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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My wife and I did something recently that we’ve never done before. It was my niece’s wedding. I haven’t seen her for about 16 years, since losing my daughter. We connected over time with similar interests in other places and people. Mission experiences have a way of changing a person. And she did, as did I. In the nearly 29 years we’ve been married, we’ve traveled here and there, mostly regional locations — day trips stretched into a few days at a time — but we’ve never flown together. Now,...
The Cheyenne County Fairboard was blasted with questions and criticism after this year’s county fair and rodeo. The fairboard holds its meetings in a small office complex adjacent to the arena, except when an overflow crowd requires a larger facility. The 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22 meeting was moved to the east end of the 4-H building with the board seated facing north. A crowd estimated at about 20 showed up for the meeting. The night’s agenda included reviewing the ADA handicap accessibility of the gra...
The Sidney City Council will be returning to a later meeting time. In a previous meeting, Mayor Roger Galllaway suggested changing the time from 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. He said the change was offered because he was asked to take a football coaching position, which could interfere with the current 6:15 p.m. Tuesday city council meetings. “Most of this came about because my work responsibilities changed,” Gallaway said in the Aug. 23 meeting. He offered to change the meeting time seasonally, or per...
Sidney Regional Medical Center is moving ahead with plans to consolidate and expand its facility. Plans include moving Extended Care to a new wing on the west side of the existing hospital. The new facility will include a “Memory Care” wing among its four wings, and 63 beds. The Extended Care facility is currently located on Osage Street in Sidney, adjacent to the “old hospital.” SRMC administrator Jason Petik recently addressed the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners on the project. He said...
On the south side of Legion Park is a place of memories, of days gone by when swimming and teens strutting the status was the game of the day. It is also a place of gently placed floral arrangements that inspire emotions of relaxation and calm. The paths between the flowers have a basic design of the continental United States, including boundaries between states with specific recognition of Nebraska. The Living Memorial Gardens board was recently presented with a matching grant to expand the...
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” On Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, signed the framework of their new country. On Aug. 15, 2022, the Cheyenne County Commissioners sig...
Several years ago, I was scolded by a friend when I did a u-turn on a street I thought was empty and he didn’t see my bike. Oddly enough, some time later, I almost laid down the same bike to avoid a collision in a very touchy intersection. No, it wasn’t a motorcycle. It was the other two-wheeled variety. It wasn’t clumsiness. It was the risk of riding on a city street. (P.S.: I don't ride that bike much anymore.) Not long after that I heard a proposal for cyclists to have softer rules at an in...
The Lutheran Church first made its presence known in eastern Cheyenne County in the late 1800s. St. John’s Lutheran Church occupied a site northwest of the Village of Lodgepole, On Aug. 21, the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church will celebrate 100 years of service to the Lodgepole area. The Gloria Dei Lutheran Church traces its history to a time when the environment was rough, the people were few, but those who came were a hearty stock who didn’t give in easily. It was an area occupied by hom...
The Cheyenne County School District No. 1 (Sidney) board of education approved an additional option to pay for school lunches. Families have the options of paying lunch accounts with cash, check or credit/debit card. Payments can also be made through a link on the District's website. The District will notify families with children attending Sidney schools who may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. A copy of the complete regulations will be available in the superintendent's office....
On Friday, Aug. 12, the Sidney community officially celebrated 20 years of the Night of Hope supporting cancer patients. Friday's celebration had a family sound, but each year has its own tears, its own celebration and memories. It is a night to stand with those still battling cancer, to remember those who lost their battle and share the night with those who have defeated cancer. The Night of Hope started in 2000 with the meeting of a few organizers in the office of Bob Goodwin. “We did that s...
When I was much younger, I read a book about a future where the ratio of workers to available positions was so upside down, workers committed an hour per week, not the 40 hours that’s the standard now. It was also a time when that $600 weekly paycheck took care of most of a person’s obligations. The story line also included, shall we say, social identity that allows a person to enter a store or travel out of his or her community. It almost sounds familiar. Prior to that there were the books “19...
The Sidney City Council in its Aug. 9 meeting approved continuing the Joint East Sidney Watershed Authority (JESWA) with the South Platte Natural Resource District. City Manager David Scott said the partnership with the SPNRD has been successful through the creation, construction phase and completion of the project. Scott proposed the City Council approve formation of the Sidney Watershed Coalition (SWC). The loan payment would continue as with JESWA at an 80-20 percent split of the semi-annual...
A big part of a public park is having somewhere for children to play, to be themselves. They want to play, imagine, have fun. Almost two years ago, two members of the Sidney community saw a downfall in the park and started asking why and why not. Why are we not including all children, and why are we not doing something about it. The children, people in general, include those who have mobility issues. In December 2020, Madison “Madi” Wilkinson and Ally Benzel saw the need and followed “Wh...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners discussed an Engagement Letter with Lutz & Company for consulting services regarding American Rescue Plan Act funding. The commissioners have discussed projects they would like to use the funds for, but sought clear definition of how the ARP funds can be used. Lutz & Company evaluate what projects can be funded by ARP dollars and provide the audit as required by the Federal government. Lutz & Company bills at a rate of $200 per hour and up, with the required...
There’s kind of a uniqueness in small towns that is too often overlooked. It isn’t the cafe that everyone flocks to because the cook/owner is also the founder from 50 years ago. It isn’t that kids can generally walk the neighborhoods without fear, or that they can leave skateboards and bicycles in the yard without them being taken. It is the paradox. There are organizations that are vital to making a town home that are constantly running into roadblocks. The roadblocks are not physical or polit...
What would your home town look like if you weren't concerned about your checkbook, an investor who could absorb some of the risk? Would you be big and bold? Would you have live music in the park seven months of the year, a sports complex that would draw attention from east Nebraska and three neighboring states, or would you be tempted to restrict your dreams to what you think can be accomplished? On Aug. 2, a community meeting was held at the Sidney Elks Lodge to discuss what Sidney could look...
It's cast as a personal crime in the movies, and it is, and often as a web with more arms than can be imagined, which is also likely. Human trafficking is defined by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services as a form of modern day slavery. It is viewed in primarily one of two areas: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The DHHS defines sex trafficking as “recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for a commercial sex act that is induced by force, f...
He came to the 2022 Cheyenne County Fair with one year of experience in 4-H programs. This year, he brings a variety of livestock, art and literary expression... and cupcakes. Luke Florke sat before 4-H judge Erika Loy Wednesday explaining his projects. He wrote about Abraham Lincoln, and made a doll of President Lincoln using a plastic bottle. He also made acrylic coasters, a tye-dyed shirt and a pillow. Additionally, he is showing chickens: the Top Hat and the Rhode Island Red. According to...
Show your support for Sidney schools athletics by running, walking or chasing a white ball. The first Raider Athletic Fundraiser was a downtown event for children to seniors with games, food, and music. This year organizers are sharpening the focus to active events, a golf tournament and a 3 and 5K Fun Run/Walk. The golf tournament is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 5, at Hillside Golf Course in Sidney. The format is a four-person scramble with a minimum of two drives per player. There will be two...
The young student can run like the Western Nebraska wind, but his family can’t afford proper track shoes. A female student shows the skills on a volleyball court seldom seen, yet she sits on the sidelines because she can’t afford the participation fee. Even more, the student athletes are ready, but the program needs help. The Red Raiders Athletic Booster Club is available to help the athletic experience be as positive as possible. The purpose of the Booster Club is to support Raider ath...
Over time I’ve heard people criticize different restaurants on their first day out. The food wasn’t right. The delivery was slow. The lights were too soft. We’re all good at fifth-quarter criticism. The media is good at that. For as humbling as it is, being human means mistakes happen. We owe it to the restaurant, retailer, or media office, the chance to correct mistakes. That chance isn’t always available when the supplier of those services are removed from the discussion table. Small towns a...
It is one thing to have a fund of “free” money and a list of projects to spend it on. It is another to have that list and be uncertain what the funds can be used for. Cheyenne County is among the local entities to receive American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funds. The challenge is finding a framework of how the funds can be used, by what date, and what kind of accountability. The Cheyenne County Commissioners are considering allocating some of the funds for a heating and air conditioning upgrade at...
He can tell a person of how rough life has been. She can share personal experiences of how all that glitters is not gold. They will also without second thought tell how life is more than the struggles, and there is a way above the dark of midnight. At 940 13th St., in Sidney stands a church building that had been occupied by the First Christian Church. The church closed and has remained vacant until recently when it was purchased by Mike and Christel Anderson. The Andersons are reopening the...
There are some services that are just necessary in life. You purchase or raise your own food, you build or purchase furniture, even a home. And clean clothes. There are needs for a washer and dryer, at home or at a business. In Sidney, that business is continuing, and will scheduled updates. Stuart Wilson was talking with a friend in Wisconsin several months ago, maybe a year, when the subject of laundromats came up. The conversation led Wilson to talking with Dave and Deb Lafler, owners of the...
It is often noted by counselors that one of the most important parts of life is finding importance. There is Robert Fulgrum’s book “What on earth have I done with my life?” There is the thought that in some definitions of depression, the client feels life is meaningless. What if here, like many other chapters in life, we overthink the equation? What if the challenge is finding your niche? I’ve traveled. Compared to some I’m still in the starting block, and in other stories I could write boo...
