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 May 10, 2022 Primary Ballot is dominated by candidates seeking to return to office. Of the 30 seats available, seven are challengers and one seat is vacant. No names were submitted for the office of county surveyor. Mindy Wiegand is challenging incumbent Debra A. Hume, both Republicans, for the office. County Commissioners Darrell J. Johnson (R-Second District) and Philip E. Sanders (R-Third District) are running unopposed, as is County Assessor Melody H. Keller (Republican), County...
Thursday afternoon, people started to gather at the west side of Sidney. It had the feeling of something expected, almost supernatural, as the American Freedom Convoy trucks were anticipated. Early this year, Canadian truckers protested the vaccine mandates in Canada. The protests and blockades were against the COVID-19 vaccine requirement to enter the country. The protest evolved into a protest against COVID-19 mandates in general. “Many around the world have watched the Freedom Convoy and p...
On February 22, the Sidney City Council held a changing of the guard in a matter of speaking. February 22 was councilman Joe Arterburn's last day as a seated councilman. He had submitted his resignation in the January 25 council meeting. His resignation came with his wife Kathy retiring and they were spending less time in the Sidney community. On February 22, Mayor Roger Gallaway announced the City had received two applications for Arterburn's seat. “We had a couple of people apply,” Gal...
The Sidney City Council approved pursuing a contract to support solar energy generation in the community. If a solar field is established, Sidney's electricity superintendent Mike Palmer said, it won't affect the cost to the city much. Solar production is only about 5 percent of the energy purchased by Sidney. “No matter what we do, it's not going to be a big windfall,” he said. The concept was first brought before the council Dec. 14, 2021. MEAN (Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska), the who...
Nebraska candidate for governor Brett Lindstrom stopped in Sidney Saturday, Feb. 19, for a meet and greet event at the Sidney Elks Lodge. Lindstrom grew up in Omaha and was a walk-on for the Huskers following high school. In 2014, Lindstrom ran for the Nebraska Legislature from the 18th District in northwestern Omaha. In the 2015 Legislative session, Lindstrom was appointed to the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, and to the Natural Resources Committee. Lindstrom is an avid outdoorsman...
The idea might sound little bit like a fish out of water, but Sidney and Cheyenne County have some of the characteristics to be home of one of the first inland port authorities Adams Industries is seeking designation as an Inland Port Authority (IPA). Kim Matthews, Business Development Manager at Adams Industries, met with the Cheyenne County Commissioners and the Sidney City Council for support of Adams Industries receiving Inland Port Authority designation. An Inland Port Authority is a...
Sometimes lunch is on the run, a quick sandwich and a drink. Sometimes “quick” is a street corner vendor, but what are the options when the vendor has days when the daily receipts aren't much more than the daily fee to operate an approved food cart? That is the question Stephen Wood brought before the Sidney City Council in the February 8 meeting. Wood asked to be on the agenda to gain clarification on licensing for “transient merchants,” those who include food trucks and carts and tempora...
Offer a cause $10 in support and you get a smile and a thank you. If 100 people each offer $100 to the same cause, change happens. That is the goal of “One Hundred Women Who Care.” 100 Women Who Care is a national organization, although affiliation might be a better description, according to Amber Kerkman. The concept is one of combining resources for a selected cause. There is no treasurer, no dues. Members of the group meet quarterly for an evening of fun and socializing, and of choosing bet...
In April 2021, Cheyenne County stood in line with numerous other municipalities expecting yet another round of federal recovery funds. The county's share of Fund 2580 COVID American Rescue Plan funds was expected to be about $1.7 million. The challenge from the beginning is no one knew what the county can or should do with the funds. The lack of direction came back before the Cheyenne County Commissioners Feb. 7 when the board was approached with a funding request they didn't know if they could...
Sidney Park Project Awarded $23,760 Quality of Life Grant from Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and a $50,000 grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation. Funds total more than $680,00 of a $711,000 goal. What started as a dream is getting closer to reality. The children's playground equipment at Legion Park became the focus of a needed update and is now within reach. The goal was to upgrade the play equipment to be safer and more inclusive for people of all mobility levels. SIDNEY PARK...
As of February 2nd, all incumbent Cheyenne County officials with terms expiring in 2022, have filed for re-election. Those filing for re-election are Clerk Beth Fiegenschuh, County Attorney Paul Schaub, Sheriff Adam Frerichs, Assessor Melody Keller, Commissioner 2nd District Darrell Johnson, Treasurer Shelley Bowlin, Commissioner 3rd District Philip Sanders and Clerk of the District Court Debra Hume. Also filing for Clerk of the District Court is Mindy Wiegand. All incumbents or officeholders have until February 15th to file for the Primary Ele...
The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce is going digital. The Chamber has a program that encourages exchanges between member businesses. Chamber Bucks are designed to be given as gift certificates, for drawings and other gift efforts. The concept is purchase a value of Chamber Bucks and they can be used for goods or services, as long as it is with a member business. In the January 25 meeting of the Sidney City Council, Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO McKailie...
What started out as an interest in the process and trying to stay informed, is closing after nearly a decade of service. Now in his tenth year on the Sidney City Council, councilman Joe Arterburn has decided to do something else. In the closing minutes of the January 25 city council meeting, Arterburn announced his plan to resign and submission of a formal letter that he is stepping down. He plans for his last council meeting to be February 22. “I would like to thank the voters of Sidney for p...
This story is reprinted in memory of Vincent Havorka who died Jan. 25, 2022, at the age of 99. “Go west, young man” must have been ringing in the ears of Vincent Havorka (Vince). After graduating from high school in northeastern Nebraska, he made his way to California. It was late in 1940. He looked for jobs and found a good one with Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, CA. Vince liked his work there where he worked on assembling the P-38 and 414 Hudson Bombers. He developed some metal-smithing ski...
What areas of Sidney should be defined as "blighted," and what areas should be removed from the blighted definition? That is a question proposed to the Sidney City Council on Jan. 26. Bobbi Pettit, Five Rule Rural Planning of Kearney, explained to the city council with City Manager David Scott how the city can have no more than 33 percent of the city defined as blighted. Pettit said cities like Sidney need to consider when to designate an area blighted, and when to "de-blight" a neighborhood. A...
In June 2018, Kevin Howard was hired as the new tourism director for Cheyenne County. He came with the presence of a man who sits down with a stranger and a cup of coffee and later get back on the road as friends. In exchange, that random driver with a curiosity prompted by the welcome sign may stop at other locations in the county, or on his next trip through. In the Jan. 18 Cheyenne County Commissioners meeting, Howard announced he is reaching the point where he is more interested in fishing...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners signed off on a sports event grant approved by the Visitors Committee. The Visitors Committee recently wrote a grant process designed to support sporting events. Tourism Director Kevin Howard said the tournament is a three-day event with more than 40 teams and exceeding 2,500 spectators. “It's right in line with our way to spend funds,” Howard said. The commissioners also approved the Sidney High School FFA chapter hosting an event at the Cheyenne County Fai...
It started as a dream based on need, and now includes the City of Sidney. Table of Grace is a food pantry and thrift store located on Alvarado Street in Sidney. It's primary focus is to offer food to families in need. Some of their offerings are without income guidelines and others follow specific income scales. The Table of Grace has partnered with Sandhills Global. The goal is to secure a building that could better help meet the needs of the people Table of Grace serves. In the course of...
The Cheyenne County School District No. 1 Board of Education met Jan. 10 with much of its agenda focused on organizing for the 2022 year. The board voted Mike Palmer as the new president, and Brenda Smith as the vice-president. Outgoing board president Tom VonSeggern was commended for 16 years on the board and seven to eight years as board president. Board secretary will continue to be Deanna Bond, and Lori Borchert as board treasurer (Palmer abstained from the vote). The board also approved...
HASTINGS – With two nurses out sick in early December, charge nurse Osa Brooks found herself scrambling to care for 28 patients. With only one floor nurse available, employees from other units were called in to work the floor or give medications. “It was really scary because I had 10 patients that I was responsible for, and I had another nurse giving medications for me,” Brooks said. Brooks said the chaos scared her because of the chance that she could have missed something, causing her patie...
The Sidney City Council approved two liquor license applications and two zoning applications in its Jan. 11 meeting. The council approved liquor license for Beans and Steams Coffee House, LLC and Kiersten Richards as the manager of the 610 Glover Road location. Richards purchased Beans and Steams Coffee House from Pat and Sharrell Keane. Her license will allow catering as well as sales at the store. The council also approved a license for MSW Liquor, LLC, Paul Strommen the contact. The license...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Health Care Association (AHCA), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and long term care facilities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released the following statement in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the vaccine mandate for health care workers. The statement is attributable to Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA. "We respect the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court but remain concerned that the repercussions of the vaccine mandate among hea...
Larry Bolinger of Alliance has officially registered as a candidate for Attorney General with the support of the newly formed “Legal Marijuana Now Party.” Bolinger was a candidate for Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District House of Representatives seat in 2018 and 2020. Bolinger is an author of 16 books, a veteran that served honorable in both the US Air Force and Army National Guards. He is also a volunteer with the Activate Alliance to make communities safer and more active, and the Vol...
Sidney Regional Medical Hospital officials held two question and answer sessions on January 4. The meetings were held to address questions and concerns regarding proposed moving of the Extended Care facility, and returning a hospice program to Cheyenne County. The meetings were held at the hospital and at the Cheyenne County Community Center. The meeting was hosted by hospital CEO Jason Petik. Petik said the meetings are a required step in their USDA grant application. The hospital is applying f...
Submitting petitions for public office started January 5 in Nebraska. The deadline for incumbents is February 15, and March 1 for non-incumbents. The State of Nebraska defines an incumbent as anyone who is currently an elected official and is seeking to return as an elected official of any other board or agency. For example, if a school board member chose seek a seat on the city council, the school board member would be considered an incumbent. Several local seats are up for election this year....
