BEATRICE – Tickets are still available for the Cattlemen’s Ball….a cancer research benefit coming up in early June….at the farm of Terry and Bev Acton east of Blue Springs. Ticket sales will close May 1st for the event....which since 1998, has raised more than $21 million for cancer research.


Bev Acton spoke before the Gage County Board Wednesday, thanking officials for their support of the June 6th and 7th event and giving an update on plans. The county’s emergency management, roads department, sheriffs office and local firefighters have helped out event organizers….and the supervisors recently approved a tourism grant which will aid in transporting guests to and from the event.


"Everything is really coming together. The 15th of May the first tent will arrive on the site. That one will be the 132 by 542...that tent will go up that following week...and will take about a week to go up. That's a steel structure tent. And then the following week, what we refer to as the saloon tent will go up. Following that, the other seven tents will go up. We're going to do a ranch rodeo this year."


Acton says an effort is underway to get twelve four-person teams for a Saturday afternoon roping event and Country Star Gabby Barrett will be the highlight performer for the Cattlemen’s Ball.


"We've got an unbelievable tent from Buffett that is coming down. All the different (medical) tests that you can do...the line of tests you can do for free, that day....that's more than even the cost of your ticket. I think it's going to be a good one, and we've got some fantastic things on our live auctions."


One of the donated auction items is a six-figure piece of new farm equipment from Landoll Corporation in Marysville, Kansas. Two trips to Europe were also among the donated auction items.


"I hope you guys can make it and we're really looking forward to it. And, after that, Terry and I...you'll never see us for probably a month...(laughter)...until the Gage County Fair comes around."


An army of volunteers making up 40 to 50 subcommittees are involved in the planning for the annual event, which raises money for cancer research through the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, in Omaha.


Locally, tickets can be purchased in person at Fist State Bank Nebraska, in Beatrice.