Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 628
Sidney senior Cody Rowley was recognized at Monday night’s school board meeting for her acceptance into the Rural Health Opportunities Program next year. This is a University of Nebraska Medical Center program which encourages residents in rural areas of the state to pursue healthcare careers. “Beyond that that’s just a hard thing to get into and that’s a great thing that she’s able to get into that, she’s done a lot more for our school and we wanted to recognize that tonight,” Jay Ehler said. “She’s been a great student, she’s active in a...
Tom Osborne, Co-founder of TeamMates spoke at the Sidney chapter's second annual mentor recognition dinner last night at Buffalo Point. TeamMates matches an adult mentor with a child mentee to meet for one hour per week during the school year. The Sidney chapter currently has 126 mentor-mentee pairs and around 30 youths on the waiting list for a mentor. The recognition dinner was in honor of national mentoring month. "We just want them to be appreciated for their time and effort," said Angie...
The Cheyenne County sheriff’s office has identified two additional persons wanted in connection with multiple thefts that took place in rural parts of the county in the past few months. Last week, the office issued arrest warrants for Martika Biggert for theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. Sean Gdowski is wanted for theft by receiving stolen property, attempted possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school zone and possession of a controlled s...
Three individuals have been charged in connection with theft of $1,500 worth of Cabela’s gift cards from a local hotel room. The suspects only managed to spend around $250 before the cards were shut off. In light of these and some other recent financial thefts, Police remind residents to keep a close eye on items such as credit cards and checks. Burglars might take checks from the back of the book as opposed to the front, so as not to alert the owner until money is missing from an account. These thieves are conniving, said Sidney Police C...
Nathan Pohl, 29 escaped police for a short while yesterday after being arrested for trespassing at the golf course mower shed in the early morning hours on Monday. Police found Pohl’s vehicle stuck in the parking lot near the shed during regular inspection just after midnight. “We were just doing normal patrol,” Sidney police chief B.J. Wilkinson explained. Pohl told police he’d gone into the shed in an attempt to find a tool to assist him in digging out his car. When preparing to tow the vehicle after Pohl was arrested for trespas...
At Monday’s meeting, the Sidney school board officially approved a resolution for a $16.95 million bond election for a new elementary school to be held during the May 13 primary. In a special bond election held Sept. 10 of last year, a school bond set at nearly $16 million was voted down by a narrow margin of 105 votes. The bond would finance a new K-4 school, consolidating three of the system’s current schools, the oldest of which was originally constructed in 1929. The school board cited difficulty with installing new technology in the old...
Belinda Westfall, principal of North Elementary informed the school board that 2nd and 3rd grade students had improved significantly on standardized tests in vocabulary comprehension and fluency in preparation for NeSA testing. NeSA, or Nebraska State Accountability, tests the proficiency of students in various subjects statewide. “So we’re on our way to our NeSA test and just trying to up the ante on all of those,” Westfall said. Meanwhile 8th grade students recently finished their NeSA writing exam, in which they had to complete a descr...
As Sidney and Cheyenne County continue to grow, so do incidents of crime around the region. “We’re in an unprecedented time right now with the crimes of violence, the drug cases,” said Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub at a county commissioner meeting last month. In Nebraska communities with populations from 5,000-99,999 there were 11 cases of murder or manslaughter in 2011 and four in 2012, according to a report by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. This represents a 64 percent drop in murder cases in commu...
Earlier this week, the Cheyenne County District Court denied the appeal by Pine Bluffs Gravel and Excavation of a Cheyenne County board of adjustment decision that said the company’s work was in violation of county zoning code. Pine Bluffs Gravel and Excavation and Cheyenne County have been at odds for many months now, over the company’s work on agriculturally zoned land seven miles west of Sidney, where the company operates a gravel mine. The case of Pine Bluffs Gravel and Excavation vs. Cheyenne County Board of Adjustment was heard on Nov...
The Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office is searching for two individuals in connection with recent burglaries in rural parts of the county. Martika Biggert is wanted for theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. Sean Gdowski is wanted for theft by receiving stolen property, attempted possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school zone and possession of a controlled substance. The sheriff's office is asking for help from the public in locating both of these indivi...
Although “brain drain” afflicts many other non-metropolitan counties in Nebraska, the portion of Cheyenne County’s population with some level of higher education increased significantly over the last 10 years. Brain drain represents the movement of educated people from rural areas to cities. It has been an issue for more than 30 years. In the past decade, however, Cheyenne County gained the highest percentage of college educated residents in the state with an increase of 8.5 percentage points, according to David Drozd, research coord...
It’s human nature to feel more sympathy when unpleasant things happen to those we know as opposed to when something bad happens to a stranger. There was an outpouring of sympathy and support on Facebook for the accused perpetrator of a recent back robbery in Sidney. The woman who allegedly committed the crime reportedly had mental health issues, and many of those in the community felt sorry for her. There’s nothing wrong with hoping that someone you know and like who’s battling mental illness seeks treatment and feels better. Those with mental...
Craig Johnson, 48, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Tuesday in Cheyenne County district court for the Dec. 11, 2011 murder of April Smith. During the trial, prosecutors theorized that Johnson killed Smith because of jealousy over her continued relationship with her husband, Ed Smith, from whom she was separated. “Mr. Johnson is a person that has a very checkered criminal history,” said assistant attorney general Corey O’Brien, who prosecuted the case. In the past, Johnson showed an ongoing tendency for violence,...
After the county commissioners expressed displeasure last month at the burden placed upon them to find more space for probation offices in Cheyenne County, Linda Buehler, chief probation officer for district 12 attended Monday’s meeting to answer come of their questions. District 12 handles juvenile and adult probation cases for the entire Nebraska panhandle as well as Grant County. As responsibility for underage offenders transitions out of youth rehabilitation and treatment centers is transferred from the Department of Health and Human S...
Jason Custer, 35, was convicted of first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon in Cheyenne County district court Friday following a week-long trial. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for around five hours before determining Custer’s guilt in the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Adam McCormick just after midnight on Nov. 3, 2012 over a debt of $150. The victim’s family found significance in the fact that the verdict came in on McCormick’s son’s birthday. “This is what we were hopi...
The man accused of shooting 36-year-old Adam McCormick in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, 2012 took the stand yesterday to tell his version of the events that led to McCormick’s death. Jason Custer, 35 is charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Custer allegedly shot McCormick over a debt of $150. Custer moved to Sidney from California in October 2012 to live with Billy Fields and Amber Davis. Custer first met McCormick in early October at a friend’s apa...
The two men who witnessed the shooting of Adam McCormick in the early morning hours of Nov. 3 2012 testified about the events of that night as the state of Nebraska vs. Jason Custer continued into its third day. Custer, 35 is charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Custer allegedly shot McCormick after a dispute over a debt of $150. Syrus Leal, reportedly a good friend of McCormick, testified Wednesday about what led up to the shooting, as well as the shooting...
Dave Domina, U.S. Senate candidate says his heart is in rural Nebraska. Although Domina is running as a Democrat, he thinks being an American and representing the interests of all Nebraskans should come before party politics. "I don't see a party system as having value when it becomes a commanding ideology," Domina said. The way the two parties go about passing laws needs to change, in his opinion. "What we need in the United States Senate is somebody who does not buy into the cliche, 'I can...
Obviously, most of us are pretty reliant on our memories for daily function. Memory guides us to work, helps us complete tasks and look back on our lives. Many of us would probably be surprised to find that the ways in which we remember a special or even a traumatic event in our lives was not how it actually happened at all. While covering this week’s trial and listening to evidence and witness testimony, it’s clear that everyone remembers events differently. Of course, some of the people testifying in the trial could very well be lying. Set...
In a trial rife with conflicting testimony, the two individuals who helped the alleged murderer flee town told the court on Tuesday about the events leading up to the shooting that left 36-year-old Adam McCormick dead. Jason Custer, 35 is charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Custer allegedly shot McCormick shortly after midnight on Nov. 3, 2012 after a dispute over a debt of less than $200. Custer came to Sidney in October 2012, to stay with Billy Fields and...
In November 2012 a personal feud, with threats of violence reported from both sides, ultimately ended in the death of 36 year old Sidney resident Adam McCormick. During opening statements of the state of Nebraska vs. Jason Custer both the defense and prosecution described a messy, complicated case. Although the prosecution maintained that Custer is guilty of premeditated murder, the defense claimed that Custer shot McCormick in self defense. Custer, 35 is charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a...
As new people come to Sidney, services available to current residents must keep pace. Bryanne Schmitt recently began working as an occupational therapist at Golden Living, a skilled nursing facility in Sidney. The facility had previously been employing part time staff for this position that came in from Bridgeport and served residents at the center a few times per week. "It was an existing position but they hadn't been able to fill it in a really long time," Schmitt said. She assists residents...
The second murder trial held in Cheyenne County over the same number of months opened on Monday as the district court began hearing evidence. Jason Custer, 35 of Sidney, is charged with first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Custer stands trial for the shooting death of Adam McCormick, which occurred just after midnight outside a home on San Marino Road in Sidney on Nov. 3, 2012. McCormick was 36 at the time of his death. Upon arriving on scene that night, police found...
After about a year of planning, the city and South Platte Natural Resources District are finally preparing to move forward with the east Sidney watershed project. At Tuesday's joint meeting between the city council and NRD, both decided to take steps toward allowing the Joint East Sidney Watershed Authority to move into the implementation portion of the project. JESWA is a joint administrative entity, with four members: two members from the city and two from NRD who act on the behalf of both...
As responsibility for underage offenders is transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Office of Probation Administration, the burden of finding more office space for probation is placed on counties. A discussion about a possible location to house additional staff needed for local probation’s new responsibilities brought out some frustration on the county commissioner’s part about where the county will find funds for this undertaking. “Unfortunately, when they do things in Lincoln, the fiscal responsibility goes back...
