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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What started as an accident involving a wayward truck has developed into a community event for the village of Gurley. About three years ago, a truck-trailer collided with a tree, and the cemetery. In removing the damaged tree, the suggestion was made children be invited to decorate the new tree. A Blue Spruce tree was located between the Community Center and the elementary school. Each year students and children of the community are invited to decorate the tree. This year, their work and...
The Sidney City Council on Nov. 23 heard an update on a project designed to upgrade the trail system adjacent to East Old Post Road. The project traces its history to a ½ percent Occupation Tax applied by Cabela's. Early this year, the Occupation Tax was defined with a balance of about $740,000. Initially, the council discussed how to use it, are there options on where to use it and what can be done with the balance. The council recently contracted with Jason Nelke, president of Keep Sidney...
Watch carefully as windows in downtown Sidney can already be decorated in anticipation of the Parade of Lights. There could be snowmen, elves, reindeer pulling bright red sleighs, mangers with shepherds in awe of the newborn Jesus or Scrooge somewhere in his transformation. Then again, there could be gifts from the 12 days of Christmas. The Parade of Lights is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 3. This year as in the past will be an event as much as a parade. However, unique to this year, the event...
I recently noticed a headline that Thanksgiving is an offense to indigenous people, promotes colonialism, etc. Let’s just take a moment for that to sink in. A celebration following a winter they didn’t think they would survive, helped in part by people they had met in the North American continent, and spreading a table is an offense. I really wanted to believe it was a joke, a parody of headlines, The Babylon Bee, or The Onion, publications designed to be humorous and deliberately mis...
Cheyenne County has entered a case that could net the county part of the national opioid settlement. County Attorney Paul Schaub said the State of Nebraska will receive about 15 percent and the counties 15 percent. He said 70 percent of the national settlement is for treatment and counseling services. In order to receive the funding, the county needs to commit to be part of the case. “Everyone that I've seen across the nation are accepting these funds,” he said. He said the remaining que...
Within view of Interstate 80 is a business with a simple but welcoming title. It is a business with at least two years in the making and a warm and inviting atmosphere from the drive-up to the table in the back of the room. It has also been handed over to a new owner with a vision of continuing the coffee house atmosphere. Kiersten Richards officially took over ownership of Beans and Steams Coffee House on Nov. 15. The location is known for delivering drinks from bottled water to the latest...
Sometimes one never quite knows where life will lead us. Sometimes, it takes us to the past, with the tools of the present. The northwest corner of 12th Avenue and Illinois Street had been quiet for several years. The once busy corner of engine analyses and wrench-turning became something of a warehouse, one more location to store massive rolls of paper for the next press run. Those days have come and gone, and come again with Brad Zalesky and Performance Auto returning to the north facing...
We’re now hours from the feast that is designed historically for a time of giving thanks. Homes will have the designated cooks scurrying around the prep table in the kitchen making sure the turkey is in the oven, and the oven hot, the dressings are cooking, Aunt Betty brought the homemade pies, cousins Steve and Jennifer brought the vegetables and relish plate and the in-laws bring...well, you get the idea. We can all paint the scenario like a star writer in part because we’ve all lived som...
Saturday afternoon the village of Lodgepole celebrated community. The celebration recognized an individual and his family whose support is taking the community into the future. The Yanney family, E.K. Yanney specifically, is credited for support of the Lodgepole Community Foundation. The E.K. Yanney Foundation committed $20,000 to the community fund. E.K. Yanney was known for banking in the Lodgepole community. But he was more than that. His family and friends also recall him for his involvement...
The Sidney City Council recently approved amendments to the Joint East Sidney Watershed Authority (JESWA) agreement recently. The city council met Nov. 9 in council chambers. The agenda included a proposed amendment to the JESWA bylaws. JESWA was established in 2013 as an independent authority as an independent authority through an interlocal partnership between the City of Sidney and the South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD). The board member structured was amended in 2017 to change...
North Elementary School students again had the opportunity to have fun and learn life lessons the Lakota way recently when traditional Sicangu Lakota artist Steve Tamayo was a guest at the school. He presented games that showed traditional play time coupled with life lessons. If you make a mistake, you pay the price. In a game, that might mean surrendering one of the game pieces. The games also explained Lakota legends about nature and how animals came to be as we see them today. Steve Tamayo is...
The Sidney Board of Education honored music teachers Jen and Dave Mead in the Nov. 8 school board meeting. The award is presented by Dairy Queen, the French Door and Sidney Floral to a nominated staff member. The Meads are vocal and instrumental music teachers at Sidney High School. District Superintendent Jay Ehler said the Meads often recognized for their successes for school music groups and ensambles. However, this commendation is for the day-to-day, how students experience learning in the...
One of the home “fast food” go-to meals is burgers, or most any sandwich, and a plate of chips. No, it isn’t usually very healthy, but it is quick and light. I still recall a time — it feels like years ago now — when I stopped at a store to get my favorite variety of barbecue chips and found the 20 oz bag had generally 12 ½ ounces of product. I might be exaggerating some, but it truly felt like the bag was only half-full. So, I paid for a full bag, the bag was full size, the wording described...
Few things in life match the excitement of a child opening a colorfully-decorated gift box. The ribbons fly as the box is torn open in an exuberant curiosity. For some children, that event is rare. There are children as close as a few houses away and as far away as other continents where the box itself is a gift, and the book, pencils and few items inside are as gold. Operation Christmas Child, a program through Samaritan's Purse, started in 1993. It began with a request to send shoe boxes...
Two women, both who have served, sitting quietly. One more calm by appearance, the other with a touch of energy that is often perceived as confrontational. The long-used, and often forgotten, cliche “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” and “still waters run deep” are often forgotten when interacting with women like these. Appearances are often misleading, and experiences don’t necessarily line up with appearances. Female Veterans and Military endure much, yet their trauma’s, injuries, and p...
Two more volunteers have joined the ranks of PlainsWest CASA. One of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) is returning to the office in a different role and the second is a first-time volunteer. Bridget Goding and Jason Nelke were sworn in as CASAs Tuesday, Nov. 2 in Cheyenne County District before the Honorable Judge Randin Roland. Goding was on staff with PlainsWest CASA until parenthood took her away from the office. She is returning as a volunteer. “Everything about the training w...
Sometimes I’m glad ghosts and ghouls aren’t as rampant aas television networks say they are. Quite honestly, if ghosts and other-worldly personalities could go in and out of dimensions that easily, the actual people who have gone on, what would stop those from the past from absolutely schooling us on how the world is being run? Imagine all of the editors of history suddenly meeting the players in that particular chapter in time. Imagine getting schooled on what really happened compared to wha...
In the early part of the 20th century, theaters were a community staple, a social event. The U.S.A. Theatre in Sidney was built during the big theatre boom during the World War 1 period as a diversion from the horrors of war, according to cinematreasures.org. The 1020 Illinois St. attraction opened on Aug. 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” and Billie Richie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” It was also during a time when theater attendance was motivated by air conditi...
On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Charles W. Herbster kept his word and returned to Cheyenne County. Herbster first stopped in Sidney as a gubernatorial candidate in May. He was in Sidney Tuesday for a meet and greet hour at Beans and Steams Coffee House. He said he has had the opportunity to travel east to west, north to south in the state, just to listen to concerns of citizens of Nebraska. Concerns include the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the chaotic disaster occurring at the U.S. Southern border....
In baseball, “if you build it, they will come.” In community development, if you provide a reason for “them” to build it, artists and collectors will come. That is the hope of a proposal approved by the Sidney City Council in the Oct. 26 meeting. The program is called “Energizing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems,” E3 for short. Sidney Economic Development Director Kim Matthews presented a proposal that could move Sidney toward having its own certified creative district. The program includes li...
The cost of crime is increasing. Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs reported in the Oct. 18 meeting of Cheyenne County Commissioners the Scottsbluff County Jail is increasing its rates. Cheyenne County sends inmates to neighboring facilities when Cheyenne County's jail is at capacity, or for specific situations such as problem inmates. Scottsbluff County is increasing its rate for Level 3, problem inmates to $100 per day. The commissioners approved giving Frerichs signature authority to...
In recent years, fall included the announcement of the Bell Pole and Lumber challenge grant in support of Table of Grace. In October 2020, Bell Pole and Lumber announced a challenge grant where the company would match up to $30,000, and in January of 2021 Table of Grace Director Sherri Eads announced donations surpassed the goal by nearly $10,000. This year, Bell Pole and Lumber is offering a $20,000 matching grant. Eads said much of the organization's operating expenses are financed by grants...
The Sidney Board of Education commended Sidney High School students Daniel Bashtovoi and Rishi Krisna as National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalists. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced the names of about 16,000 semifinalists in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for about 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered...
On occasion I’ve watched parts of the Tour de France. It might have been moments of “what if,” but it was just as much curiosity. What does it take to not just race but speed through villages, varying terrain, mountain passes and a pack of cyclists who want the yellow jersey as much as you do. Equally as striking is the roads crowded by spectators. The European two-lane roads frequently looked reduced to a single lane and change because of the number of spectators, hard-core fans cheering on the...
Cheyenne County Clerk Beth Fiegenschuh confirmed Friday, Sept. 15, recall petitions were submitted and approved for Leyton School District Board President Suzy Ernest and board secretary Roland Rushman. Fiegenschuh said 138 signatures were approved for Ernest, and 148 for Rushman. The approved results have been forwarded to the Leyton School Board by certified mail. Fiegenschuh said the school board has 21 days from receiving the letter, sent Oct. 13. “We will follow instructions on what we n...
