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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Plans are under way to reconstruct the county's shooting range, which was battered by the Sept. 9 storm. The building, which is located in a rural part of Cheyenne County, was destroyed due to wind damage. The highest recorded wind speed in the storm earlier this month was 78 miles per hour, although some speculate that unrecorded gusts may have exceeded this mark. The Cheyenne County Sheriff John Jenson does not disclose the exact location of the building because SWAT exercises are sometimes carried out there. He estimates that it will cost...
Sidney's electric department officials are working to bring the city one step closer to a more flexible system offering more power. The city received bids for a new electrical distribution tie line Sept. 11. The low bid was from Ward Electric Company in the amount of around $230,000. Public services director John Hehnke recommended approval for the bid at Tuesday's city council meeting. A few years ago the electricity department placed a larger transformer at the north substation, which has the capability to supply more power to town,...
"What are you?" is probably never a question that most white people will ever be asked without some confusion. Those of even a slightly darker complexion, sadly, know exactly what it means. I have quite a few friends who had told me they deal with this question on a regular basis, but had never actually witnessed it until last weekend. I was eating with Daniel, the guy I'm dating, at a restaurant in a nearby panhandle town. At one point, out of nowhere a man who was sitting nearby asked him if he was Black Irish. Black Irish generally means a...
Environmentally conscious Sidney employees recently gained state-wide recognition. Two city officials were awarded with the Nebraska Outstanding Community Conservation Award at the Nebraska Association of Resources District's annual fall conference Sept. 23. These prizes are awarded to those who take part in outstanding community conservation efforts and promote community conservation projects in Nebraska. Both Bill Taylor, water superintendent and Tom VonSeggern, parks superintendent were...
The city hopes to end its fiscal year in fine health. Sidney's fiscal year ends at the end of September. Tax collections, which were a mixed bag in August this year, might be the only hitch. "The property tax came in a little short, but the sales tax is coming in better than anticipated," said city clerk Geri Anthony. "So that helped a lot." Although property tax collections were lower than anticipated, collections in October are usually pretty substantial, she added. The city is pleased with the sales tax numbers at this point. September...
Anyone in Sidney with a broken-down car in the front yard should expect to hear from police sometime soon. At Tuesday night's city council meeting, Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson asked the council to accept a bid for a towing contract between the city and Affordable Towing for the removal of abandoned and unlicensed vehicles illegally stored on private property. The police department received only one bid on Sept. 9. "We had lots of interest, we only had one bid returned," Wilkinson said....
The Tax Increment Finance plan for the Cabela's Corporate Campus Expansion received final approval Tuesday night by the Community Development Agency and the city council. After a referral back from the planning commission with assurance that the master plan for redevelopment of the 27 acre tract of land owned by Cabela's and the 14 acre tract of land owned by Tim Reganis was in line with the city's 2012 comprehensive plan, the CDA and then the city council both approved TIF for the project. This area is considered blighted and Cabela's asked...
A shortage of lawyers means a lack of justice. While in some areas, the legal market is oversaturated, the number of qualified attorneys in rural areas is shrinking rapidly. Many counties are underserved at the moment, according to the Nebraska State Bar Association. When there are few lawyers available, this limits access to justice for rural dwellers. In some cases, people must travel up to 200 miles for legal help. In Nebraska, there are 12 counties that have no lawyers at all. According to the NSBA there were 18 lawyers in Cheyenne County...
Those living in Sidney are constantly told that the populations has grown, is growing and will continue to grow into the future. Sidney's 2012 comprehensive plan predicts a population of 7,800 by 2030, compared to 6,700 in the 2010 census. Predictions topping 10,000 are also heard. The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce sees this first hand and will be welcoming some of that new population at the annual newcomers picnic later this week. The number city tours given out by the chamber rose quite a bit this year. "The increase was substantial," s...
Construction work at the intersections of Illinois St. and 13th and 14th avenues is nearly completed. The entire intersection is now open to through traffic. Construction cones delineate the lanes at this point because lane-stripe painting has not started. Depending upon weather, the city hopes to get the stripes done at the beginning of this week, according to public services director John Hehnke. The new stop light signal controllers are already installed, but the sensors won't be working at full function until the stripe painting is...
Camp Lookout, one of Sidney's oldest buildings, was once owned by the army and also served as a brothel during the seedier days of Sidney's history, but in the future it will serve as a pictorial museum chronicling the city's past. "It'll be kind of the history of Sidney," said Kathy Wilson, chairperson of the Boot Hill Restoration Committee. The Boot Hill Restoration Committee purchased Camp Lookout in 2010. This building is located on the corner of 10th and Elm on the north side of town....
The city of Sidney is still working to cleanup after the Sept. 9 storm. Many power lines throughout town were damaged during the storm. Some of these lines were already slated for underground conversion, so officials decided to go ahead with the project on the lines at Pine and Dorwart, as well as others, instead of repairing the existing above-ground network. Some city employees worked for close to 36 consecutive hours to ensure that the city was back on track in the hours and days after the storm, according to emergency manager John Hehnke....
After record-setting floods in Colorado last week, floodwaters are currently moving up the South Platte River and well into Nebraska. Sidney was hardly immune to storm water issues last week. Flash flooding on Sept. 9 made navigating the city difficult and sometimes dangerous. Region 21 emergency manager Ron Leal helped those in Big Springs prepare for flooding earlier this week. Leal brought Command One, the RV that serves as the Emergency Operations Vehicle for region 21—which includes Deuel, Cheyenne, Garden and Morrell counties— to Big Spr...
The city Planning Commission found Monday that the Cabela’s corporate expansion plan was in line with city’s overall vision for the future. This redevelopment plan had already been reviewed by the Community Development Agency, who referred it to the Planning Commission. The commission’s role was to refer it back to the CDA, after ensuring that it conforms with the 2012 comprehensive plan and the overall goals and strategies of the community. “It does over time look at the development of this ground as being commercial,” said Dennis Armstrong, C...
Taking tests is rarely fun, but for some high school kids, scoring well on the ACT is the boost they need to jump start a college career. Sidney High School is one of eight school districts across the state of Nebraska participating in a pilot program in which 100 percent of students take the ACT. Nationally only about 54 percent of kids participate in the test. It usually isn't required for high school, but ACT scores are necessary for most college applications in the Midwest. Schools in the eastern and central part of the state participating...
A city planning commission meeting Monday night was marked by frustration, confusion and lengthy discussion in an attempt to understand and work toward solving issues with a tract of land currently occupied by a sand and gravel pit. Representatives of the Kielian Family Trust owns the ground in question. The gravel pit is located east of Sidney one half mile south of the intersection of Roads 20 and 117. Representatives with Kielian Family Trust met with the planning commission to appeal the...
A man who exposed at least one child to illegal drugs entered into a plea agreement with the state earlier this month. On Sept. 6 Justin Warren, 30, of Kimball pled no contest to possession of methamphetamine, a class IV felony and child abuse, a class IIA felony. The court accepted the pleas and ordered sentencing for October 15 at 9 a.m. According to the court's factual basis for accepting Warren's plea, law enforcement served a warrant to the residence of Justin Warren and Shirley Brewer in March of this year. Officials found marijuana and m...
Cancer patients in Sidney who need radiation treatment have to travel to receive it, at least for the time being. Sidney's Dorwart Cancer Center closed last week due to storm damage and won't open until the beginning of next week at the earliest, according to Jonanne Krieg, marketing specialist at Regional West Medical Center. Due to water damage during the Sept. 9 storm, patients of the Dorwart Cancer Care Center will have to travel to Scottsbluff to receive radiation treatments. The storm caused significant water damage to the facility. Power...
Boot Hill, which has been a Sidney establishment since the 1800s, has fallen into disrepair, but the Boot Hill Restoration Committee plans to work this year to patch it up. The original Sidney Cemetery, otherwise known as Boot Hill, has existed since 1868. It was first created to bury soldiers of Fort Sidney. Mike Hartzler, a member of the committee met with the city council earlier this summer to discuss the budget for improvements. "I know right now it's kind of a mess up there," Hartzler...
The rollover bus crash that resulted in multiple injuries last Thursday northeast of Potter was caused by a driver's failure to stop at a stop sign. A Ford Ranger pickup truck, driven by Robert Hilpert, 55 of Potter, was traveling west on County Road 40 and struck a Potter School District bus, driven by John Herboldsheimer, 73, also of Potter, that was traveling north on County Road 83. According to accident reports filed by the Cheyenne County Sheriff's office, Hilpert failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of these roads and...
After the 18 families living in the 9th Street Apartments were displaced by the storm last Monday, agencies both statewide and local came together to help them. Ron Leal, region 21 emergency manager, contacted the Red Cross to let them know about the storm and that there was an apartment with 18 units which were not safe for residents. "We responded by getting our emergency response vehicle, ERV," said Shelly Penner, Red Cross, spokesperson out of North Platte. Penner's territory extends all...
A bus rollover crash about seven miles northeast of Potter Thursday afternoon resulted in some significant injuries. A Ford Ranger pickup truck was traveling west on County Road 40 and struck a Potter-Dix School District bus that was traveling north on County Road 83, according to the Cheyenne County attorney's office. Officials estimate that the bus rolled over one and one quarter times. The accident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. There were seven students on the bus from 10 to 16 years of age. All seven, as well as the drivers of both...
City manager Gary Person presented a significantly bigger than usual city budget for approval at Tuesday's city council meeting. The council approved the finished 2013-2014 budget that night, as well as the new, slightly lower tax levy. "We're pleased to announce the proposed budget will reduce the property tax levy for the 5th consecutive year," Person said. "Albeit, it's a small margin, but it's still going in the right direction." Many other municipalities in the surrounding area figure budgets backwards, determining the maximum level that...
The city council decided on Tuesday night to split up the golf course improvement between two separate companies. Members were hesitant about a slightly higher cost than expected, but issued their approval anyway, considering the golf course an asset to the community. "I think I have a little better news than the last time I was up here," said Andy Staples of Staples Golf Design, the company that designed the project. Staples adjusted the work schedule and relaxed or reset many of the specifications for the project after receiving only one offe...
Can school board members work for the district? Even the members themselves were uncertain of the answer during Monday's board meeting discussions. Two employment policies were presented to the board. One of the options allowed board members to be employees of the school as long as they don't work as certified teachers or administrative staff. In this option, board members can be substitute teachers. Option two states that a board member cannot be a employee of the school, whatsoever. Some districts would like to be able to hire school board...
