New staff members join Perkins County Schools

The 2022-23 school year brings several new staff members to the elementary and high school buildings at Perkins County.

New to the maintenance staff at PCS is Christopher Finken. He moved to Ogallala in 2020 with his wife Dawn, also newly employed at PCS as a para. In addition to their eight children, the Finkens have 10 grandchildren. 

Also employed in the maintenance department is Kelly Konzak, a Wheatland graduate in the class of 2001. He most recently worked at Hatch’s Super Foods and Perkins County Health Services. 

Heading up the maintenance department as director for the elementary and high school, Rick Dreiling has lived in Grant since 2004 when he worked for the sheriff’s office, then Regier Land Improvement. He most recently was employed by Hi Line Coop as the safety director. 

He lives in Grant with his wife Dawnya. His daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter live in Bartley, Neb. Both of his kids attended school in Grant.

New elementary paraeducator Dawn Finken was born in upstate New York, lived in Colorado for 32 years and served in the U.S. Air Force, where she met her husband, Christopher. They have eight children—five boys and three girls. She has driven a bus for 16 years and has been doing paraeducational work at the elementary and high school level for almost six years. “I love working with and being around the kids and am delighted be a part of a great community!” she said. 

Cindy Coon, also a para, recently moved to Grant from Denver, Colorado. She has two daughters, Trista, in her second year of medical school; and Raegan, a fourth grader.  Prior to working for Perkins County Schools, she worked for the City of Lakewood as a police officer for almost 18 years. The last 14 years of her employment with Lakewood, she served as a detective on the Juvenile Crime Unit and as a school resource officer for two middle schools. “I am excited to be in Grant and working with the students and staff at the elementary school,” she said. 

New para Katie Lawless recently moved to Grant with her two children, who are in sixth grade and preschool. They moved from Wauneta, where Katie was a volleyball coach and administrative assistant at Wauneta-Palisade Schools for the last six years.

In a new position at Perkins County High School, ESL para, is Kristen Bottom, who monitors the distance learning classes. Kristen is married to Mitch, a Grant native, and they have five children. She had moved from Albuquerque to Ogallala about halfway through her school career and graduated from Ogallala in 2002. Since then she has focused the majority of the last 19 years to being a stay-at-home mom, but with her youngest going to kindergarten this year she decided to seek employment outside of the home. “I am excited for this new chapter and have enjoyed getting to know more people in the Grant community,” she said.

This is Sarah Pochon’s 12th year in the education field. She is originally from Omaha and now lives in in Ogallala. She attended Northwest Missouri State University for her undergraduate degree and has recently completed her Master’s in Education through Peru State College. She teaches second grade at Perkins County Elementary School.

Also teaching second grade is Carissa Cornelius, who grew up in Brule, Neb., and went to school at South Platte in Big Springs. She has a business administration degree from Chadron State College and is working toward finishing  her elementary education degree with Chadron. She was a branch manager of the Imperial Credit Union for five years and most recently was an insurance agent for Arnold Insurance Agency. Carissa and husband Mitchell have two children, Lane and Blakely.

Megan Dormann is starting her first year of teaching, having just graduated in May from Chadron State College. She is teaching fifth and sixth grade reading and English. She is originally from Lisco, Neb., and graduated from Garden County High School.