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 City of Sidney is focused on revamping and updating downtown, specifically areas that have lacked attention. To complete the goal, the City needs funding. One funding source is the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The CDBG program provides annual grants based on a formula to states, cities and counties for the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, primarily for low and moderate...
Sidney City Manager David Scott presented the 2021-2022 budget before the council on Aug. 24. The proposal shows expenses totaling $33,584,440. Capital Projects is at almost $3 million, the City's share of the 17J Link cost. The General Fund expenses total $9,980,243. The Electric Department shows expenses totaling $11,951,301. Scott said the amount reflects budgeting for the generation project. The Electric Department is taking 36 percent of the budgeted expenses, followed by the General Fund....
Developing a community has at least two factors: employment opportunities, and available homes. Employers have their signs out seeking additional staff. The challenge now is where will they live. RDG Planning and Design, who was also contracted to updated the City of Sidney Master Plan, recently presented findings on its housing study. The study defines the types of households in Sidney, costs of houses, income levels of people seeking and purchasing homes and types of homes needed. “Melissa N...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners were given a new challenge in managing wildlife in the area. On Monday, Aug. 16, the commissioners were told each county will have to finance the full cost of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife specialist that had been a shared cost. Wildlife Specialist Matt Anderson and Jerry Feist met with the commissioners on Aug. 16 to discuss the contract with the USDA. Feist said procedures are changing in the USDA, and the cost-sharing program...
The Sidney City Council and department managers met Aug. 17 to discuss the 2021-2022 budget. The meeting included a presentation by City Manager David Scott on the two recent years. “The last few fiscal year's budgets have been challenging. In fiscal years 2019 and 2020 there were large budget cuts across the board as property tax revenue was reduced due to large decreases in the city's full value determination (assessed value),” Scott said in his presentation to the council. He added that som...
Of the many changes that occurred with the announcement of the coronavirus in 2020, the need for children to have an advocate in the court system remains. Krista Bruns, director of PlainsWest CASA, met with the Cheyenne County Commissioners on Aug. 16 to update the board on the program. She said the need for volunteer advocates has not changed; how the services were delivered sometimes involved creativity. “We were really creative with COVID,” Bruns told the commissioners. The creativity is a r...
A Sidney man died Wednesday, Aug. 11, when the vehicle he was driving went out of control on Old Post Road near Cabela's at 8:37 a.m. Shane P. Marron, 37, of Sidney, was driving a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe west on Old Post Road at what authorities call “a suspected high rate of speed” when the vehicle left the right side of the road. The vehicle then spun, sliding sideways across the road before leaving the south side. The vehicle left the ground a flipped end over end, ejecting Marron. The Hyundai came to rest on Outfitter Way. Marron was pro...
The Sidney City Council reviewed two board appointments, approving both. The Economic Development Citizen's Advisory Review Committee is a board of five to 10 members. The Economic Development Advisory Review Committee consists of seven citizen members, who oversee the use of the LB840 local economic development revolving loan fund authorized by voters in 1997. The board currently consists of six members. Economic Development Director Kim Matthews submitted a request for the council to approve...
Aug. 10 — The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency worked with multiple state agencies to provide support to local incident command on the Hackberry Wildfire which started due to lightning 20 miles east of Harrisburg in Banner County, Aug. 5. As of Monday afternoon incident command and local fire officials report the estimated 6,000- acre fire as 95 percent contained. Gov. Pete Ricketts declared a state of emergency for the fire, once local authorities had tapped into all their available r...
Amid the afternoon sun and heat, a long baritone screech from the past made its way into Sidney. The Union Pacific “Big Boy 4014” whistled and chugged as it made its way into Sidney minutes ahead of schedule. The massive locomotive is polished and ready to tour the United States from Cheyenne, Wyo. It is a symbol of how the railroad expanded across the western United States. Built in the 1940s, the locomotive was designed to conquer the mountains while carrying equipment in support of World War...
After two weeks with the Risk Dial riding the line between Low and Moderate on the four-stage dial, Panhandle Public Health Department reports the dial is moved from 1.0 to 1.38 The PPHD explains the Risk Dial is only a guide, providing a summary of current conditions for the PPHD jurisdiction. Seven of the counties in the PPHD are in the moderate zone while five are low risk. Cheyenne County , among the Moderate risk level, is at 1.4. Sidney is at a Risk Level of 1.3, Potter and Dix at .9, Dalton and Gurley also at .9. The PPHD recorded 9,286...
A courtyard "Meet N Greet" was held at Pedalers Corner July 20 to welcome Kim Matthews as the new Sidney Economic Development Director, and McKailie Carnahan-Kuhns as the Cheyenne County Chamber director. Carnahan-Kuhns is a Sidney native and business owner and Matthews has lived north of Sidney for about two years....
— Heavy smoke billowed from an equipment fire west of Sidney July 22. A wood chipper caught fire at a location near the Sidney Draw Road. No injuries were reported. Damage was limited to the chipper. The fire was reported about 5:01 p.m....
“Lunch Hour” was exchanged for a question and answer session Thursday when Congressman Adrian Smith visited Sidney. Smith, Republican Representative for Nebraska's Third District, held at meeting at the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce to hear concerns and questions from local residents. He started by saying he is concerned with the proposed infrastructure bill, a package with a $3.6 trillion price tag. He said while it is said that half of the package is paid for, it will be financed by dou...
The Sidney City Council on July 13 approved an ordnance that affects pet owners and how they take care of their animals. Ordinance No. 1824, which amends Section 618 Animals of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Sidney, identifies who is considered the owner of an animal, the definition of animals allowed in the city limits and where and how they can be kept. The owner of a dog or cat is defined as “anyone who harbors or permits any dog or cat to be harbored for 10 days or more or who l...
The U.S. Air Force is planning some major upgrades to its missile defense system, including those in western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and northern Colorado. Joseph Coslett and Terry Higgins, both of the Public Affairs office at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., met with the Cheyenne County commissioners on July 6. The meeting was in part a public relations tour, an opportunity for Air Force officials to meet local officials. During the county commissioners meeting, Joseph “Cos” Cos...
Kim Matthews is the new Economic Development Director for the City of Sidney. She takes the duties vacated by Melissa Norgard when Norgard resigned to spend more time with the family business, Sam & Louie's Pizzeria. Matthews has experience in rural and urban settings, and has spent time in locations globally. She is a fourth-generation Nebraskan and has multi-cultural experiences. She taught in Korea, and most recently on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico. “Although I had an opportunity to l...
When life appears normal, and suddenly isn't, the door opens for countless questions, questions that often go unanswered. The sudden loss of a close friend or family member makes those questions even more glaring. The family of Cheyenne “Chey” Matthews faced these questions recently when they received the phone call every parent dreads. Their beloved daughter died by her own means on June 19. Chey, as her friends and family called her, was born in Sturgis, S.D., and grew up close to mot...
The loss of a loved one leads to a multitude of questions and emotions. Among them are the “20-20 hindsight” questions. They “If only I had...” “Why didn't I..?” “Why didn't he (or she)...?” The survivor's guilt as some call it, can result in a trauma of its own, according to Nichole Peralta of Karuna Counseling in Sidney. Peralta is a therapist and trauma specialist. “I think hindsight is horrible,” she said. Peralta and Liz Borgmann, who is the local volunteer for the American Foundation for S...
Each 10 years, the United States conducts a census, a count of its population. The last census resulted in the State of Nebraska directing Cheyenne County to reapportion its districts. In April 2021, Nebraska Public Media reported the state had grown in population by 7.4 percent from 2010. Nebraska's population was last recorded at 1,961,504, up from 1,826,341 in 2010, making Nebraska the 37th largest state, adding more than 135,000 people in the last 10 years. What that means to Cheyenne...
The Sidney City Council is facing a question, probably a series of questions. Now that they know of the fund for developing part of the trail system, what should be done, followed by what can be done within the budget, or does the council choose to finance the project beyond the fund balance? The City Council learned recently it has funds collected through a Cabela's Occupation Tax of one-half cent per dollar. The fund totals about $740,000. The fund is earmarked for trail development along Old...
Thomas (Tom) Kokjer spent a lot of his early years working in the repair and sales offices of Kokjer Motors in Sidney, NE. He probably didn’t think that was so important when he was twelve years old, but it was. As he grew up, he learned to work on engines. He could take them apart, fixed them, and made them work again. When he was in his mid-teens, he knew the Country was at war, and that the war was being waged on a couple of fronts. His father was a pilot in WWI. His older brother had s...
The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce recently announced McKailie Carnahan-Kuhns as the new President/CEO. Carnahan-Kuhns takes over for Hope Feeney. Feeney and her husband Eamonn have accepted education positions at Maxwell High School. Feeney's last day at the Chamber is scheduled for July 23. She is assisting Carnahan-Kuhns with the transition into her new role as Chamber president and CEO. “I think McKailie is doing a good job so far,” Feeney said Friday. “I'm really excited about the f...
Cheyenne County had a unique visitor last week, Michael Wilson originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts. Unlike most tourists, he wasn't in the Sidney area to fill his car with gas or to get in some sight-seeing of historical landmarks. He is on a mission, a mission to traverse the Continental United States while running, to raise awareness for childhood cancer. Currently Wilson lives in southern Maine, not far from where he grew up. Surprisingly, he was not a cross-country or marathon runner...
Early this year, the Sidney City Council learned they had an unexpected budget surplus nearing three-quarters of a million dollars. The fund, however, is not completely free money. The Cabela's Occupation Tax — one-half cent collected per dollar spent — was collected for “trail projects and beautification projects located within or adjacent to a dedicated Enhanced Employment Area,” according to the memorandum submitted by Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard in the June 8 meeting...
