane. Fourth-grader Olivia Rodriguez said she was sad when she found out the crane had been taken. "We worked so hard on it," she said. "I wish we could find out who did it." The crane was one of four reported missing April 20 and 21. Two cranes, Old Glory and Roots of Nebraska, were found April 22 boxed up and dumped at the
Hub photo by Brad Norton Kenwood Elementary School fourth-graders, from left, Olivia Rodriguez, Jordan Martin and Courtney Deterding made a wanted poster to help the school get Mirage, its Cranes on Parade crane, back. The crane was reported missing from the school April 20.
By VICKI RICE & AMY SCHWEITZER Hub Staff Writers

Kearney Recycling Center. The Kenwood crane, titled Mirage, and Fractional Crane, decorated with geometric designs, still are missing.

Rodriguez and classmates Jordan Martin and Courtney Deterding are trying to get the school's crane back. They made about 40 copies of a wanted poster with a picture of the crane to hang around the school and the community.

"When my mom told me, I wanted to cry," Martin said. "We all worked together. They can take away the crane, but they can't take the experience."

One of the posters hangs in Principal Pat Zeimet's office. She said everyone at the school still hopes Mirage will be returned.

"We will take it in any condition. We'd like to have it back," she said.

She also said that whoever took the crane can't take away the experience the students had making it and the enjoyment they had of having the crane at the school.

"I believe whoever did this did not realize the seriousness of it," she said.

Kenwood art teacher Tim Hanson said students were upset when they found out the crane they helped make had been taken.

"Everybody is real proud of it, and we hate to have it come up missing," he said.

Hanson said he would like to make one more plea that whoever has the crane would find it in their heart to give it back. "We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best."

Kearney Police Chief Dan Lynch said he hopes the missing cranes will be found but said police have "no real leads."

"I'm still hopeful, (but) the reality of that is it's purely up to the people who took them," he said.

Lynch said that their hope is that as people start moving going into the summer a "sharp-eyed landlord" will see something.

"We'd really like to see them back," Lynch said. "It would be a nice gesture on the part of the people that took them."

The police investigators were able to lift some fingerprints off the recovered cranes but have not been able to match them to anyone.

Kearney Dawn Rotary Club's Cranes on Parade project placed 31 cranes decorated by Kearney artists around town. In October, the cranes will be auctioned off with proceeds going to Rotary projects and scholarships, as well as community charities and organizations, including law enforcement, emergency services and The Museum of Nebraska Art, and other art projects, according to the Cranes on Parade Web site.

Cranes on Parade Chairwoman Susan Bigg said Rotary has a lot of decisions to make about the cranes, including whether they will replace the missing ones.

"We haven't made any decisions yet. We have to talk to a lot of people, including those who decorated them," she said. The club would need help raising the funds necessary to remake the statues.

Anyone with information on the missing cranes is asked to contact the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department at 236-8555, the Kearney Police Department at 237-2104 or Crimestoppers at 237-3424.

e-mail to: amy.schweitzer@kearneyhub.com or vicki.rice@kearneyhub.com