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 2278 - 2302 of 3067
Levi Hallett, 25, of Sidney was arrested yesterday and charged with manufacture of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography and child abuse, which are all felonies, according to arrest reports. Police were tipped off to this alleged activity by Hallett's probation officer and an unnamed citizen informant. Police allegedly found evidence leading to this arrest on Hallett's cell phone....
The city's parks department hopes to build new tennis courts to replace its aging outdoor facility. Demand for updated courts picked up recently. Around the time of the Wimbledon tournament, some local high school kids put together a little tennis tournament of their own. "I was embarrassed that they didn't have a better place to play," said park superintendent Tom Von Seggern. Kasey Kantor, sports director at the Cheyenne County Community Center, where the courts are located, confirmed that the courts see a fair amount of use, with a few...
The city's collection of scrap wood is growing, and Raffelson Rock and Recycling proposed a possible solution that might save Sidney some time and money. B.J. Raffelson of Raffelson Rock and Recycling spoke with the city council on Tuesday about leasing some land from the city and the possibility of working with Sidney to ease problems with scrap wood. "I know the recycling machine Sidney had burnt down this summer," Raffelson said. "And I thought this would be a great time to maybe start...
The city of Sidney plans a slight decrease in property taxes for next year, while also looking forward to some big improvements. At Tuesday's meeting, the city council filed the 2013-2014 budget with the city clerk and set the tax levies to prepare for the September 10 public budget hearing. "There'll be a slight property tax reduction in the levy," said city manager Gary Person. "Even considering that we had to be fairly aggressive this year in trying to plan for a lot of new projects, and a lot of new development in the community. I think eve...
Construction on 13th Ave. and Illinois is moving forward on schedule. Work scheduled for this week included installation by the electric department of loops for the right hand turn lane for south bound 13th Ave. These loops detect when a car is present in the lane. The city plans to pour concrete for the westbound lanes on the north side of Illinois today and tomorrow. Next week the remaining portion of 13th Ave. south of Illinois will be poured. After that, the city plans to complete work on the 14th Ave. intersection. The project is set to...
Earlier this week, 17 were arrested in relation to the distribution of methamphetamine in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado. These arrests occurred in Ogallala, Brule and nearby cities. More than three pounds of methamphetamine and $8,000 in cash were seized in connection with this investigation. Most of those arrested were residents of the Ogallala area, said John Higgins, Drug Enforcement/Asset Forfeitures Chief with the U.S. attorney's office in Nebraska. Although none of those arrested were Sidney area residents, the Western Nebraska In...
The city of Sidney and the South Platte Natural Resources District are working together for grants to fund storm water management projects. Galen Wittrock with the South Platte NRD spoke with the city council Tuesday night about grants that could possibly pay for a large portion of future storm water solutions. "This is a continuing project that the NRD and the city of Sidney has been working on," Wittrock said, “addressing the east Sidney watershed drainage issues." The NRD presented grant applications through the Nebraska Environmental T...
Cabela's is planning expansions to its corporate Sidney campus in the near future, but wants tax dollars to fund surrounding infrastructure. Before last night's city council meeting, Ralph Castner, Chief Financial Officer at Cabela's, presented the company's corporate campus expansion plans during a meeting of the Community Development Agency. "I'm here tonight to discuss maybe one of the most exciting projects happening between Cabela's and Sidney in the last decade," Castner said. In phase...
Sidney's City Council is searching for some consistency, perhaps. At Tuesday night's meeting, the body discussed concerns over uniformity between law enforcement agences and funding issues regarding the Cheyenne County Emergency Communications Center. Sidney mayor Wendall Gaston wondered how percentages for communications center funding from the county and city were decided. "When the system was put together, the volume of calls, because this also affects our utility departments and public transportation system, it was 65 percent city and 35 pe...
Fenugreek is an herb that fans of Indian cuisine are familiar with, whether or not they know what the plant looks like. But its flavor and appearance are not as important as the herb's versatility. Used for centuries both to flavor dishes and in home remedies, it is included in modern medications for diabetes, high cholesterol and liver damage. Fenugreek can also be forage for ranch animals. Dipak Santra and Alexander Pavlista from the University of Nebraska Lincoln Agriculture Laboratory in...
A charity more than a century old is still going strong in Sidney. The Wide Awake Circle of the King's Daughter's in Sidney, which was founded in 1891, is gearing up for its annual donation drive. "We're a philanthropic organization," reported Ann Schaaf, a current member and former president of the group. "It's a good Christian organization." The group provides various types of assistance for those in the Sidney area. The King's Daughters might contribute to rent, utilities or medical bills....
Sidney police received around a half dozen reports of an attempted phone scam from area businesses last week. Both Shamrock and Conoco gas stations in Sidney answered calls from a person claiming to be with the city of Sidney. This person told those at the stations that they were late on electric payments. These businesses were told that power would be shut off if they didn't pay $2,700 to the caller. When alerted by the businesses, Sidney police called this number. A person answered as Sidney Public Power District, an entity that doesn't...
Nebraska state standardized testing results from last school year are in, and Sidney fared better than the rest of the state. "In all areas we are above the state average," said Sheri Ehler, west elementary principal and director of curriculum and assessment at Sidney schools. "We're very excited about that. That's something, of course that you strive for." The Nebraska State Accountability or NeSA tests measure proficiency in state standards annually. In science, an average of 83 percent of...
Sidney city budgets for 2013-2014 will soon be approved. The city council met with various city officials earlier this month in lengthy workshops to discuss the Sidney's 2013-14 accounts. At tomorrow's council meeting, the board will confirm final adjustments. After that, city officials plan to publish the budget and to set a hearing to share it with the public on Sept. 10. "The workshops went very well, but there will still be some adjustments made on Tuesday night," said Sidney city manager Gary Person in an email. At the Sept. 10 meeting,...
On Thursday and Friday of last week, a number of Sidney businesses were contacted by someone claiming to be from the Sidney Public Power District. The caller would then go on to say that these businesses were behind on their power bills, and unless they submitted a large payment immediately, their power would be shut off. The Sidney Police Department made contact with this caller using the call-back number they provided the businesses, and they did in fact identify themselves using this business name until they realized who they were talking...
There's a new drink in town. At least there will be in October, when brothers Nicolas, Manuel and Gustavo Morales plan to open Tres Margaritas, a Mexican restaurant. “We think this will be great here in Sidney," said David Villasenor, who is heading up the local project. He confirmed that the new establishment would stock a full bar, serving margaritas by the glass or pitcher. But cocktails are not the soul of this Seattle chain. Nicolas and Manuel Moralas opened their first restaurant, Las Margaritas, in that city 27 years ago. It featured s...
The Western Nebraska Intelligence and Narcotics group is making more arrests for methamphetamine this year. This chart covers all controlled buys and methamphetamine arrests during the past three years for Nebraska State Patrol's Troop E and the WING task force. Troop E serves the 11 counties that make up the Nebraska panhandle. A controlled purchase is when an undercover law enforcement official or an informant purchases an illegal substance in order in incriminate the seller. Total drug activity has gone up year by year, although the...
Nebraska products, agricultural and otherwise, are reaching customers all over the world, and Nebraska representative to the U.S. Congress Adrian Smith thinks the state can export even more if regulations and tariffs are changed. State exports totaled $7.5 billion in 2012, Smith claimed during his visit to Sidney on Thursday. "I tell you what, great things are happening with trade," Smith said. "With U.S. products, more specifically Nebraska products heading overseas." Smith thinks the answer...
The Sidney Housing Authority held its monthly meeting on site. While they sat at Western Heritage Apartments, they board discussed both that complex and Sioux Village. The net worth of Western Heritage has increased, but the city spent $46,000 for hail damage repairs and painting. Continued renovation projects are part of the next year's budget, as well. In addition, tenents compound repair problems by not following proper form in turning in work orders. The board frowns on the hiring of outside contractors to perform routine repairs that their...
A local program which teaches teens life skills and tries to make them feel a part of the community is gearing up for another year of fun and learning. Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska's Teen Outreach Program follows the teens enrolled in this program through high school. "We help their own growth and develop their goals for the future," said Brenda Dickinson facilitator for TOP. The outcome of this programs is generally reduced teen pregnancy and drop out rates. "It does have some stuff in the sessions about sexuality and...
On August 19, the Sidney Police Department received a grant from the Nebraska Department of Highway Safety. This grant is to be used to enforce traffic laws in the areas of all our schools. In an effort to improve the safety of our children and the motoring public, we are stepping up our enforcement efforts in the school areas. We will begin having officers on grant-time in the school zones, in addition to normal shift officers, in the very near future. Our efforts include making our crosswalks...
The sheriff's department and the county treasurer's office are working together to collect thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes from 2012 and 2013. The county treasurer's office turned over around $25,600 in unpaid taxes last year to the Sheriff, in the form of 74 warrants. The Cheyenne County sheriff's office collected on 67 of the warrants. This left eight of the warrants uncollected as of August 1. The cost of these unpaid taxes including interest and fees was around $7,000. On the...
Concerns about liability and supervision caused Cheyenne County commissioners to consider a new policy concerning court mandated community service on government land. Commissioners could not come to a decision, preferring to seek legal advice on the matter. The county previously had an issue with a juvenile sent to the court house to mow the lawn as part of his community service. No one was sure who would supervise him or what would happen if he was injured while working on county property. "That's the part that bothers me," said county clerk...
The man charged for his involvement and a 2012 multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 80 that killed two adults and two children appeared in Cheyenne County Court on Tuesday. Josef Slezak enter the courtroom escorted by Sheriff John Jenson for a pre-trail hearing with his lawyer, Kelly Breen. Slezak faces four counts of manslaughter and four counts vehicular homicide for the fatal crash on I-80 in September of that year. Through an interpreter on the telephone in Vancouver, Judge Derick Weimer...
The grand vision for Sidney involves curving streets and wide walkways framing new housing developments to allieviate the city's chronic shortage. Last night, a special meeting of Sidney's planning commission and city council convened to view the initial plans for east Sidney. As outlined, the grassland east of Ft. Sidney Rd. will feature a large housing tract and a new location for Sidney Regional Medical Center, as well as the consolidated K-4 elementary school, if approved. Much of the land b...
