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 1879 - 1903 of 3053
Concerns were raised at Monday’s County Commissioners meeting about inequities regarding maximum raises and salary caps. This has created a difference in wages offered across county departments. “There’s a difference in wages being paid for clerical staff,” Diane Scott, county treasurer, said. “One county official the last two years gave their staff 60 cent raises when the rest of us were given documents telling us to figure raises at 50 cents.” Clear policy is also needed regarding salary caps....
County Commissioners Monday approved a contract with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Wildlife Services for prairie dog elimination. The contract not to exceed $11,877.50 for one and a half months of service is matched by USDA for a total of three months. The county then bills individual property owners for the services. Commissioners used the meeting to speak with Jerry Feist, USDA APHIS district supervisor, about the possibility of hiring more staff to assist Matt Anderson, APHIS...
Two Sidney residents were arrested on felony charges Friday as local law enforcement personnel from the Western Nebraska Intelligence Group (WING) Task Force investigated a report of drugs being shipped through the mail to the Sidney Post Office. According to the arrest affidavit, WING Task Force officers from the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, Sidney Police Departments and Nebraska State Patrol, aided by the United States Postal Inspectors Service, observed Sean Ewert accept a package from...
Sidney’s future is unknowable. Cabela’s stockholders will vote July 11 on whether to sell to BassPro. Neither company can speak about what might result from the potential sale, though. Mayor Joe Arterburn visited the Sidney Sun-Telegraph Wednesday to speak about the city’s future and the atmosphere of uncertainty in Sidney. “I think we’re all waiting to see what’s going to happen at that meeting,” Arterburn said. “That’ll be the shareholders voting on the option to sell. I don’t have any in...
Sidney City Council is considering increasing electricity rates. Residential rates would increase from $13 to $16, small general service single phase from $25 to $28, three phase from $44.50 to $60 and large general service from $135 to $160. This would be the second of a planned two-term rate increase recommended by a rate study done in early 2016. Adoption of a second increase was delayed from April, but is now needed, Ed Sadler, city manager, explained to the council at their Tuesday...
LINCOLN — The Nebraska State Patrol will put in extra hours in an effort to keep Nebraska roads safe over the July 4th holiday. Beginning Monday, July 3 and continuing through Wednesday, July 5, troopers and communications specialists will put in overtime hours thanks in part to a $15,960 grant from the Nebraska Department of Roads Highway Safety Office. “The Fourth of July is a great time to celebrate with family and friends,” said Colonel Brad Rice, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “It’s important that motorists and law enforceme...
Cheyenne County Commissioners are considering the sale of foreclosed land in the county’s possession. There are roughly 10 to 12 such properties held by the county from unsold tax sale certificates, Paul Schaub, county attorney, said. “I’m proposing we take a look at all of these properties we’ve acquired over the years through the foreclosure process and have a group sale where everyone is made aware that these properties are owned by the county,” Schaub said. “They’re not needed by the county...
When a crime happens, there is a proper way to report it to the police. And it’s not through social media. Chief Joe Aikens, Sidney Police Department, urges citizens to contact the communications center or reach out to the police station when there is trouble. “If there’s an emergency, we’d like you to call 911,” Aikens said. “If it’s a non-emergency, you can call 254-5515 or -2880, or dial the Sheriff’s Department number.” Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are not effective way...
Cheyenne County Commissions Monday approved taking ownership of a new shelter to be built by the Leadership Cheyenne County Class. The shelter will be placed apart from the sidewalk at 10th Avenue and King Street, on the Sidney Stage Line. Heather Hausmann, county tourism director, visited the commissioners Monday to make sure final ownership of the property was clear. In approving ownership, the commissioners also agreed to providing crew to prepare the area for a concrete pour, and to...
Sidney’s Police Explorer Post #607 is raising money to take its youth to Denver for a day of learning and community service. SPD Officer Adrian Smith hopes to take his nine explorers to Ronald McDonald House to prepare and serve food to the needy. “It gets them out of Sidney, gets them looking at different things,” Smith said. “We’ll walk through the Children’s Hospital and meet some of them and some of the doctors I know. They’ll see some kids who are a little less fortunate. It’s for a go...
Highway 30 renovation efforts along Illinois Street are expected to begin in downtown Sidney after Fourth of July. Justin Schmidt, Simon Contractors project manager, took time Wednesday to meet at Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce with business owners and hear their concerns. Downtown is the most high-profile segment of the project, Schmidt said. "We're contracted to remove and replace all of the concrete panels under the asphalt," he said. "If you drive through there, you'll see a lot of bad...
CHAPPELL - No bids were received for the now defunct Creek Valley Middle School’s football field in Lodgepole. “They’re going to reopen bids for the football field because nobody in the original bid process, which was due the 6th of June, nobody put any bids in,” Ron Howard, CVS superintendent, said. Possibly there were no bids because the price for the property was too high, Howard said. The property was listed for roughly $11,000 for 10 acres. “The county assessor told us what to put on th...
Daniel D. Konruff, 37, of Sidney, pleaded "no contest" Tuesday to two charges of attempting to possess child pornography, a class 3A felony. According to a Nebraska State Patrol affidavit, in October Investigator Dean Christensen was assigned to investigate a cybertip, where a "single image of a topless three-year-old girl with her underwear pulled down around her thighs" was transferred to a Google Photo account. The cybertip identified the IP address as belonging to Konruff. Christensen visite...
Sidney is taking a new direction in issuing LB840 grants and selling industrial park lots following a special meeting of the City Council Monday with Ed Sadler, city manager, and Melissa Norgard, economic development director. LB840 grants will be offered to prospective businesses within a range of 20 to 40 percent of overall payroll, rather than based on individual pay rates. “It makes more sense to us to do it based on the entire payroll of the company that’s moving here,” Norgard said. “Not e...
With Sidney’s carrier vehicle ordinance being enforced starting July 1, the City of Sidney is trying to gauge interest from truck drivers for a special parking lot. “We’re trying to figure out what the interest of a city-owned truck parking lot would be,” Melissa Norgard, Sidney economic development director, said, “and how much people would be willing to pay for a spot in the parking lot, and the minimum amenities the parking lot would need.” The fine is $20 for each day of not being in co...
Cheyenne County Commissioners, approaching the end of the budget year, brought in the heads of every department Monday to offer some direction. The commissioners hope to avoid going into budget hearings and asked departments to stay within their 2016-17 budgets. “We should be 95 percent and no more on your budgets,” Commissioner Darrell Johnson said. “I think everybody’s done good on their budgets this year. We need to ask you to all please, this last pay period, to back off if you can, as much...
Going into his first session as a state legislator, Bayard’s Steve Erdman wasn’t sure what the work would be like. And after 30 days of wrangling over the Legislature’s operating rules, he was afraid it was going to be monotonous duty. But once members got down to the business of governing, Erdman was overall pleased with the things he and other legislators were able to accomplish. But for one thing. “I was disappointed we couldn’t pass some sort of substantial property tax relief,” Erdman said...
In a series of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week, Cabela’s announced a special meeting of stockholders to approve the acquisition of Cabela’s by Bass Pro Shops. The meeting, scheduled for 8 a.m. July 11 at the company’s Sidney headquarters, will finalize shareholder votes on the acquisition. In the filing, the company included proxy materials and instructions for shareholders to vote, urging them to do so as soon as possible. The Cabela’s Board of Directo...
U.S. Representative Adrian Smith of Nebraska's third district visited Sidney Wednesday to speak with his constituents. Before visiting Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce Smith visited the Sidney Sun-Telegraph. A priority for Smith and Congress, he said, is "fixing the health care situation." "We have a disaster, I think, on our hands that stands to get worst," he said, "and that's why we passed a bill in the house to fix the situation or at least to move us in a better direction than where...
Sidney Public Library’s digitization funding has been restored. A $22,000 grant from the Nebraska Library Commission was approved, but feared lost when it was proposed that federal funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services be cut completely. “With the spending bill that went through to keep government operational, our 2017 funding was put back in the budget. We’re waiting now to hear when it’s actually going to be dispersed,” Andrew Sherman, library director, said. “I’ve con...
OMAHA (AP) — Financial documents show Cabela’s had been trying to sell itself months before an investor declared its big stake and publicly pushed for the sale. The Omaha World-Herald reports that documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week detail the yearlong process to sell the Nebraska-based outdoor gear retailer. Filings show Cabela’s management privately discussed selling the company as early as June 2015. Elliott Management, a New York-based hedge fund, declared an 11 percent stake in October 2015, saying it woul...
Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) will meet with the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce on today to give an update on the issues before Congress, including tax reform, health care, and trade. This event is open to the public. The visit is one of two the Congressman is holding in the area. The second is tomorrow in Oshkosh. Planned meetings include: Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce 740 Illinois Street, Sidney, NE 69162 Today, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MDT) Thursday, June 1 Oshkosh 9:30 a.m. MT Meet with Garden County Chamber of Commerce at...
Sidney City Council Tuesday approved a $1 million community development block grant for Lukjan Metal Products Inc. The state funds will be issued to Lukjan for acquisition of facilities at 1 Greenwood Drive and other development costs. “The applicant is actually the city,” Star Lehl, Nebraska Department of Economic Development consultant, said. “The state grants that money to the city and then the city goes through the non-profit development organization.” She added, “The invoices are submitted...
The City of Sidney is working to bring jobs in the information technology industry to the community. “We sent a marketing collateral piece to about 50 data and I.T. contacts we received from the target marketing consultant team,” Melissa Norgard, economic development director, said. “I’m going to be following up with calls to all of them this week.” Sidney is well-suited for the I.T. industry, Norgard said, with abundant electricity and water resources and a “great fiber network.” The marketing...
A fuel spill occurred at Sapp Bros. Tuesday at around 3 a.m. "The guy's overflow hose came off his tank and he was pumping (diesel) fuel onto the pad," Keith Stone, Cheyenne County fire chief, said. There is no danger to the public, Stone said. Fuel Management Solutions, Inc., of Cheyenne, Wyoming, handled the clean up after. Sapp Bros. Manager Odilon Cerenil said this sort of spill is not common. "It's a rarity," he said. With clean up underway, business continued as normal....
