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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The people of Sidney are looking fresh-faced these days, but expensive lotions are not the reason. "The trend is continuing for the age to get younger," said city manager, Gary Person. Sidney's median age was 37 in 2010, which is significantly below that of most rural areas. Banner County's median age in 2010 was 48, more than 10 years older than Sidney's, according to Sidney's 2012 comprehensive plan. The city is working deliberately to create an environment that embraces job growth, which in turn attracts younger people, Person explained. He...
Affordable housing is in high demand in Sidney. The city's housing authority works to provide quality affordable housing for Cheyenne county residents with limited incomes. The housing authority is responsible for the administration of Sioux Villa and Western Heritage apartment complexes in Sidney. Sioux Villa, located on the north side of town has very low rent, but no income restrictions. Western Heritage, located on the south side of town, is income restricted. The housing authority is responsible for making sure those managing these two...
I like to consider myself an independent lady. Obviously, I left everyone I know back in Colorado to move to Sidney, where I know no one. If I wasn't capable of fending for myself, I'd be in trouble. I like doing things for myself. I know how to change the oil in my car, I tend to fix small problems in my apartment by myself and I don't usually ask for advice. I'm not sure exactly why I feel that I need to do everything on my own, but I know a lot of other people feel the same way. We all know small children who want to dress themselves, even...
Some residents on the south and east parts of Sidney experienced short power outages yesterday morning. "We just had a bird get up in the lines and took out a substation," said Sidney electric superintendent Mike Palmer. The outages took place at around 9:45 a.m. and most were restored by 10:15 or 10:30, he said. The incident was unrelated to the city's work to move downtown power lines and meters underground. Instead, city officials point out, random incidents such as yesterday's outage are one of the reasons the Sidney decided to bury the...
Alleged burglars stole snacks to fuel up for car break-ins. James Russell, 20, was arrested June 17 for the alleged burglary of the concession stand at Legion Park and theft of coins and cash from numerous vehicles in the Sidney area over the past few weeks, according to a Cheyenne county sheriff's office affidavit. On June 16, an officer went to Russell's residence on 11th Avenue and found numerous snack items that were consistent with a burglary of the concession stand at Legion Park. The Legion Park concession stand burglary occurred June...
O'Malley's cab service maybe not be owned by an Irishman, but it serves those who enjoy a St. Patrick's Day party—or anyone else in need of a ride. O'Malley's, at 700 Hickory Street, started up in January of this year. Sidney needed a cab service because the city is growing so fast, said owner, Brad Zalesky. New people in town needed transportation that the city couldn't provide, he added. Some students at the community college also needed transportation outside of city limits and at odd hours. The company hopes to provide a public service o...
The Sidney school board voted last night to have a bond election to finance a new elementary school. The election will take place September 10. At the May meeting, the board decided to give the public an opportunity to speak out before going through with an election. The board held two public hearings June 10 about a possible new elementary school. "The meetings were not hugely attended by any means," said Jay Ehler, superintendent of Sidney schools. He estimated that there were a total of 35...
As the temperature rises, sightings of rattlesnakes will increase, as well. Rattlesnake attacks on pets were more common last year at the beginning of summer, and tapered off toward the end, said Don Devie, office manager at Sidney Veterinary Hospital. Rattlesnakes were probably more active at the beginning of the season last year because of the higher temperatures, he said. "Well, by this time last year we'd dealt with six or eight," Devie said. Dogs can be protected from the worst affects of a rattlesnake bite by receiving a vaccine. Sidney V...
Sidney Regional Medical Center's Oklahoma Disaster Relief Donation Drive was a big help to those in need. The drive, which was put together by Rachel Forster, director of pharmacy at Sidney Regional Medical Center accepted donations during the last weekend of May. Donated items came from as far away as Chadron, Chappell and Peetz, Forster said. Items accepted at the drive included non-perishable food, pet supplies, sleeping bags, tents and much more. The drive received a large amount of...
For local teens, sales and community service go together. Sidney’s teen outreach program, which is based out of the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska (CAPWN) office, is hosting a yard sale this Saturday for its community service project. Money raised at the sale will go toward the purchase of games and furnishings at the CAPWN office. “We want to make it a more fun youth hangout,” said Brenda Dickinson, who does youth, family and community outreach for CAPWN. Workers at the office would like to buy an Xbox and some games—and couc...
The KSB board met yesterday at Grandma Jo's and discussed past and upcoming projects and expenses. One of their goals was to clean up the Welcome to Sidney sign east of town by highway 30. The board discussed getting some new trees to plant near the sign but decided on native grasses instead, because they're heartier and they look better in the winter. They also planned to pick up any litter around the sign. "That's what Keep Sidney Beautiful is about," said executive director, Cheryl Jones....
More road construction started in the Sidney area last week. The state's Sidney West project opened on Highway 30 at the west edge of Sidney and extends eight miles west. The project will begin with repair of the concrete pavement underneath the road and will end with replacement of the asphalt on top. The Nebraska department of roads is hoping to complete the project by sometime this fall, said Maryanne Jacobs, project manager with the Nebraska Department of Roads. This project will be an inconvenience to the 1,400 vehicles per day which...
The Cheyenne County Sheriff's Department is investigating numerous vehicle break-ins in Sidney. "We started getting complaints this week," said Sheriff John Jenson. The sheriff's office has received more complaints from the south side of town, but says that the break ins could potentially happen anywhere. The sheriff advises that the citizens of Sidney lock their cars. Anyone who keeps valuables in their vehicle should bring them inside, he said. Most of the break-ins occurred late at night, according to Jenson's department. If you hear...
Farmland valuations went up more than 10 percent this year in Cheyenne County. But the news could be worse. "In my county they didn't go up as much as they did in other counties," said Cheyenne County Assessor, Louella Pippitt. Although values spiraled in Cheyenne county by a double digit margin, there are many other counties where the changes from last year to this year were much more drastic. Assessments in 16 Nebraska counties rose more than 30 percent. Farmland valuations rose the least--at 1.5 percent--in Thomas county and the most--at 40...
The Cabela's annual shareholder meeting last week drew its biggest crowd yet. Last year's meeting had a little more than 1,000 attendees, but this year's gathering blew that out of the water with around 1,500 in the crowd. Most of those present consisted of shareholders and employees, said Cabela's communication specialist, Nathan Borowski. "We tried and strived to make it as big as ever this year," Borowski said. With an estimated 3,000 people at the Luke Bryan concert the night before the official shareholder meeting, the recreational...
There's the phenomenon in Sidney I'm going to call 'extreme friendliness,' and I'm still working to get used to it. As soon as I arrived in town, strangers were smiling, waving and asking me about myself. It made me slightly uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I don't think friendliness is a bad thing at all. I'm just not used to it, not on this extreme level, anyway. People were friendly in my hometown of Vincennes, Indiana, but I've gotten used to Denver where drivers yell expletives we can't print in the paper at pedestrians for the terrible...
They may provide a window to the world, but when it comes to older buildings those choosing glass, sills and shutters hardly have it made in the shade. Sidney's Historic Preservation Board worked to decide what sort of windows fit their vision and guidelines for downtown Sidney at yesterday's meeting. All businesses within the national register historic district must submit an application to the board for a certificate of approval before making changes to the facade of their building. There were three window replacement requests in front of...
Starting plans for a new elementary school this year could save Sidney big money in the long run. At a public meeting at Sidney community center last night, Sidney public schools superintendent, Jay Ehler emphasized how important it was to get community input before moving ahead with possible plans for a new elementary school. The plans presented during the meeting were put together by Project One, a construction management company that the school board plans to use for the building, if it is approved. The board of education wishes to start...
An outbreak of equine infectious anemia that was confirmed in northwestern Nebraska last week has been quarantined. EIA is a blood born disease that only affects horses, mules and donkeys is most often passed on by insects that bite. It is usually fatal, according to state veterinarian Dr. Dennis Hughes. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture found out about the outbreak in the end of May. It occurred in north west Cherry County, said Christin Kamm, public information officer with the NDA. As far as the department knows, the outbreak is...
When his disorder is at its worst, 3-year-old Sawyer Schledewitz has 100 seizures a day. "He had his first seizure an hour after his one year check up," said Sawyer's mother, Coralea Schledewitz. Doctors thought the initial seizure was caused by a sudden spike in temperature but Coralea and her husband, Tyson of Potter weren't so sure. "We always had a big sense of dread that it was something a lot worse," she said. In December 2012, he had a 10 minute seizure and stopped breathing. Coralea gave him mouth to mouth until the paramedics arrived....
Cheyenne County is looking for a new appraiser. County attorney Paul Schaub received a copy of a cease and desist notice from the Nebraska real properties appraisal board in the end of April addressed to Jerry Knoche regarding the appraisal services he was providing to the county. "I don't know what took place, except I don't have an appraiser now," said Cheyenne county assessor, Louella Pippitt. A copy of the letter read, "It is the Board's opinion that you may be engaged in real property appraisal activity in the state of Nebraska, and...
Road construction in and around Sidney isn't coming to a halt anytime soon. Work on Illinois street from 13th Avenue to 14th Avenue, including the intersections of both of those streets with Illinois is set to begin at the end of the month, said Sidney public services director, John Hehnke. Initial construction is on track to start the last week of June with the replacement of some storm drains on Illinois. Traffic patterns at those intersections will start to change that week. Major construction will begin July 1. The project will involve...
On the business side, Cabela's shareholder meeting was one positive after another. Earnings in the billions, 25 new stores planned by the end of 2014, all proxy votes affirmend, a successful transition at the top—each round met with applause. But the meeting was also a chance to celebrate. A gigantic, inflatable open-mouthed fish greeted shareholders as they entered Cabela's annual meeting Wednesday at Sidney High School. Employees were lined up in a lengthy row inside the school Wednesday morni...
Nicholas Schmit, a Utah man, died Wednesday morning on highway 30 about a half-mile west of Lodgepole. It is estimated that the 27-year-old from Grantsville was traveling by motorcycle when he ran into a sign and died of resulting blunt force trauma at approximately 1:30 a.m. Lodgepole residents discovered the accident at 5:10 a.m, according to Cheyenne county attorney, Paul Schaub. The body was taken to a local funeral home and blood was drawn for analysis, but result won't be in for approximately four to six weeks. "At this point there is...
The Cabela's stockholder meeting, which started in earnest today, will be filled with music, food, recreation and celebration. The annual meeting kicked off last night with a special concert featuring Luke Bryan and John Pardi, held for the company's employees and shareholders at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds. Thousands attended the event, despite threatening clouds. "The festivities are getting bigger and better every year," said Joe Arterburn, Cabela's corporate communications manager. The...
