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 201 - 225 of 417
Three Cheyenne County communities could receive storm warning sirens if applications for grant funds are approved. Ron Leal, the county’s emergency manager, told the Board of Commissioners at Monday’s meeting that grant applications could be submitted to acquire the sirens for Brownson, Sunol and Lorenzo. The grants would provide 75 percent of the cost and the county would be responsible for the remainder, he said. “The one [storm] event we had here in Lodgepole also did some damage in Sunol,” he said. “We’re trying to get warnings for outer c...
The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a bid for the construction of a new livestock building at the fairgrounds on Monday morning. The $368,000 structure will replace an aging facility at the fairgrounds, but it‘s contingent upon a fundraising effort to secure the needed funds. Troy Curz, who has helped the effort to replace the existing building, said he reviewed both bids that were submitted for the new building. “I put together an analysis of the two original bids,” he said. “I broke it down, gleaning as much in...
Gov. Pete Ricketts visited Sidney last week during a tour of Western Nebraska for a series of town halls. After a meeting at Cabela's, Ricketts stopped by the Sidney Sun-Telegraph office for an exclusive sit down to discuss the past legislative session, current issues facing the state and upcoming hurdles in the future. To a question about the challenges communities near the Colorado boarder face enforcing marijuana laws, the governor said Nebraska is currently involved in a lawsuit against...
An ordinance that would rezone three lots at the Sidney Business Park to allow for a retail-oriented business took a step forward this week when the City Council voted in favor of the change, 3-2, after a public hearing. Councilors Roger Gallaway, Wendall Gaston, and Chris Gay voted in support of the ordinance; Mayor Mark Nienhueser and councilor Joe Arterburn cast the two “no” votes. To be enacted, the rezoning ordinance must pass two more readings. The proposed change has been in discussion for the past few months after Bomgaars, which cur...
Ronald Hopkins may not have a future political career – he wants to save taxpayer money. When asked by a Cheyenne County judge last week why he didn’t want an attorney as he was arraigned on a felony drug possession charge, Hopkins said it was because he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and not waste time or money. Hopkins, wearing an orange jumpsuit and hand and ankle restraints, was escorted by a sheriff’s deputy into Cheyenne County District Court last Wednesday for the hearing. He sat at the defendant’s table near the front of...
Waiting for a school bus to arrive to take them to the high school, a group of soon-to-be freshmen played a game of touch football in the schoolyard at North Elementary a quarter past seven Thursday morning. The sun – rising above homes and trees standing just beyond a fence covered in foliage at the eastern edge of the pebble field – enveloped everything in sight with a warm yellow hue. It was the final minutes of summer break and the young cohort was ensuring not even a moment was for...
After serving the Sidney community for 36 years as a dentist, William Printz is retiring. Friends are former patients are welcome to attend a celebration for the dentist on Friday from 4-7 p.m. at Buffalo Point. Printz said as he's looking at turning 70, he decided it was a good time to step away from the chair. In 2012, he sold his practice, LifeSmiles of Sidney, to Leasa Hlavinka and has continued to see patients on a part-time basis. "She was kind enough to let me keep working," he said of Hl...
Nebraska Republican lawmaker U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse visited Sidney on Wednesday afternoon as part of a series of listening sessions throughout the state. The event was held at 21st Century Equipment. "As part of the senator's constituent outreach work during August, these listening sessions are an opportunity for the senator to hear from Nebraskans and learn about issues important to our state," a media release from his office said. About 50 people turned out for the town hall, sitting around a...
A major facet of Sidney’s history will be commemorated later this month and again next year when the Sidney to Deadwood Trail is retraced by a wagon train for the first time since the late 19th century. As a rail town, millions of pounds of freight were shipped by railway to Sidney in the 1870s and 1880s before being loaded onto wagon trains headed for bustling Deadwood, S.D. Would-be prospectors also joined the wagon trains after travelling to Sidney by rail to begin their journeys in search of gold in the Black Hills. More than 25 wagons a...
Three local teenagers were found safe by a search party early Wednesday morning after spending the night in 40-degree temperatures and a drizzling rain near Allenspark, Colo. Seventeen-year-old Cody Wilson, of Sidney, 17-year-old James Ommen, of Padroni, Colo., and 15-year-old Tyler Gentry, of Peetz, Colo., are students at Peetz High School and were attending a Future Farmers of America officer’s retreat with other students and advisor Michael Forster, an agriculture teacher at the school. The group was staying at a cabin in the Allensaprk area...
After five years of discussion and planning, construction on a new outdoor municipal swimming pool in Sidney was authorized by the City Council on Tuesday night. The 3-2 vote paves the way for the project to became a reality, clearing its last significant bureaucratic hurdle. Councilors Chris Gay and Wendall Gaston and Mayor Mark Nienhueser voted in favor, while Councilors Roger Gallaway and Joe Arterburn voted against the motion. Construction on the $5.4 million aquatic center is expected to...
With Sidney students returning to school on Thursday, teachers and administrators have been busy preparing classrooms and buildings. At a Sidney School Board meeting Monday night, district principals – many of whom had spent the entire day in meetings – provided an update on the preparations and expected enrollment numbers. Central Elementary School Principal Brent Jeffers said there's currently 95 kindergartens enrolled at his school, though he expects the number to climb to 100 by Thu...
During a 3-minute court hearing on Friday, a deadline was set for the submission of a brief appealing a 30-day jail sentence handed down last month to Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson. Attorney Thomas Sonntag, who is representing Wilkinson, now has 30 days to submit a written document appealing the jail term ordered by County Court Judge Paul Wess after Wilkinson pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations was excessive. Assistant Nebraska Attorney...
Abel Domingo Jeronimo was sentenced in Cheyenne County District Court on Wednesday afternoon to 180 days in jail and five years of intensive supervised probation for leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash last spring. The 39-year-old Sidney man's driver's license was also revoked for 15 years – the maximum possible term, Judge Derek Weimer said – as part of a long list of probation terms. Explaining the sentence, Weimer said probation would allow the court to monitor Jeronimo longer tha...
During a 3-minute court hearing on Friday, a deadline was set for the submission of a brief appealing a 30-day jail sentence handed down last month to Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson. Attorney Thomas Sonntag, who is representing Wilkinson, now has 30 days to submit a written document appealing the jail term ordered by County Court Judge Paul Wess after Wilkinson pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations was excessive. Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Doug Warner, who has been appointed a... Full story
The attorney for a Sidney woman, who prosecutors allege committed a string of burglaries in Cheyenne County, filed a court document this week arguing there is insufficient evidence his client carried out the crimes. Mindy Richmond, 34, is charged with 21 felony counts of burglary. Twelve days ago, a county court judge ruled there was probable cause to bind the charges over to district court. On Wednesday, Richmond – who is free on $100,000 bond – appeared before District Court of Cheyenne County Judge Derek Weimer. The defendant’s lawyer, James...
Abel Domingo Jeronimo, 39, was sentenced in Cheyenne County District Court on Wednesday afternoon to 180 days in jail and five years of intensive supervised probation for leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash near Dalton last spring. Jeronimo’s driver’s license was also revoked for 15 years – the maximum possible term, Judge Derek Weimer said – as part of a long list of probation terms. On the morning of April 7, Jeronimo was driving in foggy conditions along U.S. Highway 385, two miles south of Dalton. Another vehicle, driven by Martin...
After a year of preparations, then 10 days full of events, members of the Cheyenne County Fair Board can now pause to catch their breaths. That is, until they begin work next month on the 2016 fair. Kip Miller, the board’s treasurer, attended a County Commissioners’ meeting on Monday to deliver a report on this year’s fair, which was held last month. A monster truck event on Wednesday, July 22 was well attended, he said. It was the first time the fair hosted the event – it replaced a night of live musical entertainment in past years – and t...
A hearing on the appeal of a 30-day jail sentence handed down to Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the District Court of Cheyenne Court. Wilkinson, who is on paid administrative leave, pleaded no contest on July 17 to a single misdemeanor charge of obstructing government operations. While he was initially ordered to begin serving his jail term at the Cheyenne County Jail on Monday, Aug. 3, the appeal process has put that on hold. Wilkinson will not serve any time until a final decision on the appeal of...
Doug Hart, who was recently appointed interim county highway superintendent, met with the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners at a meeting on Monday morning to discuss the condition of county roads. Commissioners said they have seen improvements in the upkeep of roads – and heard from residents thanking them for the improved road conditions – since Hart took on the temporary role last month. “We’re headed in the right direction, Doug,” Commissioner Philip Sanders said. Hart said he was working with staff to ensure proper maintenan...
Sidney City Councilors met Thursday evening for the second of two budget workshops held this week. In preparation of finalizing the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, councilors met with department heads to discuss potential expenditures and revenue sources. The final city budget will be approved at upcoming regular council meetings. Library Andrew Sherman, who was hired earlier this year as the library director, said he kept the proposed budget as flat as possible. Some line item expenses – such as library automation – were reduced from the curren...
Sidney City Councilors met on Wednesday for a special meeting to discuss a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The six-hour meeting was the first of two scheduled budget workshops, and councilors are set to meet again Thursday evening. While the budget has yet to be formalized, the meetings allow city department heads to explain possible expenditures for the next fiscal year and identify expected revenue sources. On Wednesday, councilors examined proposed budgets for many of the city’s departments. Golf Chuck Christensen, director of golf, p...
The Sidney City Council tabled an agenda item on Tuesday that would have allowed the proposed new swimming pool project to move forward after bids came back higher than expected. Mayor Mark Nienhueser said the City Council needs more information before proceeding with the project. The decision came early in a marathon meeting that lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday. Councilors spent the majority of the night in an executive session, discussing personnel issues. In April, engineers estimated the...
Construction on a new Love's Travel Stop in Sidney has begun, and the location is set to open in early 2016. Kealey Dorian, a Love's communication specialist, said the location will include a large convenience store, gas and diesel pumps, an attached International House of Pancakes (IHOP) Express and an adjacent Comfort Inn and Suites. However, no additional fast-food restaurants are planned for the site, Dorian said. The site will be located near the intersection of Chase Boulevard and Upland P...
Mindy Richmond, a Sidney woman facing 21 counts of burglary, was released from custody last Friday after posting her $100,000 bond. Richmond had been held since her arrest on June 11, following searches of her vehicle and two Sidney residences linked to her. The 34-year-old woman is accused of taking part in a string of residential burglaries throughout Cheyenne County, targeting prescription medication, cash and designer clothing. On Friday, Richmond's case was moved from county to district...
