Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 94
Leasa Hlavinka, the Sidney dentist who was stabbed by her husband at their home Sunday night, blamed alcoholism for Dana Hlavinka’s actions. In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, Leasa Hlavinka said she is recovering well and anxious to leave the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo. She was airlifted there after being stabbed in a domestic dispute at the couple’s home on Clark Drive near the Hillside Golf Course. “It’s easy to get caught up in the negative light cast on Dana in this awful situation,” Hlavinka wrote in the Faceb... Full story
The driver charged in connection with the fatal hit-and-run crash near Dalton earlier this month waived his right Monday afternoon to a preliminary hearing. Abel “Domingo” Jeronimo, a 38-year-old Sidney resident, was arrested and charged on April 9 with failing to stop, disclose information and render assistance in an accident involving death – a Class III felony. He is being held on $100,000 bond. He is accused of being involved in the fatal crash two days prior that killed 45-year-old Martin Geiger Jr. of Sidney and Chappell. A passe... Full story
An apparent domestic dispute turned deadly Sunday evening in a quiet neighborhood near the Hillside Golf Course in Sidney. A woman is hospitalized with stab wounds and her husband was killed by gunfire from a Sidney Police officer responding to a 911 call from the residence shortly before 7 p.m. As Sidney Police arrived at the home on Clark Drive near Summit Drive, which sits in the shadows of the fairways of the Hillside course, Leasa Hlavinka was seen bleeding from her wounds and running away... Full story
When Sidney Police Chief Byron “BJ” Wilkinson decided to handle an allegation against another city employee administratively instead of with criminal charges, he was opting to use the discretion he and his officers exhibit everyday on the job. Instead, 15 months later, Wilkinson is facing criminal charges himself. He has been charged with a class I misdemeanor of obstruction of government operations. Meanwhile, Sidney Public Services Director John Hehnke – the city worker who was investigated back in January 2014 – faces misdemeanor charges...
Abel D. Jeronimo described himself as "frightened" in a conversation with law enforcement authorities this morning. Jeronimo, who came forward to talk with Cheyenne County Sheriff's deputies Thursday morning, told his side of the events that led up to the fatal crash near Dalton on Tuesday morning that killed 45-year-old Martin Geiger Jr. of Sidney and Chappell. A passenger in Geiger's vehicle – Kathy Berger, 53 of Bayard and Chappell – remains hospitalized at Regional West Medical Center in... Full story
A semi sits on its side on Interstate 80 near exit 59 in Sidney on Wednesday afternoon after it was involved in a collision with a smaller truck. There were no injuries in the accident, but the Sidney Fire Department responded to take care of spilled diesel fuel at the scene. The accident slowed traffic on I-80 for several hours.... Full story
LINCOLN, Neb. – The large overhead scoreboard in Pinnacle Bank Arena read: Elkhorn South 52, Sidney 47. That was with a minute and 18 seconds left, precisely when the Storm's Johnny Trueblood strolled to the free-throw line. He calmly sank his first shot. After receiving the ball from the referee and a couple of dribbles later, he made the second one as well to put Elkorn South up by seven points. I could feel the lump in my throat and a little moisture briefly well up in my eyes. The dream o...
LINCOLN, Neb. – Erik Kohl will be the first to tell you that a team is only as good as its senior leadership. In fact, he lauded his two soon-to-be-graduating players immediately after Sidney's loss in Saturday's Class B state basketball championship game. "Lane Harvey was our floor general all year, and Jared Ross made it through some serious adversity to be playing here at the end of the season," Kohl said. "We're really going to miss those guys." In Harvey, Kohl had a four-year starter at p...
The success of the Sidney High School boys’ basketball team translates into a few extra days off from school next week for all students. With the Red Raiders playing in the Class B State Tournament beginning next Thursday in Lincoln, school has been canceled for all grades on Thursday and Friday. “As in the past school will be out so people have the best opportunity we can give to attend and support our team,” said Sidney Schools Superintendent Jay Ehler in an email sent on Wednesday afternoon. “We often get the concern that putting activities...
After Friday night's game ended with a victory, Sidney High School boys' basketball head coach Erik Kohl quietly gathered his team in the locker room. With the team gathered around him, he grabbed a marker and wrote a number on the whiteboard. It was "20." Then he asked his team if any of them knew the significance of it. Of course, several did. Kohl wanted to emphasize the importance of that figure – that his Red Raiders had accomplished win No. 20 this season. "Winning 20 games in a season i...
Sometimes one big quarter in basketball makes all the difference in the world. The Sidney High girls’ basketball team can point to the second quarter of its game against Alliance on Friday night as a case in point. The Lady Raiders poured in 21 points in the second period to gain the lead – and momentum – en route to a 44-34 win over the Bulldogs at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility. After falling behind to Alliance 7-0 to open the game and trailing 10-6 after the first eight minutes, Sidney’s offense finally clicked. Erin Bown drained three 3-p...
Sidney Middle School's Cade Lewis, center, plays good defense during Tuesday's six-team 8th Grade Middle School Basketball Invitational "A" game in Scottsbluff. Sidney won 45-32 to advance to Thursday's championship game. Sidney's "B" team topped St. Agnes of Alliance 32-26 to also advance to Thursday's title game.... Full story
Unfortunately for Mitchell High School, the Tigers were just what the doctor ordered for a Sidney team coming off a tough, come-from-behind victory the night before. The Red Raiders stepped on the gas early en route to a 74-24 shellacking of Mitchell on Saturday night at the Cabela's Athletic Facility. The win pushed Sidney's record to 19-3 – a school-record for wins in a season – while Mitchell slipped to 9-12. "I was really happy with the way we played four quarters of high-intensity bas...
No one can accuse Sidney High junior Kelsey Knight of not being able to handle pressure. With Saturday night's game against Mitchell on the line, Knight calmly stepped to the free-throw line with 6.1 seconds remaining and sank her three shots to propel the Lady Raiders to the 44-42 victory. Knight and her teammates probably weren't thinking about such heroics when the fourth quarter began, as they were holding a 34-22 advantage in a game Sidney thoroughly dominated for the opening three...
Several awards were handed out Wednesday night at the annual Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce banquet held at the Sidney Elks Lodge. The 2015 chairman, Brooke DeNovellis, officially took the gavel from 2014 chairman Paula Abbott at the event as well. DeNovellis is an agent with Farmers Insurance, while the outgoing chairman, Abbott, is the director of Western Nebraska Community College's Sidney Campus. Chris Gabis served as the master of ceremonies at the event, which about 225 people attended. The...
Sidney voters shot down a school bond on Tuesday that would have provided the funding for a new elementary school. It marked the third time in 17 months that voters have rejected the measure. In what was considered a low turnout by election officials, voters cast 1,079 votes against (53.63 percent) the bond issue compared to 933 votes in support of it (46.37 percent). "It's disappointing," said Sidney Public Schools Superintendent Jay Ehler. "I guess we will go back to the drawing board. The...
Sidney voters shot down a school bond on Tuesday that would have provided the funding for a new elementary school. It marked the third time in 17 months that voters have rejected the measure. In what was considered a low turnout by election officials, voters cast 1,079 votes against (53.63 percent) the bond issue compared to 933 votes in support of it (46.37 percent). “It’s disappointing,” said Sidney Public Schools Superintendent Jay Ehler. “I guess we will go back to the drawing board. The issue of old buildings is not going away. Unfortu... Full story
Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots on just one question. But it’s a big decision that’ll impact the Sidney community for decades to come. The time is now to vote “yes” for the bond that’ll create the funds for a new elementary school to house students in kindergarten through 4th grade. The need to provide a school with the space, technology and amenities for our youngsters to receive a 21st Century education is too overwhelming to ignore. The new school – to be situated on donated land on the east side of town – w... Full story
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – Like a good heavyweight fight, it took a little while for the Sidney and Scottsbluff boys' basketball teams to get a feel for each other on Saturday night. After trading punches in a sloppy opening eight minutes, the Bearcats' Dru Kuxhausen landed a few knockout punches that Sidney ultimately couldn't recover from. Scottsbluff posted a 70-56 victory in front of a loud and packed home gym, snapping the Red Raiders' 12-game winning streak. Sidney slipped to 17-3 this season – w...
In a strange turn of events, former Sidney High School head football coach Todd Ekart will be on the opposing sideline of a district rival next season. On Thursday night, Ekart was named the head coach of Gering High's program. When Ekart resigned in November, it was all based on family decisions, he said. His wife, Tami, had accepted a job in hotel management in Kearney, and it was a chance for him and his family to be closer to other relatives in that part of the state. She started that job...
Last weekend, a group of sixth-graders from Sidney were involved in a basketball game that they'll probably remember for a long while. To set the stage, the Sidney squad was playing in a tournament on Jan. 31 at Gering Middle School. It had won its first two games of the day by scores of 41-20 and 31-18. Now, in the championship game, Sidney trailed 34-21 against Kimball with 2:29 left in the game. Down by 13 that late in the contest, it admittedly didn't look good. However, there was no quit...
This week's weather has simply been full of surprises. On Tuesday, you could spot many Sidney High School students sporting shorts when the temperatures topped out at 61 degrees. Less than 24 hours later, those same students had Wednesday off from school and a snow shovel in their hands. Sidney and surrounding towns got hit with an overnight storm that blanketed the region with anywhere from four to seven inches of snow. Schools districts in Sidney, Creek Valley, Leyton and Potter-Dix all...
The first of a pair of Town Hall meetings scheduled for this week to discuss the upcoming school bond election drew a sparse turnout Monday night. Just a handful of residents attended the session at North Elementary where a presentation was made by Sidney School Superintendent Jay Ehler. Tours of the school were also available. A second Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at South Elementary. Tours of that school will also be available beginning at 5:30. Voters will go to...
Two men have been arrested for an investigation into counterfeit that was being passed in the area. A joint investigation by the Sidney Police Department, Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office, WING Drug task Force and the Scottsbluff Police Department led to two arrests. Tony A. Christensen, 22 of Englewood, Colo., and Briana Sifuentez, 19 and listed as homeless, were arrested in Dalton on Thursday. The arrests came after search warrants were executed near Leyton High School. The school was placed on lockdown as standard procedure when there is p...
A Sidney woman was arrested and charged with terroristic threatening and tampering with a witness – both felonies – after an alleged shouting incident outside the Cheyenne County Courthouse. Misty D. Beutler, 32 of Sidney, faces the two counts following her arrest on Jan. 22. She is due back in court on Feb. 5 for a preliminary hearing. Police allege that Beutler shouted death threats at a witness in a marijuana case involving Floyd Kettle. According to court documents, Beutler shouted "Yo...
