Blood drive surpasses goal

The Friday, Jan. 18, Community Blood Drive in New Prague topped its goal of 62 pints by collecting 71. The American Red Cross held the blood drive at the Knights of Columbus (KC) Hall with the KC Auxiliary sponsoring the event.

Nancy Unger, president of the auxiliary, said they had about 78 people donate blood with Clarence Tupy receiving his 13 gallon pin. The KC Auxiliary also helped by working at the registration table and providing snacks and sandwiches.

"It’s a good thing to do," said Judy Gebhardt of New Prague, who was among those donating. She admitted she had lost track of how much she’s donated, but it had to be at least 30 years of giving blood. She started when her then boyfriend, now husband, convinced her.

"I give whenever there’s a blood drive in town," said Ashley Romsdahl of New Prague. "If you’re healthy and you can do it, you should. You never know when you’ll need it or a family member or someone from town."