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 2281 - 2305 of 3078
With the 39th year of Oktoberfest just around the corner, Judy Harris met with the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners to propose a special designated liquor license. In the past the license has been somewhat of a tough sell to all board members, despite the nature of the annual event. “They’ve said ‘I have nothing against your celebration and it’s a wonderful thing you’re doing, but I can’t vote for drinking,’” Harris explained. Perhaps the board's unanimous passage of the measure this time around stems from 2012. Last year was the first t...
Painful budget cuts due to sequestration hit Nebraska's Head Start programs hard this year. According to officials with the organization, 372 children and families in the state will be cut off from Head Start's services because of these rollbacks. More than 100 early childhood program staff will lose their jobs or have their hours reduced as well. Budget sequestration went into effect March 1 of this year, causing massive budget cuts to many federally funded organizations. Sidney's Head Start is feeling these budget cuts in a big way,...
Levi Hallett, 25, of Sidney was arrested last week in connection with alleged possession and manufacture of child pornography. He was charged with five counts of manufacture of child pornography, five counts of possession of child pornography and one count of child abuse by the Cheyenne County attorney's office. According to arrest records, a probation officer heard second hand that Hallett allegedly stored multiple photos of nude underage females on his cell phone, but none of those who spoke...
Sheriff John Jenson appeared before the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners to discuss a proposed Jail Medical Agreement. The Cheyenne County jail currently holds 18 inmates, leaving only three beds open. “Because of the way the statutes are written, our hands are tied,” Jenson said. “If they’re in our custody, we have to provide whatever medical care we can.” The changes in the Affordable Care Act should allow inmates to become eligible for Medicaid in certain circumstances. Clauses are in place to deal with scenarios such as an inmate ne...
A train slipped from the tracks west of Sidney late Monday night. Only one boxcar near the engine was included in the incident and no one was reported injured. “I wouldn’t classify it a derailment,’ Sheriff John Jenson said. The incident occurred near Potter and a crew from Kimball was sent to begin clean up. However, it was not necessary to repair nine mile stretch of track involved in the derailment, as nearly no heads were found pulled off the railroad spikes. Two roads were closed down—county routes 22 and 105—during the inspectio...
Local teens LaNaya Gutierrez and Brandon VanDeMortel learned valuable lessons about leadership and gained lasting bonds at this year's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp. Sidney's chapter of the rotary club sponsored the two Sidney High School seniors to the camp held in Halsey each summer. At the camp the students listened to various speakers for a few hours per day. Some of the counselors told stories about their own lives. "Some of them were really touching and kind of explained to you why...
Those volunteering with TeamMates believe that every student can benefit from having a mentor, not just those at risk. Angie Jacobsen, the Sidney chapter’s program coordinator thinks the largest benefit of taking part in the program herself is having the opportunity to hang out with a young person without any added worries. “It’s the best part of my week,” Jacobsen said. This program matches an adult mentor with a child mentee to meet for one hour per week during the school year. The Sidney...
Just a tick over five minutes into the new season, Chance Anglin scampered down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown run to cap an 80-yard drive. It was just a small taste of what was to come. With 538 yards of rushing offense - powered primarily by Anglin and Logan Lewis - the Sidney Red Raiders turned the tables on the Grand Island Northwest Vikings with a 44-22 rout at Weymouth Field Friday night. The final result against this non-league foe was a complete reversal of the opener last yea...
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...
