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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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....
The Cheyenne County Commissioners voted against a request to have a firearms show at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds. The vote was based on procedure, not a lack of support for firearms. Skip Fricke of High Plains Shooter Supply submitted a request for use of the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds building for the weekend of January 15-16. Sheriff Adam Frerichs was present for the telephone discussion with Fricke. Fricke said the event is a gun show with vendors. He said he would at the facility...
Due to the forecast of a major winter storm event, the City of Sidney has declared a snow emergency effective Wednesday, January 5, at 12:00P.M. The snow emergency shall remain in effect until further notice. Due to weather conditions, the City closed offices, including the Sidney Public Library, as of 2 p.m. today. Public transportation has also been suspended due to the weather. During the issuance of a snow emergency, no vehicles shall be parked or remain to be parked on any portion of an eme... Full story
It is a process six years in the making, a process that cost a lot of budgeting and support from the City of Sidney and the community. Almost exactly a year after it was ordered, the Sidney Fire Department received its newest response unit, a 2021 fire engine. Fire Chief Laverne Bown said the process of purchasing the truck has taken five to six years. In that time, the city council approved saving a percent of the fire department's budget each year. The frugal approach allowed the department...
On Thursday afternoon, the typical flow of automobile and pedestrian traffic was somewhat distracted by a sight a little out of place on any other day. There at the side of Illinois Street a large wooden cross was resting against a street sign. On the cross were meager goods and two flags: the U.S. flag and the black and white POW-MIA flag. Near the foot of the cross were a few belongings, very few considering he has been on the road for nine years. His visit to Sidney is spiritual in part, but...
Voters in the Leyton School District will get to decide on two board positions. In a season that has been at times contentious and other times justified, signatures were submitted to the Cheyenne County Clerk seeking the recall of Board President Suzy Ernest and Board secretary Roland “Rol” Rushman. Ernest and Rushman were elected in the May 2020 election. In January 2021, board members Anne Rexroth and Galen Bartling resigned from the board. During the Jan. 22 meeting, the 4-member board vot...
The Sidney City Council is considering entry into the solar energy market. Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN, the wholesale electricity provider for the city) issued an RFP (Request For Proposal) about two years ago on behalf of six MEAN communities for solar photovoltaic (PV) field. Proposals were submitted but the project did not move forward. Prices were higher than what communities expected. Since then, according to a memo from Electricity Superintendent Mike Palmer, solar prices...
NORFOLK - On Wednesday, December 15, Speaker Mike Hilgers announced his candidacy to be Nebraska’s next Attorney General, succeeding current Attorney General Doug Peterson. Yesterday, General Peterson announced that he will not seek re-election and will complete his current term. Mike was introduced by former Speakers of the Legislature Mike Flood and Jim Scheer, both of Norfolk, who have endorsed his candidacy. “Thank you to Attorney General Peterson for his service to Nebraskans—he has been...
Sidney Regional Medical Center is looking to streamline some of their response lines. Hospital officials are hoping to move the Extended Care Center to what is now an open field west of the hospital. Sidney Regional’s CEO Jason Petik said recently hospital officials will be holding public meetings to discuss concerns and questions from clients and local residents. Petik said eight years ago, the long-term plan was to move the Extended Care Center to the hospital campus. The hospital changed p...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners approved an agreement for special council in response to a lawsuit filed against Cheyenne County Clerk Beth Fiegenschuh. The suit was filed by Leyton School District Board of Education members Suzy Ernest and Roland “Rol” Rushman. The lawsuit is in response to approval of signatures on a recall petition for Ernest (board president) and Rushman (board secretary). Ernest and Rushman are requesting the signatures be denied. Recall petitions were submitted and the...
Early this summer, the City of Sidney announced Kim Matthews as the new economic development director. She replaced Melissa Norgard who resigned to work in the family business, Sam and Louie's of Sidney. On Dec. 5, Matthews announced in an email that she submitted her resignation to the City on Friday, Dec. 3. “On Friday, I submitted my 30-day resignation letter to David Scott, our City Manager. My last day will be on January 3rd, 2022,” she said in the email. “I want to thank everyone in Sidne...
IMPERIAL and LINCOLN, NE (November 29, 2021) – ALLO Communications today announced a fiber-to-the-premise project offering 10 Gigabit bandwidth in Sidney. ALLO will begin construction in Sidney in Spring 2022 after working closely with the city to complete the necessary agreements. ALLO President and CEO Brad Moline stated, "Developing Sidney as a gigabit society will further ALLO's investments in the panhandle region of Nebraska. ALLO's fiber investment will ensure that Sidney is connected at a world- class level." Sidney Mayor, Roger G... Full story
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. – The 37th Helicopter Squadron stationed here will be assisting the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron Hardened Intersite Cabling System (HICS) team with inspections in the missile field starting Dec. 2, 2021, and lasting approximately one week. The HICS team will be flown over utility and cable corridors to examine post markers as well as check for any evidence of tampering or erosion to cable lines. These inspections are conducted at regular intervals to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the cable e...
The Sidney City Council on Nov. 23 heard an update on a project designed to upgrade the trail system adjacent to East Old Post Road. The project traces its history to a ½ percent Occupation Tax applied by Cabela's. Early this year, the Occupation Tax was defined with a balance of about $740,000. Initially, the council discussed how to use it, are there options on where to use it and what can be done with the balance. The council recently contracted with Jason Nelke, president of Keep Sidney...
Cheyenne County has entered a case that could net the county part of the national opioid settlement. County Attorney Paul Schaub said the State of Nebraska will receive about 15 percent and the counties 15 percent. He said 70 percent of the national settlement is for treatment and counseling services. In order to receive the funding, the county needs to commit to be part of the case. “Everyone that I've seen across the nation are accepting these funds,” he said. He said the remaining que...
The Sidney City Council recently approved amendments to the Joint East Sidney Watershed Authority (JESWA) agreement recently. The city council met Nov. 9 in council chambers. The agenda included a proposed amendment to the JESWA bylaws. JESWA was established in 2013 as an independent authority as an independent authority through an interlocal partnership between the City of Sidney and the South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD). The board member structured was amended in 2017 to change...
Two more volunteers have joined the ranks of PlainsWest CASA. One of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) is returning to the office in a different role and the second is a first-time volunteer. Bridget Goding and Jason Nelke were sworn in as CASAs Tuesday, Nov. 2 in Cheyenne County District before the Honorable Judge Randin Roland. Goding was on staff with PlainsWest CASA until parenthood took her away from the office. She is returning as a volunteer. “Everything about the training w...
In the early part of the 20th century, theaters were a community staple, a social event. The U.S.A. Theatre in Sidney was built during the big theatre boom during the World War 1 period as a diversion from the horrors of war, according to cinematreasures.org. The 1020 Illinois St. attraction opened on Aug. 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” and Billie Richie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” It was also during a time when theater attendance was motivated by air conditi...
On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Charles W. Herbster kept his word and returned to Cheyenne County. Herbster first stopped in Sidney as a gubernatorial candidate in May. He was in Sidney Tuesday for a meet and greet hour at Beans and Steams Coffee House. He said he has had the opportunity to travel east to west, north to south in the state, just to listen to concerns of citizens of Nebraska. Concerns include the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the chaotic disaster occurring at the U.S. Southern border....
In baseball, “if you build it, they will come.” In community development, if you provide a reason for “them” to build it, artists and collectors will come. That is the hope of a proposal approved by the Sidney City Council in the Oct. 26 meeting. The program is called “Energizing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems,” E3 for short. Sidney Economic Development Director Kim Matthews presented a proposal that could move Sidney toward having its own certified creative district. The program includes li...
The cost of crime is increasing. Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs reported in the Oct. 18 meeting of Cheyenne County Commissioners the Scottsbluff County Jail is increasing its rates. Cheyenne County sends inmates to neighboring facilities when Cheyenne County's jail is at capacity, or for specific situations such as problem inmates. Scottsbluff County is increasing its rate for Level 3, problem inmates to $100 per day. The commissioners approved giving Frerichs signature authority to...
In recent years, fall included the announcement of the Bell Pole and Lumber challenge grant in support of Table of Grace. In October 2020, Bell Pole and Lumber announced a challenge grant where the company would match up to $30,000, and in January of 2021 Table of Grace Director Sherri Eads announced donations surpassed the goal by nearly $10,000. This year, Bell Pole and Lumber is offering a $20,000 matching grant. Eads said much of the organization's operating expenses are financed by grants...
OMAHA – Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for mental health services in America is increasing at a time when the workforce in this field is aging and declining. The result is a growing psychiatrist shortage that is becoming a threat to public health. One Creighton University faculty member is addressing the shortage with the Collaborative Care Model—a collaborative, integrated approach or team-based model that brings together primary care providers (PCPs), therapists and mental health specialists to ensure patients achieve long-t...
Cheyenne County Clerk Beth Fiegenschuh confirmed Friday, Sept. 15, recall petitions were submitted and approved for Leyton School District Board President Suzy Ernest and board secretary Roland Rushman. Fiegenschuh said 138 signatures were approved for Ernest, and 148 for Rushman. The approved results have been forwarded to the Leyton School Board by certified mail. Fiegenschuh said the school board has 21 days from receiving the letter, sent Oct. 13. “We will follow instructions on what we n...
