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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On Monday, the Cheyenne County Court sentenced Leland Blake to intensive probation for 60 months for distribution of a controlled substance. As part of the decision, he must testify in a case against Larry Martinez. In August Blake witnessed Martinez shoot and kill Mandy Kerschman, age 30 of Sidney, according to court documents. The incident took place at Blake's home. Kerschman was reportedly a friend of Blake. Charges against Blake step from a WING Task Force investigation that culminated in his arrest. On June 29, 2012, WING officer Justin L...
Harvest crews travels hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles over the course of a summer. Their journey often begins in the south, where crops mature with the early warmth. They eventually make their way to Nebraska. Minnesota native Reed Lundy and his crew of five started cutting in June, somewhere in Oklahoma. Before reaching the panhandle, they worked fields in Kansas. The end of their road will come in North Dakota, up near the Canadian border. Theirs is a life of hotel rooms, wide open spaces...
Every year a hundred or more abandoned bicycles are found by city and law enforcement officials. On any summer day, the Sidney Police Department stores 50 to 75 bicycles in their bike rack, outside of the station. The majority—90 percent—go unclaimed. “We get bikes that are left leaning against the swimming pool fence, just laying out in the open,” interim Chief of Police Joseph Aikens reported. “We chain them up where we find them.” Some of these may have been left behind after an unreported th...
Step after step, mile after mile brings Rolla Joyce closer to Washington D.C. His zeal pushes closer to his destination, day after day. Joyce, from Richland, Wash., passed through Sidney Thursday afternoon on a near cross country walk. Earlier this summer he felt a calling to leave his family, catch a ride to Salt Lake City, Utah and begin his trek across the heartland for the sake, he says, of his country. As Joyce sees it, Americans are in a state of isolation. The thought of individuals helpi...
I found an apartment—can you believe it? In one of the state's toughest housing markets? But now the move in, and I was not as thrilled about this. Reaching this apartment requires climbing (and carrying) up two flights of stairs. My plan of attack was to unload everying and then haul it all to the second floor. The scenario called for me repeating this numerous times until I collapse on the floor. I'll admit I just didn't want to climb those stairs again and again and again. But I did it—my shirt drenched with sweat and my legs feeling lik...
During the summer, working parents often struggle to find a safe place for their children to spend the day. Cool Kids and No Limits were founded in 2001 as summer and winter after school programs associated with the Sidney Public Schools. Started with a grant of $700,000 through No Child Left Behind, Cool Kids supervises elementary age children. No Limits, meanwhile, provides activities for middle school through high school students. Both programs offer tutoring, field trips and outside...
Budget cuts in Washington may again affect funding of the Western Nebraska Intelligence and Narcotics Group (WING). In 2005, the interagency task force received $229,546 in grant funds. A year ago, that amount had been slashed to $70,000. With current cutbacks on the federal level, some fear this year's allocation may fall short even of that mark. “It’s petty tough—we have to buy equipment and pay the salary for an officer,” said Joseph Aikens, Sidney's acting police chief. A significant portion of the funds used by local departments to inve...
On an overcast summer day, with a cool breeze—rare of late—blowing through their windows, 200 tourists in 80 old cars pulled into Sidney on Saturday. The group is from Norway, Denmark and Sweden. They are driving across the U.S. on the Lincoln Highway, in celebration of the storied road and its centennial. The column of American and foreign makes left New York's Times Square on July 1, bound for San Francisco. Norwegian Morten Ruud, traveling with his wife Annstine and his father Jan-Erik transp...
John Hehnke knows what to do in case of disaster. Sidney's Emergency Manager and Public Services Director is prepared for flooding—rain sometimes falls—tornadic storms and even chemical spills. When a problem arises, he takes charge of the situation. “We use an emergency plan almost every day for something,” Hehnke said. Major issues are covered by the Local Emergency Operation Plan, a guide approved by the state every five years and implemented at the county and city level. Representatives from government, healthcare, first responders and oth...
The city is preparing to begin spraying against mosquitoes. More people are spending time outdoors. It's the time of year when people turn to Diethyl-meta-toluamide, otherwise known as DEET. Despite its popularity and repeated calls by experts to use repellants with DEET to prevent bites, many are concerned about its safety. Some attribute eight deaths to the chemical since 1961—including three from ingestion and three children who reportedly succumbed to over-application. Veronica Phelps owner of KISST Organics said, “Anytime you're put...
At mile marker 62 on Highway 30, the Kielian’s family have lived for the past 42 years in relative quiet. Improving their driveway one day, however, brought them into conflict with the state of Nebraska. Without a permit, Tom Kielian strengthened the edges of the driveway, hoping to prevent erosion during rainstorms. He also added to the grade, allowing the family to swing a tractor or large truck onto the highway without crossing over into the far lane. The state responded by issuing a 30 d...
Sidney High School Principal Steve Arent attended ASCD—formally known as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development—teaching conference in Washington DC on June 27. “After the second day I was there, there was some different things I was hearing in every session,” he said. The program emphasized excellence in the classroom. Sessions dealt with developing a core focus on classroom instruction. As Arent put it, panels taught the value of “teachers not only having good content skills, but also solid instructional practices in how y...
In Cheyenne County Court on July 8, Jethro Harris faced sentencing for his fourth driving under the influence of alcohol offense. Judge Randin Roland granted Harris probation for 24 months, under the condition that Harris submit to drug and alcohol evaluations and counseling. As part of the sentence, he cannot visit any place where alcohol is consumed. He is not allowed to have alcohol in his home and will be submitted to random tests and searches. Harris a dishwasher at a local restaurant told Judge Roland that he has applied to a school in th...
School Board members last night voted overwhelmingly in favor of holding a special election on a bond issue to fund construction of a new elementary school. The ballot is scheduled for Sept. 10, with notice of election to be published 40 days prior. Total cost of the new school is set at $15,850,000. If passed by voters, the facility will be built on land donated by Cabela’s, on the east side of town adjacent to Fort Sidney Road near WNCC. The need for updating the elementary structures in Sidney is a high priority for the school board. With o...
That Sidney's July 3 fireworks display went smoothly is more a result of planning, effort and hard work than colorful explosives. For chief Keith Stone and the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department, responsible for putting on the annual holiday show, Independence Day consumes several days, starting even before fireworks are ordered. “I’ve been doing this for 37 years,” noted Assistant Fire Chief Larry Chaon, one of a team of 20 trained for the event. Longevity means he knows the process thoro...
Old Glory is up and flying, people are waiting for the fireworks to start ... but what is Independence Day all about? For some it’s a chance to convene with family and friends over BBQ and beer. For all it’s a celebration of the independence we enjoy. America the beautiful—we can take in your young and old, rich and poor. Is this true today? Can we take in the rich and poor, young and old? And why would they want to come here? After traveling to third world countries, I can understand why people might want to re-settle in this country. Yes,...
Tears of joy fell from her eyes as Viola Christensen sat with her sister-in-law Doris Dickes and niece Terry Kuehn. Asked by her niece why she was crying, Christensen responded, “It’s my first birthday party.” But July 4 will be the 99th anniversary of her birth. Christensen came into the world on Independence Day in 1914 in Fordyce, Neb. Woodrow Wilson was president and Europe was on the verge of a war that would spread around the globe. Surrounded by 25 of her friends and staff at Sloan Estat...
Sidney's representatives fared well at Keep Nebraska Beautiful's held its annual Environmental Awards luncheon on June 27. Keep Sidney Beautiful received the state's Award of Excellence for their effort during the Great American Cleanup and was recognized with a Gold Affiliates award for programs during the year. KNB also honored the City of Sidney with second place in the Deanie Anderson Award list, earned for overall community environmental excellence. The Anderson award includes programs for public awareness, adult education, recycling and p...
Emil Weyerts great grandfather came to Nebraska in 1886, settling in on land east of Gurley. The Weyerts family, who were farmers, opened one of the town's first stores. Weyerts grew up on the farm during what he refers to as the “dirty 30s”--the difficult era of depression and the Dust Bowl. He watched wind carry farm and ranchland away. “The dust was so bad in grade school you couldn’t see your paper,” he recalled. “It got so dark the clouds of dust would hang over your head you couldn’t se...
Ronda Sue Liddrick will begin fourth grade studies this coming school year. But at the tender age of nine, the Chappell youngster is already a budding entrepreneur and local philanthropist. Liddrick sells fresh squeezed lemonade from a table set up along Highway 30 in the Creek Valley High School parking lot. She uses any profits to help out friends, as well as her church. The location, on Chappell's eastern edge, would not be considered prime by most businesses. Sometimes the lag between customers pulling up can be long. “We hang out t...
The oil pumped from Nebraska fields may not amount to much, at least compared to activity in Texas or the Dakotas. But it's enough to keep the state's regulatory agency busy. “We have produced a half of billion barrels of oil in Nebraska,” reported Stan Belieu, Deputy Director of the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, based in downtown Sidney. The commission was established in 1959, during the original oil boom years, to regulate production in the state. It is one of only three government agencies not headquartered in Lincoln. The...
The Cheyenne County Leadership Program celebrated its fourth graduating class on Thursday evening. Ten local residents completed the program, sponsored by the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce with a goal of developing involved civic leaders and community volunteers. “It gives people a better awareness of the community, of what’s here,” said Chamber Executive Director Glenna Phelps-Aurich. “We do tours of different places around the county that they wouldn’t normally just go to on their own...
In 1953 the Ohman family moved to western Nebraska and the town of Gurley. And began Diana Ohman's global journey. “I spent my whole growing up years here,” she said after the conclusion of Gurley's centennial festivities on Saturday. “I spent 17 years here. I graduated here in 1968.” From high school in Gurley, she went on to a teaching career, an elected office with the state of Wyoming, and a decade running an education system in Europe. After that, Ohman traversed the Pacific, covering South...
Driving through the streets of Sidney I can't help but think of the past. Not the long and varied history of this city, but my own and my family's—at the the members who once lived here. My Great Grandfather rode a freight wagon from the gold fields to Sidney, guarding the gold shipments. Though his name was Oscar, they called him “Prairie Dog” Brandt because he could hit a prairie dog with one rifle shot from the moving wagon. My aunt and uncle, Barbra (Bobby) and Jim Motes owned the Mill restaurant, a place that served great homemade meals...
This will be the last year to “Ride the Wildcats” on the Brown Ranch. The annual charity horseback trail ride is shutting down after a decade-long run. Brown Ranch is located nine miles South of McGrew. The ride was founded to raise money for the Linda Brown Memorial, in honor of a family member who died in 2003 after an eight-year battle with breast cancer. The guided tour by Terry Brown through Wildcat's hills and canyons follows a 12 mile trail and consumes most of the day. “You will see the beauty of not only the Wildcat Mountains, but a...
