Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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At Tuesday’s meeting, the city council approved a two year master contract with Midwest Cabling for boring work on the electric department’s underground conversion. In the past, the city considered buying its own boring machine and completing the work itself, but decided against that option. A new boring machine would cost the city around $200,000, but the city would also have to buy boring materials and factor in labor costs. It’s estimated that the cost through the master contractor for boring the 50,000 feet needed for the town’s underground...
Stop telling small children that you know or you meet how cute they are. We have a habit of fawning over children and praising their parents for creating such cute kids. Most kids are adorable and parents like to hear it, however when you see a friend or acquaintance’s child and you always praise them for their looks, what are you really telling them? You are telling that child that one of the most important things about them—maybe the most important thing—is how they look. This is true for all children, but especially for girls. We have this...
A Sidney man was sentenced to five years of intensive supervised probation on Tuesday for the part he played in his ex-father-in-law’s death. When Theodore Medina, 24 came home from work on the morning of Nov. 2, 2013, Ernest Ward, who was reportedly belligerent and intoxicated, began insulting him according to police documents. The two entered into a physical altercation later that day, which ended when Medina slammed Ward to the ground. Ward, 52, died later that night at Sidney Regional Medical Center due to blunt force trauma to his head. M...
The Cheyenne County attorney’s office filed a complaint on Monday against 19-year-old Joseph Bailey for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl. Bailey is charged with sexual assault, a class two felony, third degree sexual assault of a child, a class three-A felony and child abuse, a class three-A felony. Law enforcement became aware of this incident when police were dispatched to a Sidney residence for a noise complaint and were then notified by the girl’s mother that she had been raped but had not reported it. Police later found through int...
Area veterans have reliable transportation to doctor appointments thanks to the charity of many local organizations. Through donations from local charities, veterans themselves and all the county service organizations the Cheyenne County Veterans Service Office purchased a van for the price of $28,500 to transport panhandle veterans to doctor appointments in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The office also received a grant for the van from the Columbia Trust. On Tuesday, the Cheyenne County Ladies Chamber...
Armand Young began walking across the United States on April 16, 2007 in honor of American soldiers and victims of 9/11. He brought along a bamboo pole covered in American flags. He asks those he encounters to sign a flag with the promise to perform a kind act in honor of a 9/11 victim or fallen soldier. "My big picture is that I'm trying to change the world with kindness," Young said. "I'm trying to turn all the negative in our world into positive." For every life lost, Young hopes to gain one...
An increase in the number of home-based businesses in Sidney has caused some difficulty for the city in deciding how it should apply regulations. The city frequently deals with neighbors concerned about businesses operated out of homes, city manager Gary Person explained at last week’s planning commission meeting. “The whole idea behind planning and zoning is that your businesses that have commercial activities operate out of commercial zoned areas and clusters as part of a business community and not in the middle of residential areas,” Perso...
A 30-year-old Dalton man is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. On June 19 William Lee was arraigned in Cheyenne County District Court for two counts of first degree sexual assault, class two felonies. The charges stem from an incident on May 30, when the 15-year-old girl’s mother caught the alleged victim sneaking back into her home at 2:20 a.m., according to court documents. The girl later reportedly admitted that she’d had sex with Lee, who she referred to as her boyfriend. The girl allegedly said that she...
On Saturday Keep Sidney Beautiful in conjunction with Wheatbelt Public Power collected 29 televisions and 33 computer monitors during the electronics recycling event held in Hickory St. Square. The televisions and computer monitors in addition to various other mixed electronics filled a small trailer as well as a truck. The electronics were hauled away by Horizon Electronics, an Ogallala company that employs disabled adults who take apart electronics to be recycled at other locations. "It's... Full story
Those who noticed an upswing in random acts of kindness in Sidney this week had a good reason. A group of 30 youths out of Celebration Church in Lakeville, Minnesota are making their way across a portion of the west to spread kindness throughout the area. This group, which calls itself Random Acts of Kindness or RAK, spent Wednesday and Thursday performing its work in Sidney. Thursday was day six of the group's 10 day kindness tour. "Basically we go from town to town doing random acts of...
From left: Faith Winship, Elliot Johnson, Chris Gitzel, Brooke Winship and Jordan Brokaw rock out at Legion Park Thursday night.... Full story
Beer cans littered Highway 385 early on Tuesday morning, according to eyewitness reports. A beer delivery truck, driven for Arrowhead Distributing, veered off the road at around 4 a.m. sprinkling the road with beer cans and causing a highway closure. Aaron Dobrinkski of Scottsbluff was headed south on Highway 385 about four miles south of Dalton when, according to the accident report from the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s office, the truck started to make a clicking noise. The truck then swerved across the highway and into the ditch on the o... Full story
Enrollment at Sidney public schools is steadily trending upward. The number of students rose from 1,239 at the end of 2012 to 1,279 at the end of this school year. “I anticipate that we will start this year (fall 2014) with over 1,300 students in Sidney Public Schools,” said Sidney schools superintendent Jay Ehler at Monday’s school board meeting. The addition of 20 preschool students will contribute to the number of kids attending Sidney schools this fall, but the incoming kindergarten class will likely be much larger than the previ... Full story
Many of the Americans I encounter seem to think they know a lot about geography. Most of them are wrong. When I lived in Denver and told anyone there that I was from Indiana, they would ask if I grew up in South Bend or Indianapolis. I had to reply, no, that I grew up about two hours from Indianapolis and five from South Bend. These people would often regale me of stories about relatives that lived in Indianapolis, like I somehow knew them or of the trip they took to South Bend. I really don’t understand this practice. I have never even been t...
Sidney High School students will soon have the chance to give an area home a makeover and hopefully raise some scholarship money in the process. Students in the school’s construction class, taught by Beau McConnell will make improvements to an area home owned by Sidney Schools. The school’s design class, taught by Kim Castner, will also take part in the home’s upgrade. “Kim Castner has kind of been the leader on this thing, it’s been an idea that we’ve had for a while but she’s kind of the one that’s getting it going and making it happen, so we...
The Sidney school board approved bids for new carpeting at three of its schools at Monday's meeting. The board accepted a bid from Steffens Home Furnishings for around $33,000 for carpeting at Central Elementary and the Middle School. It also approved a bid from Dick's Flooring at around $16,000 for new carpet at West Elementary. The school decided to award the contracts to two separate companies because the bids for West Elementary were nearly equal. "It's nice to divide it a little bit, not only in order to support community people, but also...
Officials from Sidney Regional Medical Center came before the Cheyenne County commissioners Monday with a proposal they said would save the hospital $2.2 million in financing. The hospital requested that the county issue $10 million in bonds on its behalf to pay for part of the new $53 million hospital facility that broke ground at the end of last month. The Cheyenne County commissioners were skeptical about issuing these revenue bonds without further investigation into the process. “This group issues your name—Cheyenne County’s name...
The sentencing date for a Sidney man convicted of attempted second degree assault for an altercation which ended in another man’s death was postponed on Tuesday morning due to a scheduling issue. Theodore Medina, 24 was also set to be sentenced on a conviction of third degree assault for a jailhouse fight which occurred soon after his arrest in the first matter. On Nov. 2, 2013, Medina entered into an altercation with his son’s grandfather Ernie Ward, who was belligerent and intoxicated at the time, according to reports. The men took part in... Full story
Last week a 30-year-old California man in a semi truck crashed through a “Road Closed” sign and gate at the off ramp at the Sidney rest stop off of Interstate 80, causing damage to a department of roads vehicle as well as causing the gate to hit an employee. Demyan Lavor was headed east on the interstate and failed to see the “Road Closed” sign on the off ramp. He caused $3,000 in damage to the department of roads vehicle and $2,000 in damage to his own truck. The employee sustained minor injuries, according to a Nebraska State Patrol press r... Full story
Just ahead of last week’s shareholder meeting, Cabela’s announced the opening of three new stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and New York. The company plans to begin construction on a 80,000 square foot store in Huntsville, Alabama this year with a fall 2015 opening date, according to a press release from Cabela’s. This store is expected to employ around 180 full time and part time workers. This will be Cabela’s first Alabama location. “Felt just like the place we needed to put a store,” said Cabela’s CEO Tommy Millner at last week’s company shareho... Full story
As Cabela's assured its stockholders at Wednesday's meeting that it was working toward more diversity in its company, its Women in Leadership group presented scholarships to four young women. "This journey in diversity started with the formation of the Women in Leadership group," Tommy Millner, Cabela's CEO told those present at the meeting. "It is now comprehensive across our company and is making a real difference to give women the leadership skills they need to thrive at Cabela's under this...
A revenue growth of $475 million in 2013 as well as more stores in the future were highlights of the 2014 Cabela's shareholder meeting, held at Sidney High School Performing Arts Center. "You'll notice I'm not in a suit and tie," Cabela's CEO Tommy Millner told the audience. "There's several reasons for that. I hate suits and ties." He explained that he donned the "tans" that Cabela's outfitters wear in honor of the company's founder Dick Cabela, who died earlier this year. This is the first...
When I went the Cabela’s shareholder meeting last year, a few days after I moved to Sidney, I can’t tell you how surprised I was at how devoted Cabela’s employees were to their company. Some of the workers’ emotional attachment to Cabela’s and its founders astonished me. This observation of Cabela’s employees’ dedication to their employer continued through my time here. At the shareholder meeting yesterday, as I milled through the crowd and spoke to a few people I heard nothing but positive comments. I’m sure everyone who works there isn’t hap...
Michael Riordan (left) and Ray McPherson (right) speak about the Cabela's culture before the 2014 shareholder meeting held at Sidney High School on Wednesday. Look for a full story detailing the meeting in Thursday's paper.... Full story
Top discussion items in preparation for yearly budget planning at Monday’s county commissioner meeting included more work for the clerk and assessor’s office, as well as the rising price of gravel for the highway department. Cheyenne County’s budget year runs from July 1 to June 30. County Commissioner Harold Winkelman commented that most departments seem to be staying within budget this year. County highway superintendent Tom Noel informed the commissioners that gravel prices were on the rise, and the county will have to deal with that issue...
