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 Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented recently named Peetz teacher Leslie Raffelson as Educator of the Year. She was presented the award during the annual conference in Loveland, Co., Monday, Oct. 22. The George T. Betts Award requires two to three nominations from different people. In his nomination, Peetz School District Superintendent Mark Collard commended Raffelson for the many duties she is involved in. "As is the case in most small schools, Leslie wears multiple hats. In...
LINCOLN – The list of Nebraska species of greatest conservation need has been revised. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and other species experts recently reviewed and revised the list, which is identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan. The development and implementation of the Plan is the goal of the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project. The Plan serves as a blueprint for conserving Nebraska’s native plants, animals, and their habitats by working collaboratively with partners, communities and individuals. One of the federal req...
Recently I attended a high school football game just a few blocks from that community's local cattle auction. As I watched the players warming up, I hardly noticed the bawling noises made by the calves who had been delivered earlier that day in preparation for the big sale the next day. A group of parents soon asked me, "What's all that noise? What's going on? Why are those calves bawling? What's wrong with them?" Like many people who work in agriculture, I forgot that even though we might live...
Cheyenne County voters will have their hands full and their markers busy with several pages on the General Election ballot this year. The Sidney City Council has four names on the ballot: Bob Olsen, Blake Mackey, Brad Sherman and Roger M. Gallaway. Gallaway has been a teacher with Sidney Public Schools with more than 20 years experience. He teaches business, computers and serves as one of the District's technology facilitators as well as assistant track coach. He has been on the city council...
School is school. Some classes are worth the anticipation. Others are more of an obligation. Some days are routine and some days unexpected and life-changing. The Sidney High School Choir has been invited to be part of a concert in New York City under the direction of grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre. The performance is scheduled for April 28. The excitement starts with the fact that the school did not audition for the honor. They were sought after a YouTube video was seen of the SHS choir...
Property taxes, State support of local schools and developing businesses were three of the topics discussed by Nebraska gubernatorial hopeful Sen. Bob Krist in Sidney Thursday. Sen. Krist and running mate Lynne Walz are on a campaign tour in western Nebraska, including stops in Sidney. The tour included meeting Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard and Sidney city officials before visiting the business incubator and entrepreneurship program at the Western Nebraska Community College campu...
4-H'ers and their families celebrated their accomplishments of the past year during the annual Cheyenne County 4-H Achievement Banquet on Sunday, October 21. Both 4-H members and leaders were recognized. Outstanding 4-H'ers for 2018 were Hannah Stahl and Christian Nguyen. This award is presented to high school seniors who have excelled in their involvement in the Cheyenne County 4-H program. Selection is based on participation in 4-H activities. Stahl is the daughter of Sarah and Shaun Deeds of...
Police are investigating reported vandalism at the Sidney cemetery. Sidney Police Chief Joe Aikens said Monday they have received reports of eight to nine markers turned over between Oct. 18 and Oct. 22. Cost of the vandalism is unknown at this time. Aikens said the department recently responded to graffiti found at Legion Park. He said that incident has already been addressed....
The cost of medical care continues to increase, as does the cost of insurance to help pay for services. Likewise, the availability of health insurance providers is decreasing. That is some of the news brought by representatives of the Nebraska Department of Insurance. Health Policy Administrator Martin Swanson, Agency Counsel of the Insurance Fraud Prevention Division Laura Arp and Maggie Reinert met with an overflow crowd Tuesday in Sidney. The meeting was held as part of a tour of listening se...
The Sidney Police Department recently partnered with Union Pacific Railroad Police Officers to perform a Traffic Signal education drill at the railroad crossing on East Illinois Street. The drill took place Monday afternoon. According to a release from the Sidney Police Department, officers made eight traffic stops in the 90-minute exercise. All of the stops were due to drivers not stopping for the train crossing, or for drivers proceeding through the crossing while the warning lights were...
LINCOLN — Noting that 70 percent of all unbelted fatalities happen at night, NDOT’s Highway Safety Office kicked off an awareness campaign last week to promote increased seat‑belt usage, especially after dark. As part of the campaign, 15 daily delivery trucks sport a customized wrap with an image and language supporting seat-belt usage, as do fuel-pump toppers at 50 Lincoln area gas stations. The campaign serves as a great reminder that by wearing seat belts and properly buckling children into age- and size-appropriate car seats and boost...
POTTER – Potter-Dix students got a taste of exotic meat in a meal last week. In a letter to parents Wednesday, School Superintendent Mike Williams said kangaroo meat was mixed in with the beef used to prepare students’ chili at the Potter site. Upon discovering the addition of the exotic meat, Williams discusses the addition with head cook Kevin Frei, who said he added the kangaroo meat because of it’s nutritional value as a very lean meat. Frei also provided nutritional information on the meat....
Fall Sidney High School Parent -Teacher Conferences are scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24. Parents are asked to attend on one of those days to visit with teachers and collect their student’s report card. Conferences will be held in the SHS Commons area. Parents are asked to enter through the West Entrance....
It hasn’t been our week when it comes to recognizing firefighters. Last week, we inadvertently omitted the list of Gurley Volunteers from a recognition page. And it has been discovered that when we did run the list, two of those firefighters were still not listed. Our apologies to Shawn Kruse and Lane Rathman for the listing. We appreciate your service to our communities....
NEBRASKA CITY – Nebraska may not be on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit, but if you like experiences that are unpretentious and uncomplicated or if you enjoy escaping the big city life for moments of solitude in the open plains, creating your own fun or exploring the quirkiness the state has to offer, chances are, you will like it here. This is the premise of Nebraska Tourism Commission’s new marketing campaign that was unveiled Wednesday, October 17 at the Nebraska Tourism Conference. In 2017, before creating the campaign, the Nebra...
When the lights came up, there was no applause. No chatter or bantering or laughter. Just a poinient silence as viewers absorbed what they had just seen. "I am Jane Doe," a story about the human trafficking trade, pulled no punches as it told the story of primarily two teenagers swept into a world where they were used as commodities – forced to do the bidding of those who had drawn them into that world. "It's all about control," said Cheyenne County Chief Deputy Fred Wiedeburg prior to the movie...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners Monday approved the property tax levies for tax districts in Cheyenne County. The valuation for 2018 decreased from $1,581,431,435 in 2017 to $1,475,380,488 for 2018. Likewise, the Cheyenne County Commissioners earlier this year approved lowering the mill levy for the county. The County’s mill levy receded from .419891 in 2017 to .409 for 2018. In 2017, the .416205 requested for the General Fund generated $6,582,000, the County Fair requested .00337 mills for $...
Western Nebraska Community College students traded their textbooks and wrenches for spatulas and paper plates Saturday morning, serving pilots and the community a breakfast of sausage, pancakes, coffee and juice. It is an event that is part fly-in, part fundraiser for the Flying Club. Proceeds from the breakfast help with costs of field trips for the Aviation Maintenance students, and to help fund flying lessons. WNCC has the only Federal Aviation Administration approved 147 program in the...
LINCOLN – Cheyenne County has received another membership dividend, this time in the amount of $16,494, from the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (NIRMA), the county's property, liability and workers' compensation coverage and risk management services provider. The dividend was part of a $1 million distribution shared with 80 Nebraska counties and six regional area agencies on aging during NIRMA's annual membership conference Oct. 4-5 in Kearney. With this latest d...
The City of Sidney is seeking volunteers interested in preserving elements of the past with present architecture. The Historic Preservation Board is made up of seven members, each appointed for a three-year term. The appointment is made by the city manager and confirmed by the city council. In a recent city council meeting, Sidney Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard, who also serves as the administrator of the Historic Board, said the board is down four members, resulting in a board of three members; four are needed for a quorum. The...
LINCOLN – U.S. Bank® and the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) are proud to announce the 201 8 - 201 9 Believers and Achievers. Believers & Achievers is a state - wide program designed by U.S. Bank and the NSAA to give recognition to Nebraska's future leaders. Beginning in October and continuing through March, 48 Nebraska high school seniors will be honored as Believers & Achievers. From those 48 finalists, eight will receive $500 scholarships from U.S. Bank® to the c...
Sidney Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard announced in the city council meeting Tuesday that October is Manufacturing Month, then went on to present two proposals for assisting new businesses in Sidney. A summary from Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says Nebraska has a lot to celebrate in job growth. The memo says the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reports employment growth in Nebraska expanded 1.7 percent year-over-year this July, the fastest growth rate since March 2012. The...
What started as difficulty filling a staff position evolved into an agreement that could provide better services to the City of Sidney and save the City money. The City of Sidney’s GIS/Zoning Officer Ben Dayton left the city in 2017. A replacement was hired and trained, then left a few months later for personal reasons. City Manager Ed Sadler said in advertising again, “the candidate pool showed neither any GIS nor zoning experience, even with having advertised outside of Sidney for can...
A few years ago, the City of Sidney filed a lawsuit against its electric power provider. The reason for the suit, according to City Manager Ed Sadler, is the company, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN), changed the point of delivery, and consequently the price of power increased substantially. Sadler said rates were increased twice totaling a little under 10 percent. Sadler said because of what was happening, the City was already collecting with the expectation that if the City loses...
City officials are still working to determine what caused a power outage in parts of Sidney Monday. For about 20 minutes, much of Sidney’s north side and the center of town, including downtown, were without power, with the outage beginning just before 1:30 p.m. City of Sidney Electrical Department Superintendent Mike Palmer said a transformer at Sidney’s north substation “tripped,” or opened its circuit, stopping the flow of electricity. “We’re not sure what caused it,” Palmer said, adding...
