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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Recovering from changes in the Sidney economy over the last few years requires promotion, teamwork and vision of community growth. It also includes a downtown business association, according to the updated Master Plan approved in 2020. The Master Plan includes a section on “Tactical Strategies.” “A complete downtown plan includes both tactical and development components. Tactical strategies are relatively low-cost actions that promote existing businesses and help attract customers through such...
Rolland Anson Closson, 84, of Gothenburg, Nebraska, died February 16, 2021 at Kearney Regional Medical Center. Rolland Anson (Herk) Closson was born February 19, 1936 to Anson & Gladys (True) Closson at Ewing, NE. Rolland was involved in Golden Gloves and the rodeo. He enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday and served from 1954-1956. He was stationed in Korea & Japan. Closson had a 12-year career in the rodeo, riding bareback, bulls and saddle broncs. Herk attended Elkins Institute of...
The building at the corner of 12th Avenue and Illinois Street has a history dating almost a century in Sidney. The building has been the location of the latest Dodge automobiles, flags and aprons, home-cooked lunch and breakfast and the latest news. Soon the list will include servicing music lovers. The building at the corner of 12th Avenue and Illinois Street has been sold to Chris Dyson, owner of Aliens and Strangers Music Store in Sidney. Dyson and owner Gary Stevenson closed on the sale...
This story is being reprinted from the Aug. 27, 2014 edition of the Sun-Telegraph in recognition of Rudy Virgil's passing. Traveling south on 11th Avenue in Sidney is a restaurant that sits just north of the First Methodist Church and across the street from the bowling alley. The workers at "Virgil's" maintain a low profile while serving up a lot of good food. The owner, Rudy L. Virgil, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served from April 1957 to May 196 and again from April 1967 to May 1971. Rud...
Edna May Marshall passed from us on February 15, 2021. She was born July 10, 1933 in Bayard, NE to Mary and Adam Schoeneman. She married Dale Marshall of McGrew, NE. Edna was preceded in death by her parents, husband Dale; brothers Clarence, Leonard, Dale, and son Terry. She is survived by sons Dennis (Debbie) of Fleming, CO, Keith (Charlotte) of Fort Collins, CO, Tracy of Lewellen, NE, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Edna worked as a head cook at several nursing homes in Sidney and Scottsbluff, NE. She was a great cook with...
Have you ever? Have you ever met someone that always greeted you with a smile and a hug even if they were having a bad day themselves? Have you ever known someone who you could tell a secret and have complete trust? Have you ever needed someone in the middle of the night to change your tire or charge your battery and they dropped whatever they were doing to make sure you were safe? Have you ever known someone who had the ability to make you feel love or forgiveness in an instant? If you...
Rudy Lawrence Anthony Virgil, age 81, of Sidney, NE was promoted to Heaven by his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Thursday evening February 11, 2021 at Sidney Regional Medical Center. A Celebration of Life for Rudy will be Sunday May 23, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. at the Lodgepole Valley Youth Camp in Sidney, NE. Cremation has been held. You may view Rudy’s Book of Memories, leave condolences, photos and stories at www.gehrigstittchapel.com. Gehrig-Stitt Chapel & Cremation Service, LLC is in charge o...
Rexie Berdean (Olsen) Bickel, age 80, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on February 3, 2021. She is survived by her husband, James (Jim) Bickel; daughter, Elizabeth Gilberts (Wayne) of Carnation, WA; son, Mike Bickel (Beth) of Virginia Beach, VA; daughter, Heather McCloskey (Jim) of Leesburg, VA; 10 grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Rexie was born to Rex and Jean Olsen in Valentine, NE on September 8, 1940. She grew up in Sidney, NE and graduated from Sidney High...
On Feb. 16, business owners and managers, City officials and the curious met at the Elks Lodge to discuss the possibility of a Downtown Business Association. The concept as presented is to promote growth and work together as a business community, supporting each other, sharing resources and experiences. Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard stressed the Downtown Business Association (DBA) is not to compete with or replace the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce. It is to further stimulate the downtown business community. It also needs t...
For whatever reason, this year is keeping some curtains open. Actually I’m in between days. February has become a month of emotions. I have birthdays, Valentines Day when guys are reminded to stay in touch with their emotions, and the day I had to say goodbye to my dad. By this time 15 years ago, he was in a hospital bed with a broken hip, and a list of other issues that made him look tired; the kind of tired I had never seen in him before. It is the kind of tired that stole his last breath t...
Global temperatures are getting warmer. For that reason, a climate crisis has been declared. John Kerry, the Biden administration’s “climate tsar,” says we have only nine years to stop a global catastrophe. He’s a moron. The United Nations last week released a 168-page report titled “Making Peace with Nature” (anthropomorphizing nature is a pagan religion concept) in which the actions necessary to avoid irreversible damage to the planet include requiring governments to alter their tax structures...
If it is true that every cowboy sings a sad, sad song, then in Nebraska they all sing the same sad song about protesting their property valuation. Protesting property values in Nebraska is like turning a lump of coal into a diamond. If you squeeze the same lump of coal in your hand all the days of your life, all you will end up with is a dirty hand, and if you protest your property valuation every year, all you will end up with is a pile of filing fee receipts. Getting a decision on a property...
If you have a child or other family member who has special needs due to physical or mental conditions, you face a variety of challenges planning for their care, including financial ones. You may also have some well-meaning relatives who want to help, but who may not realize that their moves could actually result in some serious lifestyle and monetary problems for your loved one. Fortunately, by planning ahead, you can avoid these potential traps. As you probably already know, individuals with special needs are eligible for a variety of...
The Body of Christ is the Church. We may belong to different Denominations but we serve the same savior. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says we are neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free. We are noe, as the body has many but they all belong to one body, so the church (Body of Christ) should come together to work for one common good. It’s not about which church or denomination you belong to. It’s about who you KNOW and CHOOSE to serve. The Body of Christ is here to reach a lost and dying world, and bring them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We are...
When a person chooses to live a life of agriculture it really is more than a livelihood, but truly a way of life. This means that when we drop into the arctic tundra temperatures, we must still get out of our warm houses, put on as many layers as we can, and venture outside. There are lives that depend on it – actually hundreds of them. As we watched the weather forecast and saw the impending storms headed our way, it really didn’t matter what else had recently gone on in our lives. It did...
The Friends of the Sidney Public Library received a $750 gift towards their new project from their hometown neighbor, Platte Valley Bank. The Friends of the Sidney Public Library are working alongside Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to get books into the hands of Cheyenne County children. The group is hoping to deliver free books to children ages five and under. Once a child is enrolled in the program, books arrive monthly in the mail to each child until they reach the age of 5. ...
Here’s a tweet I wrote this week: “I’ve been in meetings with @BillGates. I respect his intellect and desire for social responsibility by the world’s wealthy. On this idea, though, maybe he should come to #Nebraska and learn a little more. #NoFakeMeat.” I was responding to an interview Gates did for the MIT Tech Review in which the Microsoft co-founder opined on climate change: “I do think all rich countries should move to 100 percent synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even...
Nebraska is a biofuels powerhouse - the second and third largest producer of ethanol and corn, respectively, in the country. With 25 active ethanol plants and a capacity of more than 2.5 billion gallons, the importance of biofuels to our state economy cannot be understated. Biodiesel production in Nebraska has seen exponential growth as well. Thanks to innovation and technological developments, biodiesel production has grown from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 2.9 billion gallons in 2019. Ethanol...
Congressman Don Bacon, Republican U.S. Representative representing Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, toured Western Nebraska recently. On the tour, he stopped in Sidney to meet with local Republicans and businesses, including the Sidney Sun-Telegraph newspaper. In his visit at the Sun-Telegraph, Bacon stressed the importance of diversity in agriculture, for example the difference between producing soybeans and and dry beans. He talked about issues in Nebraska including the workforce, i...
COVID-19 brought with it many new challenges, including furloughs, unemployment, and hospitals struggling to keep up with surges of new patients. We all hear about those things every day. But you may not have heard about how the pandemic has made it much harder for victims of domestic violence to seek help. When you’re stuck in the same house as your abusive partner for months on end, technology can be your only lifeline to the outside world. Yet many of these victims share a cell phone plan w...
Sidney’s Red Raider Basketball team went into the B-8 Sub District Tournament playing some of their best basketball, defeating Chadron and losing a close matchup against number one seeded Alliance last week. On Thursday, the teams matched up at the Sidney Middle School gym due to the girls’ Sub District Tournament being played at the High School, and the low-scoring game started with Sidney opening a lead early and both teams playing tough defense, with turnovers and steals disrupting the scorin...
Sidney’s Red Raider Wrestling team qualified four wrestlers for the State Tournament, and brought home three medals in Class B after the weekend’s matches ended. After being dropped to the consolation rounds on Friday, freshman Chance Houser battled back with four victories to earn a third place medal in the 106 pound weight class, ending his first year with 44-and-3 record. Head Coach Beau McConnell said, “Chance showed a lot of grit wrestling all the way back and earning 3rd in a very compe...
Sidney’s Lady Raider Basketball team continued their success over the week, culminating in a decisive 20 point win in the C1-12 Sub District Championship game against Chadron Thursday night. The Lady Raiders started their week with a game against Alliance on Tuesday February 9, in their third match up of the season, and like the two previous contests, the Sidney girls had no trouble with the Lady Bulldogs. After building a 47-to-10 lead a the half, the Lady Raiders coasted the rest of the way a...
Potter-Dix’s Coyote Basketball team had two big wins going into Sub Distict Tournament play last week, overpowering Leyton on February 15 then dominating Minatare on February 19. The Coyotes earned the number one seed in the D2-11 Sub District Tournament at South Platte High School starting on Monday February 22. Monday’s contest with Leyton started out as a defensive struggle, with both teams defenses dominating the action until Potter-Dix was able to go on a run and led at the end of the fir...
Leyton’s Lady Warrior Basketball team overcame many challenges this year, the most difficult being lack of players. Only having five players suited up for the first part of their schedule, then having six players for the second half, the Lady Warriors overachieved with an 8-and-12 record and a second place finish in the D2-11 Sub District Tournament. Leyton first faced Creek Valley in the first round of the the tournament, and were able to use their sharp defense and patient shot selection to b...
