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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After careers as a chemist and then patent attorney, Bernie Fehringer returned to his roots near Peetz, Colo., nearly three decades ago to become a farmer. "He always talked about returning to the farm, and I thought, well, this will never happen," said his wife, Sharon, with a laugh. Fehringer and his family had lived on both coasts of the U.S. – any many places in between – before his father passed away and the future of the family farm was left uncertain. "My dad got cancer and died, and it w...
A salvage crew cleaning up the aftermath of a train derailment 10 miles west of Sidney has nearly completed its work. In the early hours of Dec. 21, a Union Pacific train collided with a semi truck trailer that had high centered at a grade crossing. There were no injuries, but three locomotives and seven railcars derailed....
Three candidates shortlisted for the Sidney city manager position were in town Tuesday for interviews with the search committee tasked with making a final recommendation to the Sidney City Council. Last week, the city announced the three finalists: Cheryl Beatty, assistant city manager and finance director of Junction City, Kan.; Dan Dean, former town manager of Mead, Colo.; and Ed Sadler, city manager of Webster City, Iowa. At Tuesday's city council meeting, the council entered a closed...
After a slight snowfall on Sunday night and scattered flurries on Monday, the sun was out in the region on Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to climb in the coming days and reach a high of 54 degrees Fahrenheit by Friday....
A fire that broke out at the Sidney landfill on Monday afternoon was quickly extinguished without injury or damage to equipment. "The only thing we can think of is we got some hot ashes," Sidney Solid Waste Superintendent Rob Campbell said. The fire broke out in a bale pit, he said. "We were able to dig through it, and with the dozer and equipment, get down to it and pull it out," Campbell explained, "and then the fire department sprayed some water on it." It took about an hour to extinguish...
A group of students, teachers and administrators at the Peetz Plateau School District is brainstorming ways to better engage students and prepare them for the future while continuing to meet state standards and learning benchmarks. Last week, about 50 people turned out for a screening of the new documentary, "Most Likely to Succeed." The film, directed by Greg Whiteley, examines the history of the U.S. education system and contrasts previous educational models with the skills needed to be...
The Wheat Belt Public Power District inked an agreement last week to examine developing a renewable energy project. "The agreement starts the process to determine a technology, size and economic benefit for a renewable energy project for Wheat Belt," Tim Lindahl, Wheat Belt CEO, said in an email. The agreement was approved at a Wheat Belt board of directors meeting last week. "Bluestem Energy Solutions is a developer of renewable energy and will be developing a utility-scale renewable project...
Enrollment at the Sidney Public School District continues to climb, and reached nearly 1,400 students during the 2014-15 school year. Since 2012, when 1,250 students attended the district's seven schools, enrollment has steadily increased. Those numbers were recently released as part of the district's annual report to the community. "The purpose of [the] 'Sidney Report Card' is to communicate how Sidney Public Schools is doing instructionally and financially," an introduction to the report...
Construction at The Ranch, Cabela's housing subdivision on the east side of Sidney, began earlier this work. Crews started excavation work at four lots on Monday, and foundations for all sites should be poured by next week. Plans call for more than 700 homes to be built, in phases, on property the Sidney-based retailer purchased in 2012. The final plat for the first phase of the project received approval from the city council in 2014. While Cabela's' developed a master plan for the residential...
Representatives from a handful of Sidney organizations have banded together to work toward creating a space in the city where residents of all ages could gather to learn, share knowledge and work on projects. Community learning centers – or makerspaces – have been established throughout the nation, including in Nebraska, as places for community members to share resources and knowledge. The centers foster entrepreneurship along with work skills and creativity. "We're looking at the idea of bei...
LODGEPOLE – Students at Creek Valley Middle School in Lodgepole want new playground equipment, and they're willing to work for it. A committee of 60 students – the school has an enrollment of 84 – has been meeting since September to plan fundraisers and create a wish list. Principal Tessa Fraass said the committee was created after she held a meeting at the beginning of the school year to gauge student interest in acquiring new equipment for the playground. "When 60 students showed up, I knew...
DALTON – The Leyton High girls basketball team overcame a slow start in the first period of Tuesday's matchup with Banner County to handily win the game, 47-23. The Lady Warriors (7-4) played in front of a home crowd, which had packed the Leyton section of the gym. Head coach Nick Newkirk said his team ran the offense well, pushing the ball up the court and being patient. "That was our focus [Monday] in practice," he said. "And we did that." The victory sends the Lady Warriors to the Minuteman A...
Mariah Draper, left, of Leyton, drives past Banner County's Savannah Jordan on Tuesday evening in Dalton. The Lady Warriors won, 47-23. They will face Creek Valley on Thursday. See a game story on page 9A....
Advocates appointed to children by the court system in abuse and neglect cases in Cheyenne County help serve as the eyes and ears for the judicial system while working to break harmful cycles, the organization's director said this week. Rose Bowcut, who was named director of Cheyenne County Court Appointed Special Advocates last summer, offered an update on the program to the county board of commissioners on Tuesday. The volunteer advocates work one-on-one with children removed from their homes...
CHAPPELL – The Creek Valley High boys basketball team is headed to the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament semifinals after blasting Banner County, 85-10, on Monday night. "I think all of our players are very competitive," Storm head coach Roger Behrends said. "Therefore, they show up and play hard every game." The Storm (7-6) dominated every aspect of the matchup, from tipoff to the final buzzer. The entire Creek Valley roster got on the scoreboard. Behrends said he was proud of all 1...
A fire that began in the kitchen of a home in north Sidney caused extensive damage on Friday evening. Sidney Volunteer Fire Department Chief Keith Stone said the fire was ignited on the stove and quickly flashed up. Crews responded to the residence at about 5:30 p.m. While they were on scene for about 1 1/2 hours, Stone said the fire was brought under control within 15 minutes. No injuries were reported. According to Stone, there was quite a bit of damage from the fire to the kitchen and smoke...
Volunteers served about 1,000 pancakes on Saturday morning during a benefit breakfast for a Deuel County sheriff's deputy shot four times in the line of duty last month. As groups of diners filed into the warmth of a building at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds to eat, 65 runners and walkers were covering 5 kilometers on the sunny but brisk morning. Between both events, $7,400 was raised to help Deuel County Deputy Mike Hutchinson as he continues to recover from his injuries. "I was very pleased...
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts stopped into Sidney on Friday morning to deliver a brief speech and then take questions from residents. The visit was a part of Ricketts' annual state of the state fly around. Over Thursday and Friday, he held 12 events in 11 locations. The tour began in Lincoln with his State of the State address on Thursday morning. The Sidney event was held at the Lloyd W. Carr Airport. About 50-75 residents attended the speech, including local government leaders. During the...
Countless studies have demonstrated regular marijuana consumption can cause short-term memory loss. For Brian Heasley, it's a bout of amnesia that's keeping him out of prison. On Wednesday, the 34-year-old Iowa man was given 5 years of intensive supervised probation for being caught with 9 pounds of marijuana, a felony. According to Nebraska sentencing guidelines, he could have been sentenced to a maximum possible prison term of 4 years. A few days after pleading guilty to the crime in August,...
The Nebraska Wesleyan University choir performed in Sidney on Wednesday night. The concert was held at the First United Methodist Church and was a stop on the choir's three-state tour. The choir is a 46-voice ensemble. William A. Wyman has conducted the group for 41 years, and Tamara Riley Wyman serves as its pianist....
The Sidney High School choir will be sojourning to Los Angeles in May for a music competition, performances and sightseeing. Choir teacher David Mead said he plans big trips for the students every few years. "I try to go every four years with the choir to a competition," he said. "The last place we went was Chicago, and before that, it was New York – and we've gone to Washington, D.C., Kansas City and to Denver." Travelling out of state allows the choir to measure itself against national c...
A comprehensive rate review of Sidney's electric utility is moving forward. At a Sidney City Council meeting in November, Andrew Ross, of the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, presented an overview of the public utility's current financial status and projected future growth. Ross returned to a council meeting this week, seeking direction. The rate review examines the utility's current revenue and expense sources, as well as estimating what those numbers could be in coming years. The review will be...
Mike Hutchinson, the Deuel County sheriff's deputy who was shot four times in the line of duty in December, is continuing to recover from his injuries. To help his family with expenses, the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office is hosting a benefit pancake breakfast and 5-kilometer walk and run on Saturday. Hutchinson, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, was shot in Big Springs on Dec. 3 while attempting to serve warrants on a 66-year-old man. According to a Facebook page created by his family where u...
