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 Third Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit the Special Olympics of Nebraska will be on Saturday, May 18. The run will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. at the area behind the Sidney McDonald’s. The run will take the usual route which is Old Post Road to 11th Avenue, then it will proceed to go west on Illinois Avenue and it will conclude at the Cheyenne County Fair Grounds. This is open to runners with all abilities; it is not a race and children are welcome to participate as well as bicycle riders. The run is a slow-paced jog that is d...
The Bicycle Ride across Nebraska (BRAN) will begin on June 2 and finish on June 8. The ride starts in Kimball and will end at the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland, Nebraska for a total of 467 miles plus 15. Overnight stops will be made in Chappell, Paxton, Gothenburg, Kearney, Aurora and Brainard. According to Vickie Backman, one of the organizers of the event, the roadways are not closed during the ride. She added that the organization usually requests assistance from local authorities; they notify the people who handle the roads... Full story
A citizen of Potter has the Village Board hastily reviewing their ordinances directed toward body shops, salvage yards and other businesses. Scott Worth told board members that he got a “nasty note” on his property saying that the fence was an eyesore. So he tore down the fence on that side of the building. At the Village Board meeting on May 6, the man brought in a copy of an ordinance he found that he claimed exempts him from the original ordinance about “vehicle nuisance.” The business owner reminded the board members he was under the imp...
Each year Sidney Regional Medical Center (SRMC) celebrates the efforts that each SRMC area contributes to the continuum of care they provide during SRMC Week. A week full of special events planned for the members of the SRMC team. Kicking off the week, SRMC recognized the efforts of three nurses that were nominated for the Nebraska Nurses Association, District 5 “My Favorite Nurse” contest. Congratulations to Cheri Berry (SRMC Home Health and Hospice) and Rebecca Peters-Flohr (SRMC Acute Car...
Lawyer Mike Bacon from Gothenburg presented draft number three of the redevelopment contract for the former Sioux Army Depot to the Potter village board on Monday night. Bacon insisted that the changes were modest; he didn’t understand that the city of Sidney provided water service to the site, so that was changed in the contract along with the addition that the village is not required to provide sewage, water or any of those services. Another aspect changed because there will be two bonds; one for the Dell Project and one for the rail. B...
Students Making Awesome Choices (SMAC) is a program the is designed to educate the sixth grade students at West Elementary about topics and issues that the students will encounter as the journey toward becoming young adults. Some of the topics discussed include drug awareness, digital safety and decision making skills. Emails are sent to parents that outline topics that are covered during class. The teachers hope that parents can use the topics as a springboard for great family discussions. The...
The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce created a new award in 2012, “Heroes Among Us.” This year’s recipients are all of the area fire departments because of the hard work that they did while they were fighting the wildfires in 2012 that burned nearly 6000 acres in Cheyenne, Kimball and Banner Counties. Awards are being given to the Sidney, Dalton, Potter, Gurley and Lodgepole volunteer fire departments. At the Chamber of Commerce banquet, all of the firemen were recognized and those firem...
To observe the National Day of Prayer, a group from Sidney met in front of the City of Sidney offices on Thursday. Participant Martina Drewes said, “We are meeting at Noon because people have lunch breaks around that time and may be able to participate and people across the nation are beginning at the same time.” Organizer Jennifer Ernst says that the National Day of Prayer was established by President George W. Bush as a non-denominational day for everyone to come together to pray. Ernst fou...
On May 1, members of Cheyenne County’s Brownie Troop 70 visited Golden Living Center and gifted all 51 of the residents with May baskets. Co-leader of the troop, Mary Ann Whitboldt, came up with the idea. Since Whitboldt works at Golden Age, she thought that gifting the residents with flowers would be a nice service project for the Brownie troop. The Brownies used plastic water bottles, painted them black with brightly colored designs before adding flowers. The gifts brightened the otherwise g...
Oral Cancer Awareness Month just ended without much notice. It is a disease that people should be aware of year-round. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF), oral cancer is the largest group of those cancers which fall into the head and neck cancer category. Approximately 42,000 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2013. This includes those cancers that occur in the mouth itself, in the very back of the mouth known as the oropharynx, and on the exterior lip of the mouth. This is the fifth year in a row in which...
CodeRED is a free emergency notification service that allows officials to notify residents and businesses by telephone, cell phone, text message and email regarding time-sensitive general and emergency notifications. The system is used to send critical communications to users, such as evacuation notices, hazardous traffic or road conditions, boil water advisories and missing child alerts. Ron Leal says that when he became Emergency Management Director of Cheyenne County one and a half years ago, he thought that this county would be the perfect...
The American Farm Bureau Federation recently released its proposal for the stalled Farm Bill. The plan, which looks to save $23 billion in farm program spending, would create a new safety net for U.S. farmers. Under the new proposal, producers would be able to choose between a Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) program and an updated target price program. All program crop producers would have marketing loan programs and crop insurance available to them as well. STAX would allow farmers to add-on yield or revenue coverage to the crop...
The 2013 Girl’s Day Out was a big day for both the merchants and women who participated. Groups enjoyed talking and laughing as they walked from store to store taking advantage of the coupons in the goody bags from merchants throughout downtown Sidney. A shuttle also carried passengers to and from Cabela’s for events held at the retail center. Merchants welcomed the crowds happily into their stores; some offered treats and samples and let people register for giveaways. The day out not only all...
After going to the Sunol Community Center this week and seeing feeling the history within the walls of that building, I started thinking about how history should be preserved. As I described last week, Boston does a pretty good job of preserving history. Atlanta on the other hand, not so good. Many times over the years, some groups of people have tried to demolish the Margaret Mitchell house, where she wrote “Gone with the Wind.” Other groups, so far, have recognized the significance of this piece of historical property and have always sav... Full story
An historic part of Sidney’s past is being resurrected. The Boot Hill Restoration Committee is a group of volunteers dedicated to the restoration, recognition and preservation of the Boot Hill Cemetery, also known as the “Original Sidney Cemetery.” Since 2006, the committee has not only been concerned in preserving the cemetery, but also with raising awareness of the role that Sidney played in the settlement of the Western Frontier. Sidney’s Boot Hill Cemetery was an active burial place between...
n April 25, new members were inducted into the Sidney High School National Honors Society and new class officers were sworn in. New members are: Kelsey Franklin, Natausha Holtz, Sara VonSeggern, Jachob Wiedeburg, Michaela Flick, Savanna Rosenbaum, Hayden Lienemann, Theda Parker, Madison Lawler, Alli Ehler, Allyson Hart, Colton Onstott, Ashley Stafford, Madisen Stafford, Erin Brown, Manjesh Mogallapalli, Hunter Vowers, Raine Gartner, Vanessa Riley and Andrew Myers. New senior class officers are:...
April is Autism Awareness Month. But Autism is something that parents of children who have been diagnosed as autistic deal with each month of the year. The prevalence of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has risen drastically over the past two decades. An estimated one of 54 boys and one in 252 girls are diagnosed with an ASD in the United States each year. By the Centers for Disease Control estimates, the official prevalence number is one in 88 children are diagnosed with an ASD. This number suggests rates have...
Thousands of people enjoyed the weekend at Starfest in Denver. Photos with celebrities were offered along with autographs. The afternoon was filled with on-stage appearances by the celebrity guests who answered questions by the audience and told stories. Ben Browder, of Stagate SG1 and FarScape fame, entertained the audiences with his comedic stories and responses to their questions. He told everyone about his experiences filming in the arctic when it was 40 degrees below, living in a plywood shack with a half-dozen other men; the polar bears...
The Sunol School building, now the Sunol Community Center, is like a moment frozen in time. Pictures of past graduating seniors still cover the walls; books still line the library shelves; the trophies earned by athletes and students still sit proudly in display cases. The gymnasium, complete with a stage, is in great condition and waiting for people to attend events. But the building needs help. The plaster is falling from the ceilings on the upper floors as a reminder of the resulting leaks...
The Nebraska legislature suspended debate on the Legislative Bill 407, regarding state funding for public schools. The potential effect of the LB 407 on schools in the Cheyenne County area varies, according to local administrators. Sidney Public Schools Superintendent Jay Ehler believes the bill will impact Sidney little, if at all. “The state aid formula is so complicated it is hard to keep track of how various bills will affect our school district,” he explained. “Based on the models for state...
Hundreds of people attended the free Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday. Local businesses and services manned 35 booths all morning. Vendors answered consumer questions about their services. Informational pamphlets, goodies and useful gadgets were passed out to attendees. A couple organizations even offered t-shirts. The Panhandle Public Health District provided free colon cancer screening kits to everyone who stopped by their booth. Free oral cancer screenings were conducted by Summit...
As some of you may know, I graduated from Boston University with an MS in Health Communications. The events at the Boston Marathon saddened and shocked me tremendously. I consider Boston my home as much as I do Atlanta. I fell in love with Boston when I first glimpsed the skyline. I knew that I would love it and that someday, I would call the city home. Boston is such a peaceful, beautiful and clean city, with a low crime rate for a city of its size. The Greater Boston 2010 census estimated 4.5 million people inhabited the area, making it the 1... Full story
The Wheatbelt Safety Fair’s exact birthdate is a little murky. It was created “many years ago, probably nearly 20,” according to one of the founders, Pam Wieser. Yet the event’s purpose remains as clear as ever. Wieser, along with Diane Steffens, founded the fair to promote safety among fourth, fifth and sixth graders in things that are pertinent to their ages and everyday life. Safety presentations included topics about pets, lawnmowers, electrical and gaslines. Wieser says that it is “neat t... Full story
Earth Day is on Monday, April 22. Although there are no specific Earth Day activities planned for the city, it’s still easy to be green in Sidney. The president of Keep Sidney Beautiful, Cheryl Jones, explains that the month of April has been Cash for Cans in schools. This program promotes recycling, while funds collected benefit the Sidney Public School Booster Clubs. The mission of the Cans for Cash Campaign is to help build a green, sustainable community and increase resident awareness of recycling. On May 1, there will be an all-day e...
The Sidney High School prom will be held on Saturday at the Holiday Inn. The dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. and the prom starts at 9:00 p.m. This year, however, the school decided to break from tradition. Students did not select presiding royalty. as Principal Chris Arent says, “Everyone is a king and queen on this prom night.” Their decision is in line with current trends. More students and schools seem to be focusing on equality, hoping to avoid hurt feelings, jealousy or other issues. A school in Waterbury, Conn., WF Kaynor Technical High School...
