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 lights were bright, the spirits were brighter and the excitement set the pace for the night as friends and family celebrated Kathy Scripps retiring from her role with Memorial Gardens. After more than 30 years of volunteering to take care of Living Memorial Gardens, Kathy Scripp is trimming her duties. She is retiring from the responsibilities of the Living Memorial Gardens. In recognition of her retirement, a reception was held at Beans and Steams Coffee House Friday, May 27. She entered...
There was a time when a county fair was a meeting of farm hands, ranchers and cooks and gardeners showing the county their skills. In Cheyenne County, that history dates back more than a century. The annual Cheyenne County Fair is quickly approaching its century mark, and this year the Fair Board is doing something different. The Night Show entertainment will feature Savannah Chestnut, and up and coming country singer. Chestnut comes from Americus, Kan., a small town near Emporia. This year's...
I got news recently that a friend is no longer limited by our human existence. He “earned his wings” as some would say. A little more than 10 years ago I met a man who had logged more air miles than some pilots. He had frequented cultures he never mastered the language of, and changed lives here and there. I was in a period where life was not just in a state of flux, but of “what just happened” even though a few years old. It was the kind of experience that understandably defeats many people....
The Sidney City Council gave their approval for guidelines related to the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund grant the City applied for. The City applied for a $500,000 grant, with the City committing $100,000 of matching funds. In August of 2021, the City completed an updated Housing Study. The housing study was done to assist in assessing community need and for future housing grants. The Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF) was established by the 1996 Nebraska Affordable Housing...
The Sidney Public Library's summer programs kick off this weekend with the “Oceans of Possibilities” Fun Day. The Fun Day is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 4, at the library. The program is for children of all ages. The Adult Summer Reading Program begins this week as well with sign-ups starting today, June 1. Adults are encouraged to enter the program and take their chances at drawings. Read a book, or listen to an audio book, and have your name entered in a contest for pri...
Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2020, 45,979 Americans died from suicide, from an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. The elusive questions are what leads suicide, what can be done to stop it, and are we doing enough. On Thursday, May 26, Rhianna Brand, a suicide survivor, will share her story and her journey. Brand is a loss survivor, and a three-time suicide survivor. She has been diagnosed with Complex PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and...
The room is deliberately dim. It's easier on the eyes. The duties from the outside appear to be simple, but can change at any give moment, or one phone call to the next. Responding to a moment of distress is more than calling 911 and waiting. It is the middle-man, the link between the incident and the first responders. It is how the dispatcher asks for information, how the caller relays the information to the dispatcher, and how the dispatcher communicates with numerous departments he or she...
The normal casual start of a Thursday morning was briefly interrupted last week when a group of motorcyclists entered Sidney from West Highway 30. The interruption of normal was not an invasion, but rather an attention-grabbing method for a social issue: the mental health of children. Volunteer motorcyclists rode across Nebraska from May 18 through May 21 for the 15th annual Pony Express Ride, an effort to raise awareness about children’s mental health. The ride will finish at the Nebraska S...
On May 17, the Sidney Public Library announced a new staff member who will lead the adult reading program and the book mobile program. Julie Stokes took on her duties as the new adult librarian and overseeing the bookmobile program on April 22. “My book mobile doesn't start until the first of June,” Stokes said recently. The bookmobile is designed as an extension of the library on 12th Avenue. The bookmobile allows library staff to serve patrons who cannot make it to the library. Stops include d...
I wanted to tease or title this as “strange days,” but I already used that. Maybe it is “Strange Days2.” I recall early in the social media platform reading a sentence or so that really puts things in perspective. “Destroy the cities, and they will grow back. Hurt the farmer and there will be weeds growing in the city streets.” Maybe 10 years ago, I went on my first bicycle tour. It was a landmark for the effort, but also for the education. Among the lessons learned is the frequent disconnect...
On May 9, downtown Sidney's typical traffic of workers busy in the duties, the lunch crowd hurrying to their favorite menu and people out for an afternoon walk were suddenly interrupted by the site of numerous trucks, busses and RVs making their way into town from the west. The blaring horns and American flags flying proudly told observers this was not a random lineup of vehicles, but a deliberate assembly. The Peoples Convoy stopped for the night at Sapp Brothers where an assembly was held....
A few months ago, Kevin Howard announced his retirement as tourism director for Cheyenne County. After extending his exit date by more than a month, Cheyenne County has a candidate to step into his shoes. She is known from several positions in the county, many of them in a service capacity; from carrying on the Tin Roof Sundae tradition to firearms and restarting a coffee shop, and her involvement with the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce. Kendra Mitchell was confirmed as the next Tourism...
Cheyenne County voters chose the next Clerk of the District Court. With all 10 precincts reporting, 696 voters cast votes in favor of Mindy Wiegand, and 662 votes were cast for Debra Hume. "I am humbled and amazed to have been elected your next Clerk of the District Court. I am honored to have earned your support and your confidence. Words cannot express my gratitude to all of you who have supported me," Wiegand said. "I will continue to serve the citizens of Cheyenne County to the best of my...
By some accounts, I’m one of the lucky ones. At different stages in life I knew all four of my grandparents. My memory of both sets of grandparents was after they retired. For my dad’s mom, retirement was relative. So far as I knew, she was a stay-at-home Amish/Mennonite woman who could outwork a lot of men in the 21st century. That’s just the way it was done. Men worked the farm, or whatever outside, and women managed the house and the children. That’s just the way it was. The few times I...
The Sidney City Council recently approved a land purchase by Table of Grace. The property is a 3.2 acre tract on east Elm Street at a cost of $21,440. The agreement calls for $1,000 to be deposited in escrow and the balance to be deposited on the date of closing on the property. In his presentation to the City Council, City Manager David Scott said Jim Hansen of Sandhills Global secured a donation to construct a new Table of Grace facility in Sidney. After researching the several locations,...
The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners faced a decision that resulted in a vote, then a move to rescind the vote and vote a second time. A regular meeting of the board of county commissioners became a debate over state authority versus local control when the commissioners met as the Board of Equalization May 2. At issue was two tax list corrections related to 2019 homestead exemptions. County Assessor Melody Keller said the during the meeting of the Board of Equalization that the two Tax Lis...
On April 30, Sidney businessman and inventor, former city councilman, and former newspaper owner Robert “Bob” Van Vleet died at the age of 87. Van Vleet was born in Redfield, S.D. After graduating high school, Van Vleet enlisted in the USAF at Aberdeen, S.D. and entered the service in 1952. Basic Training was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He spent three months at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, then a brief stop at Camp Stoneham, San Francisco, Calif., in 1953, prior to his...
Today starts with another life lesson from cycling. Balance and performance are related, and, odd as it might sound, staying grounded. Over time, I’ve had my share of falls. I relaxed too much on a quiet road, the road surface suddenly changed, or a mechanical issue. Any one of these could have a rider greeting the road surface quickly. And depending on the conditions, said rider would return home with a few battle scars, some that will follow him for the rest of his life. Ultimately, it all c...
Sidney voters will to choose between five candidates for three seats on the Sidney City Council. The ballot has Paul Strommen, Brad Sherman, Marva P. Ellwanger, Brandon Bondegard and Tony Jones as seeking city council seats. There are three four-year terms to be decided and one two-year term created with the resignation of Joe Arterburn. City Manager David Scott said recently the deadline to apply for the two-year term is July 15 of this year. Ellwanger was appointed to fill Arterburn's seat...
The city of Sidney is in a dilemma, a conundrum if you will. When Bass Pro purchased Cabela's, real estate became a buyer's market. In many instances there was a house or more on nearly every block with a for sale sign. That was then. Since that time, the housing market has tightened and prices have increased. The dilemma is the city is also seeking economic development, which is a challenge without housing for the potential workers, and the existing residents of the Sidney area. In the April...
The United States missile defense system that dots the rural terrain north to Montana and North Dakota, including western Nebraska, and Colorado has been in the ground and at the ready for several years. Some of the systems have been in place since the 1960s. The United States Air Force has decided now is the time to upgrade the system. The question is what that will mean for local residents. The new system, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, named the Sentinel, is the Air Force's program to...
Since the trend of buying bottled water, the phrase “I never had to pay for that when I was young” surfaces occasionally. That same can be said about free speech. Who would have thought “free speech” comes with a price tag. I suspect some people are still reeling in shock. The unlikely rebel has changed sides, by perception at least. There’s this belief, assumption maybe, that if your bank account is several times the average worker you’re some variety of narcissist with little interest in...
Almost two years ago, the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce announced a new president and CEO. McKailie Carnahan-Kuhns was selected as the new President/CEO, replacing Hope Feeney. Feeney and her husband Eamonn moved to the North Platte area for the Feeneys to teach at Maxwell High School. Feeney was hired as a business teacher at Maxwell High School and her husband Eamonn as head football coach. Carnahan-Kuhns came to the Chamber as a business owner. She has her own photography business. It...
In late 2021, Theresa Thibodeau stepped away from the Charles W. Herbster campaign. On April 20, 2022, she stopped in Sidney to meet voters. Thibodeau is in a field of nine seeking the top office in the state. She stopped at the Coffee Corner in Highby Outdoors Wednesday for a question and answer session with voters. Thibodeau calls herself “an experienced entrepreneur who knows what it is like to work hard, build a business from the ground up, and navigate the complexities of government b...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners approved on April 18 an agreement with Paul Reed Construction for a conditional use permit to stockpile soil, aggregate, concrete and asphalt. The conditional use permit will include crushing and staging for the Interstate 80 Brownson East Project. The permit is for a tract of land owned by Beyer Farm, Inc. The commissioners also accepted the 2023 Community-based Juvenile Services Aid Grant award in the amount of $40,000. The grant helps finance the salary of...
