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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Kali Robb broke Sidney’s school record with a throw of 41-11, to win the shot put competition at Gothenburg on Saturday. The toss shattered her own mark of 40-9, set in 2011. Robb’s feat was the highlight of a strong performance by the Raiders girls squad. The thrower’s 119-0 in discus was good enough for the runner up spot. Karissa Segelke captured a second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles. She also took a turn with the 4x100 relay team, along with Robb, Gabbie Addleman and M... Full story
LONDON (AP) — From London to Sochi to Rio de Janeiro, the deadly bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon raised new concerns Tuesday over safety at major sports events around the world, including the Olympics and World Cup. The twin bombings near the marathon finish line that killed three people and injured more than 170 people brought into sharp focus the security challenges facing next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. “We are very, very concerned,” senior IOC member Gerhard...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican opposition is growing to a bipartisan Senate plan for expanding background checks for firearms buyers, enough to put the proposal’s fate in jeopardy. But the measure may change as both sides compete for support in one of the pivotal fights in the battle over curbing guns. The Senate continued debating a wide-ranging gun control bill Tuesday, with the focus on a background check compromise struck last week between Sens. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Manchin said the vote on that amendment was lik...
The southern Panhandle is in the second consecutive spring of drought conditions. Precipitation September 1 to April 15 for the Southern Nebraska Panhandle is less than half of normal for this time period. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension CropWatch website has weather information that shows precipitation summaries for all of Nebraska. This summary shows recent historic precipitation amounts and compares them to long term averages at locations throughout the Panhandle. Lack of precipitation beginning in the fall of 2011 has resulted...
The recent snow fall is “better than nothing” for the drought, according to John K. Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmer’s Union—although he would prefer a good, soaking rain. At least the state has been targeted by fronts that produce some moisture. From the first of March to the beginning of June is when Nebraska generally receives substantial rainfall. If rain does not hit the region during those times, chances are nowhere near as strong over the rest of the year. Hanson added that the area needs long, steady rains to soak the pasture...
Jessica Johnson, UNL agricultural educator at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center located in Scottsbluff has compiled budgets for the majority of the irrigated crops commonly grown here in our region. I’d like to take a look at these budgets that compare strip till, conventional tillage, and no-till crop production systems. Jessica’s budgets assume equal use of irrigation in producing these crops. When you compare these budgets you also need to factor in that the no-till crop production system actually requires less irrigation to pro...
Long gone are the days when citizens worked the land to pay their share to the crown before being allowed to keep anything for themselves. I think we can all agree it’s a good thing those days are behind us. But even though Tax Day is in the books, we are still paying the government to cover this year’s tax burden. While April 15 is the national tax payment deadline, April 18 marks Tax Freedom Day, the point at which the total earnings of all Americans since the beginning of the year surpasses the total tax bill for the year. In theory, tha...
On Saturday three of us from this office took a side trip to view Lincoln’s stab at assembling the tallest structure ever built from Lincoln Logs. Yeah, we live exciting lives. A team had reconstructed Nebraska’s state capitol with the famed children’s toy, creating a soaring tower some 12 feet high. More than a simple effort to set a Guinness record, the project was billed—in an otherwise tedious address by Lincoln’s mayor—as part of a campaign to emphasize the youthful vigor of the city. Later that evening, we sat with Merle Baranczk, P... Full story
Reporting on tragedy Three died and near 150 were wound when two bombs exploded during yesterday’s running of the Boston Marathon. With the investigation ongoing at the time of this writing, we cannot comment on the motive. President Barack Obama was justly careful on Monday when addressing the tragedy, not assigning the highly charged “terrorism” label. Other mass killings have been the work of lone mad men with no relation to terrorist organizations here or overseas. At this point, we do not know details of those responsible. However despicab... Full story
The parents of Mindy Sanders and Lee Wiegand are pleased to announce the upcoming marriage of their children. Mindy is the daughter of Bill and Brenda George of Sidney, and Larry and Deb Sanders of Harrisburg, Ore. Mindy is a graduate of Leyton High School and is employed with Crossroads Cooperative Association in Sidney. Lee is the son of Wesley Wiegand of Sidney, and Albert and Tina Aguirre of Scottsbluff. Lee is a graduate of Sidney High School and is employed with the Cabela’s retail s...
OMAHA (AP) — Federal regulators are planning to meet next week with the utility that owns the troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant in Nebraska, but some of the discussion will be private because security information will be discussed. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Monday that the April 22 meetings will focus on flood protection and security for the plant 20 miles north of Omaha. Part of the discussion will be public before the private meeting. Fort Calhoun has been shut down for more than two years. Initially, the plant w...
Potter-Dix boys’ basketball coach Chad Miller and the girls’ basketball coach, Jeff Einspahr, went before the Board of Education at their April meeting asking for approval to follow the NSAA’s five day moratorium during Christmas holidays. Einspahr told board members that children who play basketball tend to “get out of shape” during the holiday break and they need to “stay in practice”--that even five days off makes a difference. The pair requested access to the gym for optional practices during the holidays. A motion was made for this and...
The Ivan E. Rundus Foundation is sponsoring a benefit for local Organ and Vocal Students with a movie performance of “Once in a Lullaby: The PS22 Chorus Story,” to be presented at the Fox Theatre in Sterling, Colo., on Sunday afternoon, April 21, 2013, at 1:30 P.M. Tickets may be purchased from Board Members Baxter Arnold, Carol Arnold, Larry Fetzer, Jill Fritzler, Ann Leh, Jim Leh, Kim Schlup, and Peter Youngers, for $10.00 minimum donation per ticket. Tickets may also be obtained at the offices of Fetzer and Company, 211 Main St., Ste...
BOSTON (AP) — Neighbors and friends remembered 8-year-old Boston bombing victim Martin Richard on Tuesday as a vivacious boy who loved to run, climb, and play sports like soccer, basketball and baseball. Family friend Jack Cunningham spoke of how as a pint-sized preschooler, Martin had insisted on getting out of a stroller his mom was pushing during a 5K race in South Boston about five years ago. But once she let him out to run with the rest of the family, Martin had other plans for the rainy race course. “He was just having a ball, spl...
BOSTON — The bombs that ripped through the crowd at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and wounding more than 170, were fashioned out of pressure cookers and packed with shards of metal, nails and ball bearings to inflict maximum carnage, a person briefed on the investigation said Tuesday. The details on the apparently crude but deadly explosives emerged as investigators appealed to the public for amateur video and photos that might yield clues. The chief FBI agent in Boston vowed ... Full story
LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman said Monday that a $2.2 million budget request to buy an airplane from the University of Nebraska Foundation is needed to reach rural parts of the state quickly. Heineman said the plane ensures he and other state officials are accessible to residents when needed. He argued that a state-owned plane is more cost-efficient than relying on a charter service. “This is about having access to the governor for every citizen of the state of Nebraska,” Heineman said during a news conference on an unrelated subject. “It’s...
Timothy Tscharner asked for counsel to be appointed for him yesterday afternoon at the Cheyenne County Courthouse regarding a class IV felony charge against him of violating sex offender laws and failing to inform the sheriff of his new address in writing within five working days of his location change. The case of the State of Nebraska against Tscharner started with the disappearance of an iPhone and tablet, according to Cheyenne County Court records. Court documents stated that Dale and Emily...
Yesterday morning members of the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners came to a conclusion on the application for a conditional use permit from Pine Bluffs Gravel and Excavating Inc. for the proposed use of a gravel mine to operate a ready-mix concrete batch plant. The commissioners moved to deny Pine Bluffs representatives the permit. A problem had arisen after the company began operations last summer and residents neighboring the operation site said that the dust, noise and traffic created b... Full story
