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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One factor determined Deuel County’s backyard brawl. South Platte launched all but two of their 12 drives from inside Storm territory. Field position tilted things in the Knight’s favor, as they scored on eight of those possessions. Meanwhile Creek Valley dug multiple holes. They took control of the ball inside their own 20 on eight occasions, surrendering two safeties. As a result, Creek Valley once again ended up on the wrong end of a confrontation between previously winless teams, 62-16. The tone was set from the start. On the opening kic...
Taylor Juelfs may be sidelined, but the Potter-Dix senior still played a critical role on Thursday night. As the Coyotes huddled following a first set 25-20 loss to Creek Valley, Juelfs leaned into the circle and asked a simple question: “where’s your fire?” Her words rekindled Potter-Dix’s spirit, as they swept the remaining sets in convincing style, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-12. “We play for Tay,” said Ryley Hicks. With Juelfs and her 6.9 assists per set recovering from surgery earlier in the week, the Coyotes offense figured to sputter. In...
Not all of the Oktoberfest action takes place at the fairgrounds tent. "We're enormously busy," reported Patty Gorman of Dude's Steakhouse. "People meet here--they have for years." Restaurants and bars in Sidney experience the annual festival as a series of ups and downs. People may grab a cup of coffee in Grandma Joe's or the Coffee Corner before and after the parade, for example. Weather plays a factor, as well. When a snowstorm cancelled last year's parade, participants either remained at home or huddled out at the fairgrounds. "We were...
The shot that clinched Tuesday’s rematch between Leyton and Creek Valley was an accident. With the Warriors’ on top by a narrow 23-20 margin, Diedra Waite occupied a spot on the back line, watching a terse battle at the net. Suddenly the ball ricocheted her direction. The talented freshman threw out both arms, more as a desperate reaction than a considered reply. “It was very chaotic,” Waite said of the resulting point. “I thought it wasn’t going to go. It was a scary moment.” Her accidental sh...
Five years ago I was hooked up to a machine pulsing electricity into my arm while rain water spat on me, the wires and the apparatus itself. But that tale will have to wait for a moment. You see, unless there’s an unexpected shift in Washington, the healthcare marketplace opens today. Yeah, yeah—you either consider this the beginning of the end for America or you’re breathing “finally,” with a sigh of relief. Well, I’m not about to dive into the argument abyss. To put it as simply as possible, the Affordable Care Act hardly represents...
Nobody could pinpoint the exact moment Friday night’s battle began to slip away from Creek Valley. But they were certain of the reason a tight 6-6 first quarter contest ended in a 54-6 Crawford victory. “We just let mistakes get to us,” Creek Valley’s Dane McConnell said. Certainly the numbers were tipped in Crawford’s favor. On a night when lightning delayed the kickoff and heavy rain drenched first half proceedings, the Storm turned the ball over six times and failed to control another half dozen snaps. Weather affected both sides early on....
Creek Valley didn’t need a break. After 10 days off from competition, the Storm returned to the court Tuesday night, only to be swept away by visiting Sutherland, 3-0. Their previous outing had been on Sept. 14 at the Garden County tournament. “We were rusty,” Shania Brown admitted. Creek Valley allowed the Sailors to run up a 5-0 lead in the first set before Brown faked a set then issued a deft sideways tap to earn the Storm’s first point. In the second, the home side again fell behind early, conceding a 6-1 advantage. Yet on both occasio...
I am at an age where the present is elusive. You know what I mean. While I know the name, I have never watched Tina Fey on the small screen. Instead, I just assume Fey and her modern sitcom colleagues will never measure up to the greats—meaning Col. Hogan, Dr. Johnny Fever, Fonzie, Rob Petrie and the like. When someone praises Bruno Mars, I counter with a lengthy dialogue covering the discography of Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols, the Rolling Stones and Springsteen … although, I’ll have to admit that I’ve never actually heard the current star. I...
No one knows who first draped a slice of cheese over a burger as it sizzled on the grill. We can identify—sort of—the inventor of the burger itself. Marauding Mongols saved meat by jamming it under their saddles, where it was generally mashed up and abused. German sailors popularized a portion of punctured beef, which Americans associated with the port city of Hamburg. And perhaps two dozen restaurants in this county lay claim to the version placed inside a bun. But the cheeseburger? Well, the...
The Coyotes expected a whirlwind. Visiting Caliche came into Friday night’s contest as Colorado’s fifth ranked team. Their roster features ten seniors and a total of 17 upperclassmen. On their way to a convincing 55-6 win over Potter-Dix, they hammered out 343 yards on the ground, allowing the hosts just 72 in return. “They’re faster, they’re stronger—it was hard,” said Coyotes’ junior Caleb Shaw. Caliche’s quality was obvious from the outset. On their second play from scrimmage, runnin...
The Coyotes apparently enjoy spotting the opposition a point, even a game. They simply clamber out of holes, over and over. "That's becoming our signature--coming back from a slow start," observed sophomore Regyn Hicks. The pattern emerged during Potter-Dix's hard fought 2-1 losses to Mitchell and Kimball in their home triangular on Thursday night. After appearing overmatched in their opening set, falling 25-14 to Mitchell, the Coyotes clung within striking distance in the second. With the...
Brenda Roberts cannot explain the grilled cheese phenomenon. Just about every American craves the warm, gooey sandwich from time to time. The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce even made it a centerpiece of this year’s newcomer’s social, adding a grilled cheese contest to their event lineup. On film, Johnny Depp famously whipped up a batch using an iron rather than a grill. Yes, the simple sandwich can be prepared cheaply and quickly at home, yet people order it in Roberts’ restaurant almos...
In the Marx Brothers classic "Horse Feathers," college president Groucho goes in search of the best football players he can buy in advance of the big game. Unfortunately he ends up with Chico and Harpo. Chico, as quarterback, warns an opposing linebacker "hey, watch out--you wanna get hurt? We're going to throw a forward pass." OK, so they bumble to victory in the end, thanks to a few stretches in logic. Harpo’s touchdown run in a horse drawn cart full of footballs—each counting six points—saves the day. At the core of the comic farce was a...
A.W. Frerichs and Brennen Cruise set the tone early. On the very first play from scrimmage Friday at South Platte, Leyton’s quarterback-receiver combination hooked up for a 49 yard touchdown. “I was supposed to run an out, but the middle opened up,” Cruise explained. Instead of his assigned pattern, Cruise ran a post. Frerichs spotted the wide open receiver and made a quick decision. “I just let her go,” the quarterback said. “It worked out.” A lot worked out for Leyton on the way to their seco...
The young Creek Valley Storm visited the Wallace Wildcats for a Friday matinee and came out on the short end of 76-0 final. Because of the afternoon start, the temperature at kickoff was 106 degrees. With two starters not able to play, freshman Maverick Widdowson was pressed into full time service at quarterback. Dane McConnell was out with an injury. Keegan Michel also did not suit up. "It was the first time (Widdowson) was really hit hard in a game," said Storm Head Coach Todd Westover. "He took some lumps, but he continued to play hard."...
Elva Lostroh used to scream when startled. Once a practical joking family member urged her to remain in a grain truck cab while the crew unloaded its cargo. As the cab tipped back, she let out a curdling howl, momentarily interrupting harvest. Another time one of her screams almost caused an accident. But that was a long time ago. Elva Crowell Davison Lostroh turns 100 on Sept. 6. Over the weekend, she welcomed hundreds of guests during a reception at the Sidney Regional Medical Center’s Extende...
Kelsey Rozelle clearly had just one thing on his mind Friday night. Barely two minutes into the game, the Coyotes sophomore burst across the goal line from four yards out. In the middle of the first period, he knifed through Creek Valley’s line, stumbled for a moment and then raced 45 yards for another score. In fact, the first five times Rozelle touched the ball he wound up in the end zone, not including conversions. “Last year I didn’t start,” he said. “This year I knew it was time.” Ro...
Kirk Enevoldsen's definition of "variety show" strays a bit from the norm. "This is just like 'whatever happens, happens,'" he explained, in reference to this weekend's Potter Days program at the Legion Hall. "It's an unscripted free for all." Despite the chaotic promise, the unusual variety show involves skits actually rehearsed in the weeks before. Yet the crew also encourages anyone with a modicum of talent to step on stage. As far as Enevoldsen knows at the moment, the event will at least...
I’m certain Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden fully believed at one point or another they were standing up for something important. Snowden’s revelations have, indeed, ignited a national debate and pinned the Obama administration and its promise of transparency to the ropes. Manning’s message of a war gone wrong failed to stir the same passion, though polls show a majority of Americans are still waiting for that quick end to our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the other hand, Snowden contradicted his concern for liberties broken by hi...
Several fits and starts were required before I could find any rhythm to this column. We were catching up on a weekend of recorded television after a quick trip to the banks of the Mississippi, and I sat down to write while—not my choice—a Sunday Morning segment on Michael Bolton replayed in the background. To me, Bolton ranks in the same muck with Kenny G, Celine Dion and pretty much anyone else responsible for overdubbed, under thought hits for the masses. Yeah, his talent is not in question. But even he admits that people remember his hai...
Among the dogs, cats, guinea pigs and other furry pets at the small animals show Monday night, Peyton Lewis waited with her hermit crabs. Yes, hermit crabs—those soft scavengers that protect themselves from predators by squatting in abandoned shells littering the coast. They fit in the palm of a young girl’s hands and, admittedly, fall short in the companionship category, at least compared to normal pets. “They’re not needy,” Lewis said. “But you need to keep their humidity right.” Lew...
Neither Bailey Miller nor McKenzie Hixon every expected a brush with royalty. When Miller, a Dalton native and freshman at Leyton High School, learned she had been selected as Cheyenne County Fair Queen, she hardly believed the news. "Oh my gosh," she gasped. Hixon, a Sidney sophomore named as Lady in Waiting, was equally astonished. "This is really happening to me," she decided after a moment out of breath. The pair heard on July 12 of their appointment. They will be officially crowned on...
Someone always wins. Of course, you have to be in the right place at the right time to collect. The place is Sam & Louie’s. The time? Almost precisely at 7 p.m. every Friday night. The payoff comes in the form of free pizza, pasta, wings or whatever else a table orders during the restaurant’s popular Free Table Fridays. Well, popular for those in the know. I learned of the deal when a couple of beaming co-workers came to work on a Monday morning bragging about free pizza. They had been caught off guard, too, unaware of the promotion. “A lot of...
Teddy, a Texas tenderfoot, has a problem. He lives with an evil step-family, who insist he wash their clothes, iron their shirts and perform other humbling tasks while they try to catch the eye of the beautiful Miz Cindy Lou. It’s a miserable and lonely existence. One day, while tending to the family’s herd of cattle, the kindly (but admittedly unkempt) young man hears a voice. From a field of common anguses…um, angusi…Bovine Americans, his fairy god cow steps forward, promising to clean h...
