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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Bountiful baskets of goodwill and holiday food filled the Legion Park shelter house yesterday where the Wide Awake Circle of the King’s Daughters gave away Christmas baskets to needy families. The local charity presented 125 baskets in total to area residents, including those delivered to Cheyenne Villa and Sioux Villa, with help from the city street department. Dola Witters, current member and former president of the group thanked the members of the street department who use their trucks to deliver the food to the two locations. “They lov...
The city council recently approved three ordinances which changed some city regulations and allowances. One raises height restrictions on buildings from 50 to 80 feet in C3 or heavy commercial zones, which would accommodate some new developments. Another ordinance will allow a list of new approved activities in agricultural areas, including taxidermy, vineyards, crop production and orchards. These were all activities that the city thought should obviously be legal under zoning, but were somehow left off Sidney’s allowed uses charts. Also to b...
The city of Sidney signed a supplemental agreement for the Deadwood Trail project with the State Department of Roads at this week’s city council. This agreement locks in additional funds the department of roads has agreed to supply for the hiking, biking and walking trail project, with the department providing 80 percent of the funds and the city providing 20 percent as well as removing the $500,000 cap for federal funds. The agreement demonstrates how long this project has been in the works, as the department of roads and the city entered i...
A life friends and family saw as full of generosity and selflessness was cut short Dec. 11, 2011 when 42 year old April Smith was murdered. “She was fun to be with, she was a caring person,” said Ed Smith, April Smith’s husband. “Always went out of her way to help others. Of course I always backed her up on it. She’d do anything for anybody.” Although they were technically separated at the time of April Smith’s death, the Smiths still kept in close contact, talking or texting daily. The couple met 22 years earlier in a truck stop where April S...
The city will soon install variable frequency drives on three of its water wells. A representative from HOA solutions spoke with the council this summer and informed them about the benefits of installing VFD software on the city’s north water wells. Most well pump motors are either on or off, they don’t have adjustable speeds. This new technology would run the pump in way that would pump the most water for the least amount of electricity. This technology finds the most efficient speed and runs the equipment at that pace. Estimated ele...
Not all young people are awful. That being said, some of them are pretty terrible. Who hasn’t read an article about how millennials are despicable people? (Millennials are in the generation of people born in 1980 or after, which includes myself.) According to many, they’re selfish, they’re lazy, they’re entitled little brats who will never be able to care for themselves and will depend on their parents until the day they die. In some cases this is true. Our desire as a society to ensure that our children have it better than we ever did may hav...
After a conviction of first degree murder (a class IA felony) Craig Johnson, 48 faces a guarantee of life in prison, according to Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub. Following a weeklong trial in Cheyenne County district court Johnson was found guilty for the Dec. 2011 death of his girlfriend, April Smith, in her apartment eight miles west of Sidney. Johnson was also found guilty of use of a weapon to commit a felony, (a class II felony) which come with a possibility of 50 additional years in prison and possession of a deadly weapon by a felo...
Cabela’s continues to grow, announcing two new stores within the past three weeks. On Wednesday the Sidney-based company announced plans for a new 97,000 square-foot store in Fort Mill, S.C., a suburb of Charlotte, N.C. Construction is set to begin in 2014 with an anticipated spring 2015 opening. This will be the company’s second store in South Carolina. A Greenville location will open in spring of next year. The company is expanding in this area of the country with plans for a store in Garner, N.C., to open in 2015. Cabela’s plans to hire...
A jury of five men and seven women found Craig Johnson, 48, guilty of first degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony and possession of a deadly weapon by a felon yesterday afternoon in Cheyenne County District Court. Johnson was convicted for the death of April Smith, his girlfriend at the time. He could be punished with life in prison, according to Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub. Following closing arguments, the case was submitted to the jury just after 11 a.m. Monday and the verdict came in around 2 p.m., after three hours of d...
The jury learned of fingerprint and DNA evidence that the prosecution said pointed to the defendant during the last day of evidence in the murder trial of the State of Nebraska vs. Craig Johnson. Johnson, 48, is charged with first-degree murder, a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a class III felony and habitual criminality for the Dec. 11, 2011 death of 42-year-old April Smith. Johnson and Smith were in a...
On the third day of testimony, the jury heard about the specific injuries the victim, April Smith, suffered during the incident leading to her death, as well as the possible causes for those injuries, as the State of Nebraska vs. Craig Johnson trial continued in Cheyenne County District Court. Johnson, 48, is charged with first-degree murder, a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a class III felony and habitual...
Sidney appreciates its citizens who go the extra mile. At Tuesday's city council meeting, mayor Wendall Gaston presented citizenship awards to five deserving Sidney residents. "When I go across the state I tell people that what makes Sidney special is its citizens," Gaston said. "So I thought this year I would present a few awards." There were no specific criteria for the awards. Instead Gaston recognized that these people had accomplished something positive for the community, often difficult...
Law enforcement described a high speed chase and a crime scene that suggested a violent struggle during the second day of the State of Nebraska vs. Craig Johnson trial. Johnson, 48, is charged with first-degree murder, a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a class III felony and habitual criminality for the Dec. 11, 2011 death of 42-year-old April Smith. At the time of the victim’s death, Smith and Johnson shared an apartment at Sioux Meadows eight miles west of S...
At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, the Community Development Agency gave final approval for tax increment financing to pay for qualifying portions of the Cabela’s project at 13th Ave. and Illinois. Tax increment financing involves paying for a project that will increase the value of an area by recapturing the raised taxed value of the area over a time period after the project is complete. A little more than a year ago, the CDA and city council approved a redevelopment plan for 13th Ave., at the building that was formerly Cabela’s headquar...
I can find virtually any information with the touch of a button on my smart phone. I can learn about legal lingo, get weather updates and discover mundane facts about all my high school friends on Facebook in seconds. Technology has made it a breeze to research any topic and to stay informed about current events. In theory, these advances should contribute to our overall knowledge as people, but in many cases, they do not. Do most of us spend our time online in productive pursuits of knowledge about current events, politics or world news or do...
On Dec. 12, 2011, Chief Deputy Fred Wiedeburg of the Cheyenne County Sheriff's office kicked in the door of a Sioux Meadows apartment and found the body of April Smith. Tuesday in Cheyenne County District Court a jury of four men and eight women heard opening arguments during the first day of the State of Nebraska vs. Craig Johnson. Johnson faces charges of first-degree murder a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a...
Sid Dinsdale claims to be different than other Republican candidates running for a Nebraska seat in the U.S. Senate next year. “My resume is a lot longer and wider and deeper,” Dinsdale said. He spent 37 years working in community banking and agriculture and is still involved in agriculture, cattle feeding, ethanol and community banking. “I’m an unconventional person running for the United States Senate,” Dinsdale said. “People say we don’t have any political experience and I take that as an asset, because I have dealt with regulations,...
The city's only remaining men's clothing store and a Sidney institution, Larry's Clothing, will soon close its doors for the last time. Larry's Clothing opened almost 18 years ago on April 17, 1995. Owner Larry Fraas decided to start the business because he believed it would fill demand in the growing town. "I thought Sidney needed a men's store," Fraas said. He previously worked at Greenlee's, another clothing store in Sidney, which closed around seven or eight years before Larry's opened....
In addition to its continued growth in the Sidney area, with plans for both an expansion of its corporate campus and a housing development to serve employees new and old planned for the next few years, Cabela’s is also growing its brand throughout the rest of the country. Last week Cabela’s announced plans to open another outpost store in Bowling Green, Ky. This 42,000 foot facility, which the company plans to open in fall 2014, will be the company’s second in Kentucky, joining one in Louisville. Cabela’s plans to hire around 90 employe...
Sidney Police are searching for a missing city vehicle as well as a significant amount of city property after a weekend break in at the street department building. City street department employees discovered the vehicle was missing when they arrived at work Monday morning. In addition to the stolen vehicle, other items taken include hand and power tools, laptop computers and a portable welder. Officers are currently working the case. The stolen city vehicle is a 2004 Chevrolet 4X4 truck with a white cab and a blue flatbed, which had city of...
The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has been rough and Nebraska health companies, brokers and citizens have all dealt with issues concerning the law’s implementation. Jackie Gartner, a local account executive at OCI insurance and financial services, has seen customers dealing with some of these issues caused by the healthcare rollout firsthand. People were mislead because they thought their insurance was being canceled. Those people didn’t realize the coverage was canceled because it didn’t contain the essential health benefits mandated by t...
Sidney’s residents were already working toward making the city healthier when officials decided to enroll the town in the Let’s Move! program. “Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams,” according to the organization’s website. While attending national meetings, Sidney mayor Wendall Gaston heard about the opportunity for cities to participate in the program...
A preliminary hearing concerning the alleged crimes of 23-year-old Theodore Medina of Sidney was held Tuesday afternoon in Cheyenne County district court. Medina is charged with first degree assault and manslaughter after an alleged altercation between he and Ernest Ward, 51, reportedly resulted in Ward’s death. Local law enforcement from both the city of Sidney and Cheyenne County testified at the hearing. The court found that the charged offenses likely took place and that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed t...
Two times in my life I’ve picked up and moved to a seemingly random place where I knew no one, or almost no one. When I moved to Denver, I knew only the person I moved there with. I left an extensive network of friends in Indiana that I’d been making basically since birth and a gigantic extended family. Many of my relatives still live on Sievers Road in Vincennes, Ind. When I moved to Denver I faced anonymity for the first time in my life. When I lived in Vincennes, everyone knew my dad. In Denver I knew one person. I found making friends fro...
The only Independent currently running for a Nebraska seat in the U.S. Senate race thinks the two party system is hobbled by partisanship. Jim Jenkins is a 5th generation Nebraska rancher who believes he can better relate to Nebraskans than anyone running for either major party. "I've had the great opportunity to work from one end of the state to the other," said Jenkins, who stopped in Sidney on a campaign swing Tuesday. Jenkins served on various statewide organizations including the Nebraska E...
