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 10th Annual Hay Day Festival will be a free night of family entertainment held by the Cool Kids Club/No Limits and Kids Plus on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the 4-H building at the Cheyenne County Fair Grounds. Families are encouraged to come in costume. The Hay Day Festival includes a penny carnival, cakewalk, bouncy house, games, cookie decorating, refreshments and many opportunities to win prizes, which are awarded by age group. Newborns through age five are eligible for a Wal-Mart gift card, ages six through eight can...
For those looking for a Halloween night that’s not so scary, Hickory Square is the place to be. The police will host Trunk or Treat the night of Halloween, Thursday Oct. 31 at the Hickory Street Square. “We wanted to create a safe environment for the kids right after school, especially for the little guys to come and trick or treat,” said police chief B.J. Wilkinson. “It’s in conjunction with the downtown merchants who stay open late on Thursday evenings.” Police will be in the area to keep the streets safe for little ones and city employees w...
The Ak-Sar-Ben Coronation and Scholarship Ball Committee announced that Ali Miller of Sidney was named as a 2013 Heartland Princess. The ball was held on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Omaha at the CenturyLink Center. Miller is currently a senior at Doane College, where she is majoring in Art, with minors in Spanish and Creative Writing. She is a member of the Doane Tiger Dance Team and President of Phi Sigma Tau sorority. Miller graduated from Sidney High School in 2010. At SHS, she participated on the...
At Tuesday's city council meeting members voted to allocate occupational tax funds to a new street in hopes of opening up an area for new development. However, the decision did not come without lengthy debate. "We are here to seek funding to create Jennifer Lane," said Manmohan Patel of Krishna management. Patel's company wishes to extend Jennifer Lane to its intersection with Highway 17 J in order to meet with the planned extension of Silverberg Drive, creating an access point for the hotel it...
The Sidney High School Cross Country qualifiers are from left Hayden Lienemann, Abby Heller, Maddie Stafford and Jachob Wiedeburg....
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) hosted a presentation covering the state’s innovation programs aimed at encouraging and supporting the transfer of Nebraska-based technology and innovation to rural and urban areas. In 2010, the state of Nebraska commissioned a study that looked at how Nebraska compared to other states in fostering an entrepreneurial environment and in the strength of industries. From that report came a four-part piece of legislation known as the Talent Innovation Initiative, which aimed at advancing b...
Pete Ricketts joined the race for governor just six weeks ago. He had initially supported Mike Flood. But when the speaker of the Nebraska legislature backed out after learning that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer, Ricketts began to reconsider his options. “The reason I’m running for governor, frankly, is because I love Nebraska. We live the American dream here,” Ricketts said. “I want to help continue that. Through the great leadership we’ve had, they’ve laid a tremendous...
The Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts collected bags of nonperishable food last week as part of the "Scouting for Food" program. Scouts had distributed bags to homes in town earlier in the week. On Saturday they collected 50 filled bags and donated them to the Sidney Salvation Army Food Pantry. The amount donated was considerably less than last year. The Scouts and the Salvation Army encourage anyone that did not receive a bag to donate nonperishable food items to the pantry before the...
Some damaged city streets will soon received a little face lift. The city received bids for the 2013-2014 crack sealing contract last week. The city budgeted $75,000 for the process this year. Sidney received bid from four companies for the project this year, which is more than the city generally received in the past. Bid prices ranged from 34 cents per foot to 96 cents per foot. The low bid came from Bader's Highway and Street. Bader completed crack sealing for the city in the past and did high quality work. "They have done the contract for...
After the loss of an expensive piece of equipment at the landfill this summer, the city has made an agreement with a local businessman, which it believes will be beneficial to both entities. The idea for this arrangement came out of the city’s budget workshops. City workers discussed the cost of purchasing a new grinder to turn scrap wood into mulch, because the old one had burnt out. This grinder would cost the city around $300,000. “During those discussions is when Mr. (B.J.) Raffelson approached the city about entering into a contract wit...
Sid Dinsdale is running for the U.S. Senate out of frustration with the federal government. Dinsdale grew up in Palmer, Neb. and has spent his professional career working in bank branches throughout the state, learning about the business and the state's diverse communities simultaneously. Dinsdale wants to change some happenings in Washington D.C. for the sake of future generations. He is most upset with the passing of the Affordable Care Act. “I’m not a big believer in a single-pay system acr...
The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is working to recruit more members and to promote kids' interest in the nation's beginnings. The DAR wants young people to realize where their freedom to participate in activities and to attend school originated. "We want to encourage kids to understand what our American way of life is all about," said Carol Mason of the Fort Sidney DAR. The local DAR is working on a project to encourage 5th and 6th graders at West Elementary to parti...
County Highway Superintendent Tom Noel met with the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners on Monday to discuss the cost of recent mishaps, as well a progress in pouring gravel along roadbeds. Noel reported special labor costs to the board of $3,375. These covered the work of those assigned to fixing the hood of a county truck after a tire blew out. Torn rubber banged the hood severely enough that it needed clever repair. They cut parts from other hoods to patch the damage, saving thousands of dollars. The motion to pay the bills presented was...
As new developments and projects continue to pop up in the city, Baker & Associates, an engineering firm, is opening an office in Sidney this week. "We've never had an engineering firm make that kind of commitment," said city manager Gary Person. Baker & Associates is a civil engineering and surveying firm based in Scottsbluff. The new office, located on Illinois Street, will be home base to one full time employee. Others from the Scottsbluff office will work in the Sidney office from time to time when overseeing projects in the area. "I think...
A little local history and a meander through unmarked graves might be just spooky enough for some end of October fun. Skeptics and believers alike are invited to the third annual ghost tour at Sidney’s historic Boot Hill Cemetery. The tours begin at 7 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 26 at the cemetery, located at 640 Elm Street on the north side of town. Those taking part in the tour will take a trek through the cemetery and learn about the eerie past of Sidney’s first official resting place for the...
National Drug Take Back Day will be held locally on Oct. 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Sidney Police Department. Drug take back is a program set up by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and is a safe way for people to dispose of their unused, unwanted or expired prescription medications. The medications are put into a sealed box and shipped to the DEA in St. Louis where they are incinerated. “It’s really the only safe way to dispose of medications,” Curtis Hofrock said. This will mark the fifth year that Sidney has participated in Na...
Ken Schilz has had a busy year. The state senator from the 47th district explained during this week’s Legislative Forum in Sidney the concerns expressed over taxation, water use and even the pressure on law enforcement due to Colorado’s legalization of marijuana—and how the state is dealing with those issues. This summer, Schilz served on the tax modernization committee. Their main focus has been addressing the state’s tax structure. “In my mind, no matter what you do, the taxes are always to...
Many Sidney residents received a notice in the mail this week about two positive tests for coliform in the drinking water. Although the tone may have caused some concern, the city’s water department explained that this is simply a requirement from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, based on the amount of bacteria samples the city of Sidney water department takes per month. Sidney has not had two positive coliform samples at anytime in the recent past. Repeated tests show that the problem is now resolved although the city n...
Efforts by the Sidney police to rid the city of abandoned, unlicensed and inoperable vehicles on private property has been put on hold while contract issues are ironed out. The council accepted an initial bid from Affordable Towing, the only company to submit paperwork, in September. Specifications of the bid required a storage facility to house the vehicles once they were towed. Affordable Towing has such a facility and bid accordingly, but then advised Sidney that storing the vehicles on city property would save money. These changes irked...
Josef Slezak was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment yesterday for his role in an accident that took the lives of an entire family on Interstate 80 in 2012. Family members of the victims and Slezak supporters were both present in Cheyenne County Court as Judge Derek Weimer sentenced the man on four counts of motor vehicle homicide due to recklessness and one count of motor vehicle homicide of an unborn child. Slezak was ordered to serve 60 months in prison for each of the first four counts of motor vehicle homicide, Class IIIa felonies, to be...
Tom Carlson enjoys the campaigning process of traveling throughout the state of Nebraska—except when powerful crosswinds hit his trailer. Still, he will have visited all 93 counties by year’s end. “When I tell an individual or a group who I am, what I stand for and why I should be governor, I’m getting agreement,” Carlson said. “That’s what’s important.” There are now five candidates running for governor on the Republican ticket, but Carlson is the only one calling the third Congressional dis...
On Wednesday afternoon, the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce held the Nebraska Fall Legislative Forum. The key areas of the forum revolved around taxation, affecting both businesses and individuals, economic development and labor relations (worker and unemployment compensation). President of the State Chamber, Barry Kennedy said that most would agree that they are one of the elite entities in dealing with issues of economic development and the business end of labor relations. “We call o...
James Russell of Sidney was sentenced last week on one count of burglary and one count of theft after his involvement in two break ins at the concession stand in Legion Park and thefts from numerous unlocked vehicles around town this summer. He received additional time in jail, probation and community service. Russell was arrested June 17 for the first burglary of the concession stand at Legion Park and theft of coins and cash from numerous vehicles. Russell stole money and various items from cars around Sidney from June 3 to June 13 of this...
The city council hopes that new stop signs on the alternate route to the north side of town will make it safer. A resolution to place stop signs on East Elm Street by the BNSF overpass came before the council at last week's meeting. "These stop signs are ones that we put in temporarily as part of our project down at 13th and Illinois when the underpass closed," said pubic services director John Hehnke. "The stop signs seemed to be a big hit, had a lot of good comments about having those stop signs there." The council had heard positive...
Chuck Hassebrook has spent his whole life in public service—36 years at the Center for Rural Affairs and 18 years on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. These divergent paths, both rural and urban, converged on the gubernatorial campaign trail. Though the race for governor is still in its early stages, Hassebrook already has volunteers in all 93 counties across the state. He has visited 50 of the counties and plans to travel to 75 by Thanksgiving. Because of his involvement at the C...
