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 2058 - 2082 of 3067
The only Independent currently running for a Nebraska seat in the U.S. Senate race thinks the two party system is hobbled by partisanship. Jim Jenkins is a 5th generation Nebraska rancher who believes he can better relate to Nebraskans than anyone running for either major party. "I've had the great opportunity to work from one end of the state to the other," said Jenkins, who stopped in Sidney on a campaign swing Tuesday. Jenkins served on various statewide organizations including the Nebraska E...
Photo credit: Shelly Peckham A bald eagle tarried for several days at a pond outside of Sidney. Here the bird pauses for a snack....
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A wintry storm pushing through the Rockies and Midwest is bringing bitterly cold temperatures and treacherous driving conditions blamed in at least six deaths as it threatens crops as far south as California. The wind chill could drop to 30 degrees below zero in parts of Montana Wednesday while wind chills of minus 20 have already been recorded in the Nebraska Panhandle. Low temperatures in the Denver area were expected to drop below zero over the next several days. The jet stream is much farther south than normal, a...
Craig Johnson, 48, is scheduled to stand trial for murder in Cheyenne County District Court next week. Jury selection will take place Monday, Dec. 9, while the trial is set to begin Dec. 10 with the possibility of running through December 17. Johnson faces charges of first-degree murder, a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a class III felony, and habitual criminality. The charges are in connection with the Dec. 11, 2011 death of 42-year-old April Smith. Johnson...
At last week’s meeting, the city council approved the final numbers for the funding mechanism to finance work at Hillside Golf Course. Marc Munford of Ameritas Investment informed the council about the Recreational Facilities Public Infrastructure Bonds that will pay for the project. The closing date for these bonds is Jan. 2, 2014. “The city’s request was to net $1.5 million for the project, so in order to do that we have a bond issue size of $1.520,” Munford said. While $1.5 million is allocated for construction, the additional money will go...
The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners held the first December meeting on Monday, approving one funding resolution and postponing another. County Treasurer Diane Scott appeared before the Board to urge a yes vote on a resolution authorizing her to transfer money to the County Road/Bridge Fund to provide adequate finances. “We always have a resolution, but I did ask that it be changed a little bit this year,” Scott said. “What we’ve always done is I transfer half of the December collections on December 31. Through the end of the month, I tra...
The city will receive additional funds from the state for the long awaited trail project. After the council made a request during its last meeting, public services director John Hehnke contacted the department of roads regarding additional funding for the Sidney trail extension project. He also worked on a cost estimate for the project with Baker and Associates. “NDOR (Nebraska Department of Roads) has been true to their word, previously given to Gary, that they would be willing to increase their funding for this project if we were able to a...
The city moved forward on plans to raise the maximum building height allowed in a commercial zone to 80 feet at last week’s city council meeting. The planning commission voted to forward this suggestion to the council at its Nov. 18 meeting. The current maximum height allowed is 50 feet. “It’s outdated by today’s standards,” said city manager Gary Person of the existing regulation. “C3 zones in proper planning are never near residential areas.” Most of the new projects zoned for commercial uses are near the interstate, Person said. One of...
Parking spaces may soon get a little bit tighter in Sidney. The city took steps toward narrowing the minimum required off-street parking space width at last week’s meeting. Sidney now requires 10 foot width on 90 and 60 degree parking spaces. Public services director John Hehnke did some research and found that many other communities have a 9 foot minimum. “This was an issue that was brought to us by the private sector,” said city manager Gary Person. “When you have national franchise companies that do projects throughout the United States,...
The possibility of a name change for Toledo Street when the road is extended from Fort Sidney to link 17J as part of the East Sidney Development was the topic of some debate at the last two city council meetings. The city invited the public to submit name suggestions for the road through both social media and traditional means. “The whole idea behind this was to come up with a name that was more representative of the Sidney area, the Sidney community, Western Nebraska, which you can make the argument Toledo Street doesn’t fit that description,...
The Christmas season in Sidney will kick off this weekend with lamplight tours Friday at the Fort Sidney Museum and a tree lighting ceremony at Hickory Street Square on Saturday. The tree lighting events will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the downtown area. Santa will arrive via fire truck to light the tree officially and then he'll head over to the Book & Corner to meet Sidney's youth. "All the local kids are invited to bring their letters and wish lists and there will be photos...
Superintendent, Jay Ehler led a meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the public's concerns over building a new elementary school in Sidney. The proposal for a bond issue to support construction of such a facility was voted down by a narrow margin in September's special election, but the idea has since resurfaced. It is no secret that the current schools are rapidly aging. North was built in 1929 and had an addition constructed in the 1950s, Central in 1953, South in 1955 and West in 1960s....
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council took the first steps toward accepting new approved uses in agriculture and agriculture/residential zoned areas. These changes were initially approved unanimously at the planning commission’s meeting Nov. 18. As city staff reviews various projects, they discover items that they believe should be allowed in certain zones, said city manager Gary Person. “For one, mobile homes had previously only been allowed in mobile home parks,” Person said. The planning commission decided it would be accepta...
Baker and Associates-Studio 120 Architecture hosted an open house to celebrate the opening of their Sidney office on Tuesday evening. Guests got to spend the evening playing various games such as ski ball, street ball and motorcycle video games....
The Kimball Event Center was filled with excitement the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 23, as local residents waited in anticipation of the arrival of Caroljo Nagel and the presentation of her new car. News crews and photographers scattered around the ballroom of the Event Center as the side doors opened illuminating the back of the room with sunlight as the silhouette of Nagel passed through the threshold. As she walked towards Blain Schilreff, who has spent the past 35 days collecting donations...
Gene Howard, 40 of Colorado, was charged with a list of violations following a tip, an investigation and a stop in Big Springs. Law enforcement officials charged Howard with possession of a firearm during a felony, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver or distribute, possession of more than one pound of marijuana, possession of marijuana without tax stamps and possession of methamphetamine—all felonies—in Deuel County last week. On Nov. 21 an informant made law enforcement aware that Howard pla...
At a meeting earlier this month, the city council approved a bid for the Fort Sidney Road federal aid project. The bids for the mill and overlay project on Fort Sidney from Highway 30 to 11th Ave. were opened Oct. 24. The state received two bids, one from Simon Contractors and one from Werner construction. “The bids were very competitive,” said public services director John Hehnke. Simon Contractors offered the lower bid in the amount of around $740,000 while Werner bid around $760,000. Hehnke requested council approval of the Simon bid so the...
Neither the prosecution or the defense achieved the verdict it hoped for at the onset of the State of Nebraska vs. Nancy Gipfert. Last week a jury of six men and six women found the defendant guilty of negligent child abuse, a misdemeanor. This is a lesser conviction than the original charge of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, a felony. The two-month-old victim in this case became seriously ill after his first visit to Gipfert’s daycare on Sept. 13, 2011. It was later confirmed that he suffered from bleeding around his brain, brain d...
The collection of gifts and toys for children in need through Operation Christmas Child is nearing its deadline. The process is again going smoothly this year. Cheryl McKenzy took over Operation Christmas Child in Sidney for Cindi Perry this time around and points out there are a few days left for those who wish to donate. Operation Christmas Child is an international program put on by Samaritan’s Purse, and has given shoeboxes filled with clothes, school supplies, toys and/or toiletries to over 100 million children in 130 other countries in n...
After seven hours of deliberation on Thursday a jury found Nancy Gipfert guilty of negligent child abuse, a lesser charge than the one initially lodged against her. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2014. Gipfert was originally charged with one count of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, a felony, for her part in the incidences leading up the hospitalization of a two-month-old who was at her daycare prior to suffering seizures and brain injuries. Both the defense and prosecution delivered closing arguments Thursday morning, following...
Representatives from the chamber and the city watch as Safeway store manager Mike Senior cuts the ribbon during Friday morning's ceremony....
Safeway's Jay Gomez, Kevin Wehrly and Mike Senior present a $3,000 donation to Sidney Public Schools, represented by Steve Mattoon....
“I was going to lunch in Rapid City, South Dakota. I was in college. We walked across the street to the Court House and it was on the radio, and I thought ‘Oh, no, this can’t be the same person we’ve seen on TV.’ It was just – and there was just a bunch of us college people. We were all in our freshman year and it was just, just unreal. Really unreal.” -Marcia Morrison “I was getting off work. I worked at the telephone office. My dad was picking me up and we heard it on the radio. And of course, we couldn’t believe that this had happened. Not...
After five days of testimony in the State of Nebraska vs. Nancy Gipfert, both the defense and the prosecution presented the remainder of their cases and rested. Gipfert is charged with one count of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, a felony for her alleged part in the incidences leading up the hospitalization of an infant who was in her care prior to suffering seizures and brain injuries. Megan Gipfert, Nancy Gipfert’s daughter, testified for the defense Wednesday morning. She told the jury that her mother opened the day care 21 y...
A California man was arrested in Sidney over the weekend for allegedly driving a stolen car. A trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol received a radio transmission from NSP Dispatch on Sunday that a possible drunk driver was traveling eastbound on I-80. The grey Toyota had reportedly been swerving between lanes since spotted near the Wyoming line. The car exited at Sidney and was reportedly headed toward Sapp Brothers. The trooper found the vehicle parked in the McDonalds parking lot. He stopped next to the car and walked to the driver’s s...
