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 Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a situation that occurred Sunday afternoon near Sidney, during which a suspect stole a Nebraska State Patrol cruiser, in an attempt to avoid arrest, and crashed a short time later. Early Sunday afternoon, NSP received a report of a Cadillac SUV passing other vehicles on the shoulder on Interstate 80. A trooper located the vehicle east of Sidney, as it was traveling westbound on I-80 at 92 miles per hour. The trooper performed a traffic s...
Sidney has dominated the Scottsbluff Lady Bearcats in recent years, and the Lady Raiders were hoping to continue that tradition as they traveled to Scottsbluff open their season. Scheduled as a replacement game as Sidney's opener against Sterling, Colo. was postponed due to Colorado's extreme COVID-19 restrictions, new Sidney Head Coach Julie Smith hoped a familiar opponent would be the ticket to early success for the Lady Raiders. The match started with senior Karly Sylvester banging down her f...
The Sidney City Council approved a proposal that is expected to save the city thousands of dollars on loans. Paul Donna, managing director of public finance for Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., addressed the city council Aug. 25 regarding options to lower the City's interest rate on bonds they are paying. “About a week ago (prior to the meeting), we hit historic lows again,” Donna said. He addressed three different bond obligations with interest rates expected as low as 1 percent. One of the Cit...
The Sidney City Council approved a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system for the City's water department. SCADA is a control system architecture that includes computers, networked data communications and graphical user interfaces for process management. The SCADA system also includes peripheral devices such as computer systems to interface with facility machinery. The Aug. 25 decision on a SCADA system is follow-up from the June 9 meeting when Water/Sewer Superintendent Rob...
The Panhandle Public Health District and Unified Command reported Aug. 27 eight new positive COVID-19 cases. All close contacts will be quarantined and actively monitored for symptoms by public health officials. The new cases include one child under 19 years of age in Dawes County by close contact. Seven adults were also tested positive: one in Box Butte County of unknown origin, one in Dawes County of Community Spread, two in Dawes County by close contact, one in Dawes County by unknown...
I am taking this time to address parent concerns I have seen on social media regarding the wearing of masks. We know this is a hot topic that has become very political. The school finds itself in a no win situation. Certainly there are conflicting points of view among experts on whether or not masks are the way to go. We will continue to enforce masking requirements not because we are picking sides but because we want kids to remain in school. Our first and most important priority is to keep...
ESU 13 school districts are now into their third week of having students back in their school buildings. As your ESU 13 Administrator, I have had the privilege of working collaboratively with superintendents and principals throughout the Panhandle since the start of the pandemic, which has included weekly, and sometimes more frequent meetings throughout the summer months. In mid-July, it was made clear to school leaders across the state of Nebraska that plans should be made, in conjunction with...
I went for a ride recently using a variation of my typical routes. That alone isn’t a big deal. It is like throwing a dart at the board and deciding “today I’m riding the bowtie route (bowtie because it is wide at both ends and crosses in the middle. Call it a figure-eight if you like),” or I’ll start on the bowtie and take a left instead of a right. That is effectively what happened on this ride. I went on a route that is reasonably quiet, traffic was mostly a half-mile away across the grass...
It is generally easier and wiser to avoid hot topic issues. At the same time, my summer has been completely consumed by working with parents who are trying to decide what route of education they will utilize for their children given the pandemic. One of the encouragements I would give parents was, “The decision of if you are going to home educate your kids is 20 times harder than the actual process of home education. Once you make the decision, one way or the other, you will feel much better.” Y...
Perhaps you, like me, have seen or read with utter disbelief news reports in which a blatant and obvious lie is declared to be truth and fact. Maybe it was a reporter standing in front of burning buildings while touting the nobility of “mostly peaceful” protesters. Or perhaps it was a politician stating “hundreds” of unarmed people are gunned down in our streets each year because their skin is a certain color. Wherever we turn we see outrageous statements we’re told to agree with or suffer th...
Labor Day is almost here. Of course, this year, the holiday may have a different impact, given the employment-related stress and disruptions stemming from the coronavirus. Yet, it’s good to recognize the value of work and its importance in achieving your life’s goals. But if you’re going to retire comfortably and reach your other financial objectives, you also need to invest – and your investments need to work as hard as you do. To help make this happen, you need to know why you’re investing...
This past Sunday I had the privilege of helping baptize eight people at Bridgeport Lake. During the 33 years that I have been a pastor in Sidney, I have been blessed to help baptize over three hundred people at Bridgeport. It is always a wonderful experience for those being baptized and for those witnessing it. However, before we baptize children, young people, or adults, we always make sure they first understand the significance of this event in their lives. We focus on three basic baptism truths which we believe the Scriptures teach: First...
WASHINGTON –U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds farmers and ranchers the deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is Sept. 11, 2020. This program provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19. “FSA offers several options for farmers and ranchers to apply for CFAP, including a call center where employees can answer your questions and help you get started on your application,” said Richard Fordyce, Farm Service Agenc...
NORMAL ACTIVITIES AT OLIVER RESERVOIR MAY RESUME. On Friday, August 28, the South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) was notified by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) that the weekly water sample for Oliver Reservoir is BELOW the 8 ppb threshold of the toxin, Microcystin, which is associated with the presence of harmful algal blooms. Oliver Reservoir IS NO LONGER on a Health Alert. Samples are taken weekly. NORMAL ACTIVITIES AT OLIVER RESERVOIR MAY RESUME. Campers/day-users may resume all full body water contact...
On Thursday, Potter-Dix’s Lady Coyote Volleyball team made the familiar journey to Dalton to rekindle their rivalry with the Leyton Lady Warriors, and delivered a solid performance against an opponent that had the upper hand against them for the last few years. With the graduation of key seniors Madelyn Watchorn and Alyson Holt, and with new head coach Katie Winkler, the Lady Warriors knew they’d have a battle on their hands against the Lady Coyotes. The first match of the triangular meet (wi...
Potter-Dix’s Coyote Football team opened at home Friday night against the Wallace Wildcats and came away with a 36-to-31 victory in a tight contest. The Wallace team was finally able to play football, after not having enough players to field a team in recent memory, and gave it their all against the Coyotes. But it was the Coyote’s running game that tallied over 200 yards that made the difference. Sophomore quarterback Luke Kasten threw for three touchdowns, but was picked off twice by the Wil...
Sidney Head Coach Chris Koozer knew his team was in for a big challenge opening at home against the Bridgeport Bulldogs. The Red Raiders have many new faces at key positions, while the Bulldogs came into the game with 14 returning seniors and and great speed at the skill positions. Led by senior standout Cole Faessler, the Red Raiders schemed to slow down the Bulldog's breakaway speed, and had success early in the game with multiple tackles in the backfield for losses, keeping the Bulldog's off...
It was close going between the Creek Valley Storm and the Hay Springs Hawks in the first half during Friday night’s season opener, but the Storm showed why they’re the class of D6 football in the Panhandle by coming out in the second half and running up a 30 point lead against the visitors to earn a 68-to-38 victory. Junior quarterback Eli Schmid went 5 for 7 with 128 yards and 4 touchdowns in the air, which was exactley what the Storm needed in Schmid’s first game as starting quart...
Leyton’s Warrior 8-Man Football team scored early and often, cruising to a 54-to-12 victory against the Maywood/Hayes Center Wolves in Maywood Friday night. The game was effectively over in the first half as the Warriors went into the intermission with a hefty 32-to-0 lead, and added another 22 points in the second half to start the season at 1-and-0. Junior quarterback Scout Gamble took most of the snaps for Leyton, going 7-for-11 with 127 yards and a touchdown. The Warriors spread the rushing duties around, with junior Kole Bush gaining 1...
A softball tournament is scheduled for Sept. 18-20 in support of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The first Out of the Darkness Softball Tournament. The tournament is for all of the Panhandle area with pool play on Friday, Sept. 18, tournament action on Saturday, Sept. 19 and championship games on Sunday, Sept. 20. Registration must be received before Sept. 8. Cost is $250 per team with a 10 minimum. To register or for more information, contact 308-250-3327 or Katlynne at...
RAPID CITY, SD — Lance Roberts, Ph.D., is the new provost and vice president for academic affairs at South Dakota Mines. Roberts previously served as interim provost, professor, and head of the Department of Mining Engineering and Management. Roberts is an alumnus, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at Mines before finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2006. Roberts also brings his experience in industry to the provost’s office. Just pr...
