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 Sidney Airport Authority Board approved an agreement to locally fund concrete repair. “We're trying to do this on our own, save some money,” said Airport Authority Board Chairman Ron Meyer. In the March 11 meeting of the Airport Authority Board, George Lapaseotes, manager of Sidney Municipal Airport and partner in L & L Aviation, said he contacted three local companies for bids on repair work at the airport. The work will include about 25 feet of area in front of hangars, near the Wes...
Brook Wrage, Celena Shepherd and Madeleine Grant Nebraska News Service LINCOLN — The first week of floor debates kicked off the second week in March. Senators debated and advanced a handful of bills in the Nebraska Legislature. Read through to get a recap of the week. LB255: Provide compensation to families of deceased first responders Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln introduced LB255, which would establish the In-Line of Duty Compensation Act to provide a one-time death benefit for a family member of a first responder who dies while in the line o...
Natalie Stanley Nebraska News Service LINCOLN — The Judiciary Committee heard another bill regarding marijuana legislation this week with LB474, the Adopt the Medicinal Cannabis Act. So far, there are 14 bills regarding marijuana that have been proposed this year. Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln introduced LB474 to the Committee on Wednesday. Wishart has been working on marijuana legislation for the past five years. Most recently, she and Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln led an effort to gather nearly 190,000 signatures in 2020 to add medicinal m...
The distance between electronic files and a responding officer just got shorter. Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs met with the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners on March 1. Part of his report updated the commissioners on a new computer system. Each department vehicle will have a mobile computer. There will also be a camera in each vehicle and deputies will be wearing body cams. The digital body cams will be linked to the in-car camera, Frerichs said. The car camera will automatically...
On Thursday, March 4, at approximately 4:45 pm, Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office Deputy Bobby B. Martinez was on regular duty conducting patrol operations traveling westbound on King Street in Sidney. Deputy Martinez observed a white four-door sedan traveling eastbound on King Street near 11th Avenue. He observed the sedan run the stop sign at the intersection of 10th Avenue and King Street at a high rate of speed. The sedan then turned and headed southbound on 10th Avenue. Deputy Martinez then observed the same white four-door sedan...
The Cheyenne County Courthouse is becoming increasingly computerized. Admittedly, some of it is a response to safety protocols related to the coronavirus. Court proceedings have become increasingly virtual in response to distancing requirements. Inmates could have visits by video conferencing and department websites are adding more features to their pages, allowing customers to do business from home. However, regardless the reason, technology, as with most things mechanical, eventually needs to...
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature heard several COVID-related bills introduced by senators this session. With committee hearings wrapping up the second week in March, some bills will soon be debated on the floor of the Legislature. Here is a rundown of COVID bills ranging from expanding public meetings to opting out of mandatory vaccinations and more. LB637: Increase in local public health department authority On Feb. 19, Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha discussed his bill to increase the authority of local public health departments regarding ...
The numbers on the COVID Risk Dial continue to improve, maintaining the halfway point while reporting no hospitalizations as of March 1. The report of Friday, Feb. 26, include three hospitalizations in the Panhandle. The previous week's positivity rate was 7.5 percent. As of February 26, the COVID Risk Dial maintained by the Panhandle Public Health District shows a steady improvement. The dial has moved from 2.5 last week to 2.0, exactly the half-way point between low and severe risk of...
Prairie fires and floods are nothing new to the plains of western Nebraska, northeast Colorado and eastern Wyoming. Neither is a neighbor coming to the aid when nature strikes with a fury. Sidney Volunteer Fire Department Chief LaVern Bown presented the Sidney City Council a mutual aid agreement involving departments from Crook, CO., to as far northwest as Harrisburg, NE. The Tri-State Mutual Aid Association Interlocal Agreement is “for the purpose of better ensuring the safety of the lives a...
The Sidney City Council approved bids for street work during its Feb. 23 meeting. Bids were opened 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at City Hall with three bids received for each project. The City sought bids on the Elm Street water and street improvement project from 13th Avenue to 17th Avenue, and 13th Avenue from Illinois Street to Pine Street. The engineer's estimate for Elm Street water and street improvements from 13th Avenue to 17th Avenue included $150,250 for Schedule A Water, $675,925 for Schedule B...
Recovering from changes in the Sidney economy over the last few years requires promotion, teamwork and vision of community growth. It also includes a downtown business association, according to the updated Master Plan approved in 2020. The Master Plan includes a section on “Tactical Strategies.” “A complete downtown plan includes both tactical and development components. Tactical strategies are relatively low-cost actions that promote existing businesses and help attract customers through such...
The building at the corner of 12th Avenue and Illinois Street has a history dating almost a century in Sidney. The building has been the location of the latest Dodge automobiles, flags and aprons, home-cooked lunch and breakfast and the latest news. Soon the list will include servicing music lovers. The building at the corner of 12th Avenue and Illinois Street has been sold to Chris Dyson, owner of Aliens and Strangers Music Store in Sidney. Dyson and owner Gary Stevenson closed on the sale...
Congressman Don Bacon, Republican U.S. Representative representing Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, toured Western Nebraska recently. On the tour, he stopped in Sidney to meet with local Republicans and businesses, including the Sidney Sun-Telegraph newspaper. In his visit at the Sun-Telegraph, Bacon stressed the importance of diversity in agriculture, for example the difference between producing soybeans and and dry beans. He talked about issues in Nebraska including the workforce, i...
The Sidney Airport Authority Board is looking to tighten security at the airport. The focus follows a recent incident when a person was found on the premises without permission. Jon Leever, a partner in L & L Aviation, said while no vandalism or ill intent was found after the person left, “it is a wake-up call.” L & L Aviation presented two options with the board during the Feb. 11 meeting. One option includes keypad entry and is programmable. One option is wireless and the second will har...
The Sidney City Council met Feb. 9 with councilman Joe Arterburn meeting via Zoom. The agenda included a public hearing on the City's One and Six-year Street Improvement Plan. Street Superintendent Hank Radke said one of the projects is 13th Avenue from the new concrete south to north of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad crossing. The City's road plans also include the 17J link park of US Highway 385 work. The City's share of the cost is about $2.4 million, 20 percent of the cost. The...
Sidney's Historic Preservation Board met on Feb. 9 at the Sidney City Hall. The agenda included three projects: renovation of the apartment complex at 631 Illinois St, a Facade Enhancement Grant for Jerry Steffens at 1001 10th Ave., and a change of sign by UST Global at 812 13th Ave. JG Capital LLC , a husband and wife partnership of Gill, Colo., purchased the building at 631 Illinois St. with the goal of renovating it. The three-story building was originally built in 1925 and comprises of...
The COVID-19 Risk Dial, a summary of conditions in the Panhandle Public Health District, was updated Monday, Feb. 8, to reflect a slight increase in the coronavirus impact. In the February 1 report, the risk level was at 2.17. The number increased to 2.5 as of February 8. As of February 8, there were 14 active hospitalizations, a total of 33,765 tests completed with 8,486 returning positive, 7,090 people vaccinated and 180 deaths related to the coronavirus. As of Feb. 1, the COVID-19 positivity...
LINCOLN – On Friday, Feb. 5, Gov. Pete Ricketts gave an update on coronavirus vaccination across the state. He noted that Nebraska administered over 14,000 vaccinations yesterday—the highest daily total so far. Nebraskans can register for vaccination at vaccinate.ne.gov or by calling 531-249-1873. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Incident Commander Angie Ling provided information on the upcoming allocations of vaccines the state is expected to receive. She also talked abo...
LINCOLN — For decades, tax policy has been a controversial topic in the Nebraska Legislature. This year, two bills propose solutions to bring tax relief to the state. On Feb. 3, Sen. Tom Briese of Albion and Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard presented new tax policy bills to the Revenue Committee. While both bills aim to modernize Nebraska’s tax system, they each take different approaches. LB422: Decrease sales tax rate and impose sales tax on additional services Briese introduced LB422 to lower Nebraska’s sales tax rate from 5.5 percent to 5 perce...
The Sidney City Council and City Manager David Scott discussed findings on a recent traffic study regarding the Fort Sidney Road and Pole Creek Crossing intersection recently. The City contracted with MC Schaff & Associates of Scottsbluff to conduct a traffic study of the intersection. The process started when the City received a request for traffic signals at the intersection in response to accidents that have occurred there. In a January 14 letter from Donald J. Dye, P.E., of MC. Schaff & Asso...
The Leyton Board of Education met before a packed house Friday. The agenda focused on filling the district superintendent’s seat, and making plans to fill to board positions. Leyton School District Superintendent Chris Leary was put on administrative leave recently. During the same period, two board members resigned. Friday’s meeting was held with four board members present: board chairman Susan Ernest, Dave Wiedeman, Ryan Borges and Roland Rushman. The board accepted a proposed contract for...
Growing a community's economy involves recruiting businesses from outside of the area, “selling” them on what the local downtown has to offer. It also involves supporting the entrepreneur whose name is not yet in a few states and several cities. The Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sidney Economic Development Office are working together toward developing a Downtown Business Association. In the January 26 city council meeting, Sidney's Economic Development Director Melissa Nor...
The railroad and Sidney have parallel histories to say the least. Sidney was a stopping point for the westward movement and the gold seekers west and north migration. The Union Pacific was part of that settling process. More than 150 years since the community and UP were helping each other grow, some Cheyenne County residents see the transportation company as more of a distant cousin, one that doesn't talk much. In the January 19 meeting of the Cheyenne County Commissioners, Jim Pelster, who...
Two Leyton School Board members resigned and Superintendent Chris Geary is on administrative leave following a special meeting. A special meeting was held Friday evening, Jan. 22, when the board accepted the resignation of two school board members. In accepting the resignations, the resignations of board members Galen Bartling and Anne Rexroth. Board President Susan Ernest said she wished discussion could have taken place. She then referred to the District policy on board vacancies. Friday the...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners heard two requests for vacation of county roads in their January 19 meeting. Randy Mathewson met with the commissioners regarding closure of County Road 24 between County Roads 77 and 79. He said the land adjacent to the road was bought more than 40 years ago. “It's an attractive nuisance. Nobody lives there,” he said. Commissioner Phil Sanders asked about access to pastures for fire protection. “Access to that area, there's just not a lot of it,” Sanders...
