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 2295 - 2319 of 3076
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...
A Sidney man faces two charges of distribution of marijuana after a Western Nebraska Intelligence & Narcotics Group Task Force investigation. Alfredo Balandran, age 39, of is accused of the class III felonies following a tip to the force that they could purchase an eighth of an ounce of marijuana. WING personel met with the informant and provided $50 in buy money to purchase the drug from Balandran. After making the deal in a garage near 13th Ave. and Newton St., the informant presented the marijuana to task force members who had observed the...
A new Sciences Education Complex in Kearney promises to supply panhandle residents with more health professionals and to give them a location closer to home in which to study. Construction is set to begin in January 2014 on the $19 million University of Nebraska Medical Center-University of Nebraska-Kearney complex. The significance of this campus to those in the panhandle is that students who want to get an education in health professions through University of Nebraska won't have to travel all...
The prospect of funding a new and modern elementary school with higher property taxes is cause for debate among Sidney residents. A bond election wherein residents will decide whether or not to fund the school is scheduled for Sept. 10. The bond is set at nearly $16 million and would raise property taxes by around $125 per year for every $100,000 worth of property, according to Sidney schools superintendent Jay Ehler. The exact cost cannot be finalized until the interest rates are determined,...
One of the projects is on County Road 139 or Weyerts Road one mile north of Highway 30 near Lodgepole for the construction of a box culvert. This road had a temporary culvert in place since 2010 when it was washed out by a storm. The road will not be closed off during the construction. Construction on this project will take around 40 working days. This is a federally funded project at a price of $277,000. The second project will replace a culvert on County Road 79 between County Road 8 and County Road 12, southwest of Sidney. This road will be...
Bringing the rest of the nation to the Nebraska point of view is Bart McLeay's first priority in his bid for U.S. Senate in 2014. McLeay in running for many of the same reason as his fellow Republicans. "I was concerned about where our country was going," McLeay said. "And what we would be leaving our children and grandchildren." McLeay thinks that the answer to turning the country in the right direction is fixing the budget. "I have an accounting degree and a business background and believe I...
The Cheyenne County Community Center is offering more services and serving more people than ever. So Mike Namuth, Director of CCCC, spoke with the Sidney city council on Tuesday about future needs, recreation enrollment and services. Namuth is reviewing possible expansion plans for the CCCC. The center is considering the costs of possible growth to the north and east, or moving into the old hospital once the new one is completed. "I can't tell you any way anyone would be leaning," Namuth said....
Cheyenne County Sheriff's deputies face the unknown everyday. At least Sergeant Adam Frerichs has a partner along for the ride. Frerichs, a veteran of 13 years on the force, works with a German Shepherd named Colonel as the county's K-9 unit. Colonel is trained to locate hidden illegal narcotics. But their job also involves more routine patrols. Within minutes after turning onto Highway 385 on Wednesday morning, a gray sedan zips by at 79 miles per hour in a 65 zone. It is the first of six traff...
Policies concerning attendance and accepting gifts of personal property were top policy changes at Tuesday's school board meeting. "This is another slight revision that authorizes superintendents to accept gifts of personal property as long as they're consistent with the district's mission," Sidney schools superintendent Jay Ehler told the board. "So what you need to come up with tonight is a particular dollar amount." For example, Ehler suggested he get board approval for any gifts he accepts worth $10,000 or more. This policy change was at th...
