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 School District approved an agreement with Education Service Unit (ESU) 13 for the Valley Alternative Learning Transitioning School (VALTS). VALTS is a program designed “to provide alternative ways for students to achieve high school graduation." The program includes methods to ensure students have reached or surpassed the district and/or state performance assessments. The mission of VALTS is to empower students to meet the challenges of a changing world. The philosophy is based u...
• Unified Command Confirms more COVID-19 Cases The Unified Command announced there are four more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Panhandle area. The four include a woman in her 50s in Deuel County (Community Spread), a man in his 60s in Morrill County (Community Spread), a woman in her 50s in Scotts Bluff (unknown origin) and a man in his 20s (unknown origin). The Panhandle Public Health Department also announced a community exposure site at Cedar Lanes in Sidney. The PPHD encourages anyone who was at the business between 7:30 p.m. and 1...
There were tears, smiles, laughter and quiet memories as local farmers gathered for one last chance to return a favor to one known to give to anyone who had a need. Life seldom ends on a schedule. Too often family get that phone call no parent wants to answer. From that point, life changes. The son or daughter is no longer walking among the living. Conversations become like retrieving memories from a shelf. In the course of moving forward, there comes addressing the details of when everyone...
The Unified Command announced July 14 that there are four more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Panhandle area. The four include a woman in her 50s in Deuel County (Community Spread), a man in his 60s in Morrill County (Community Spread), a woman in her 50s in Scotts Bluff (unknown origin) and a man in his 20s (unknown origin). The Panhandle Public Health Department also announced a community exposure site at Cedar Lanes in Sidney. The PPHD encourages anyone who was at the business between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. July 8 to monitor for...
To the passing motorist, that creature running alongside the car, then darting into the field is a harmless creature of semi-arid desert. They appear to have almost chipmunk-like qualities that from a distance implies pet potential. To the farmer and rancher, the story is often much different with negative results. A quick search on prairie dogs defines the four-legged animal as “gregarious ground squirrel that lives in interconnected burrows that may cover many acres." It is native to the g...
Months in the works, the Sidney City Council is closing in on a decision for its new city manager, announcing three finalists for the position in the June 9 meeting. The council announced David Scott of Sidney, Pamela Caskie of Sevierville, Tenn., and Jeff Wells of Fort Morgan, CO., as the finalists. Scott has been employed with the City of Sidney as finance director since May of 2017, having moved to Sidney from Alaska. Jeff Wells is a former city manager for city of Fort Morgan. On May 20, 201...
As of July 1, the Panhandle Public Health District has recorded three deaths in the Panhandle region of Nebraska related to the COVID-19 virus. Nine more cases were announced July 1, bringing the total to 312. Of that number 111 were active as of July 1, and 198 recovered, with three deaths. The nine new cases include a man in his 50s in Banner County from community spread, a woman in her 50s from Dawes County by close contact, a man in his 20s whose exposure is travel-related, three from...
The Nebraska economy is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 crisis thanks to steady home sales and a downturn in unemployment claims, according to a new report. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business released a report on June 24 illustrating the state of Nebraska’s economy. The monthly report measures the economy through key economic indicators such as the number of building permits, airline passengers and the dollar exchange rate. These indicators make up the economic indicator percentage, which increased by 2.45% for May. E...
Some people might see them as cute prairie creatures. Others, however, see prairie dogs as disturbing the soil, causing holes that can result in injured livestock, and potentially spread plague. In a previous county commissioner meeting, the commissioners met with Matt Anderson of the USDA regarding a yearly contract with the county for services including prairie dog eradication. On Monday, July 6, the commissioners met with Anderson, Jerry Feist, Tim Veenendaal and opened the meeting to Sen....
Oh, say, can you see? By the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming; Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there: Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave? O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! On July 3, the Sidney celebrated Independe...
The Elks Lodge restoration project is one step further along in returning the building to its former luster. The Sidney City Council signed a memorandum of understanding with Nebraska Department of Economic Development, and the Nebraska Elks Association. In April, the City was awarded $415,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for revitalization and restoration of the Elks Lodge at 1040 Jackson St. The remodel is part of a Tourism Development project with funds from the Department of Ec...
The Sidney Fireworks Display will be held on Friday, July 3 at dusk. The Sidney Volunteer Fire Department will be lighting the fireworks at the soccer fields. Fireworks can be set off until 10 p.m. nightly, with the exception of July 4, where they can be set off until 12 midnight. Lighting of fireworks in Legion Park is prohibited. Nebraska State law allows for fireworks to be sold between June 24 and July 5. The City of Sidney will be closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence...
In late March, soon after responses to the coronavirus included restricting social interaction and business availability, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The $2 trillion-plus package is designed to provide economic relief for people impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions. The CARES Act was designed to provide assistance for American workers and their families, assistance for small businesses, assistance for state, local and tribal...
In 2003, life changed suddenly for John Bahr. His active lifestyle stopped suddenly when he had a motorcycle accident in a motocross event near Sunol in May. He hit a jump wrong, landing on his head. He was transported to Scottsbluff where he was diagnosed as a quadraplegic, resulting from his injuries.He then spent 3 ½ months in rehabilitation. "The first month was really rough," Bahr said. His daughter Brooke was about nine or 10 when the accident happened. She essentially grew up...
The Sidney City Council Announced tonight (Tuesday, June 23) their choice of David Scott as the new City Manager. Scott has been serving as the interim city manager following the retirement of former City Manager Ed Sadler. Following the public announcement, Scott thanked the council for their time and commitment in research of a new city manager. Following Scott's comments, council members commended him as the new city manager. "I think he was our most qualified candidate," said councilman Bob...
LINCOLN – The state case total, as of 5:45 p.m. Central Daylight Time today, is 17,591, marking an increase of 1,078 from last Friday. During the past seven days, the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the state increased by 28 to 244, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) data dashboard. Local health departments are reporting deaths and cases in their jurisdictions. In the event of a discrepancy between DHHS dashboard data and deaths or cases reported by local public health officials, data reported by...
The annual report of the county's Wildlife Specialist got a little heated when the discussion turned to prairie dogs. Wildlife Specialist Matt Anderson was on the Cheyenne County Commissioners agenda Monday to present his annual report. In his report, Anderson addressed the concern of prairie dogs, noting a lawsuit in Colorado against the federal government. “Right now, Nebraska is the only state where the USDA is working on prairie dogs,” Anderson said. Commissioner Randy Miller said the age...
The Sidney City Council reviewed two more business appeals, then granted approval in the June 9 council meeting. In the previous council meeting, the council approved $5,000 in LB840 funding for Brushed Salon. The decision came with the objection of City Attorney J. Leef who said the business does not fit within the parameters of LB840 as accepted by voters. In the June 9 meeting, she said the council set precedence and therefore had little choice but to approve the appeals. The appeals were...
“Mother nature is at it again!” were the words of the Operations Manager at Wheat Belt PPD explaining the widespread outages throughout our service territory due to downed poles and lines. Saturday’s storm damaged 47 poles from Redington to Lewellen, and Monday’s storm damaged an additional 46 poles from Sidney to north of Lisco. Both storms covered a significant area of our service territory, resulting in widespread outages. Our on-call linemen were dispatched Friday night to repair outages...
Cars, bikes, food and entertainment take center stage as the Potter community rolls out the carpet for Carbowl 2020. The event starts Friday evening, June 26, with the day-long event set for Saturday, June 27. The community of Potter will be busy with a variety of classic cars and vehicles on display, a BMX bike display, entertainment, barbecue competition, food vendors, beer and wine tasting, a silent auction and much more. In recent years, the weekend has included a melodrama. It is stage...
The sounds of auctioneers announcing the next animal and its handler will be quiet this year, only a memory of past fairs. There won't be any pulled-pork sandwiches or grilled hamburgers and cold soft drinks. The lights of the rides will be dark and the entertainment stages will be quiet. The annual event is the latest social casualty of the coronavirus. The Cheyenne County Fair Board met 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 1. After careful review of the latest guidelines published by Gov. Pete Ricketts'...
The 2020 primary is officially in the books. Members of the Board of State Canvassers reviewed and approved the results of the statewide election. No problems were noted in the Canvass Board review, and no state races qualified for an automatic recount. Secretary of State Bob Evnen opened with a few remarks regarding the success of the primary election in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. “The May 12th primary was historic in a number of respects. More Nebraskans voted in our 2020 primary in the history of our state.” Evnen added, “Ne...
The proposed water park and pedestrian attractions on Hickory Street Square have been stalled indefinitely. Sidney Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard announced in the May 26 meeting of the Sidney City Council that the project has run its course. “At this time, the project is no longer moving forward,” she said. The City was awarded $250,000 in 2018 through the Civic and Community Center Financing Fund. The contract was signed in May 2018 for development of Hickory Street Square. The...
The coronavirus hasn't completely stopped interest in the Sidney Community. In the May 26 meeting of the Sidney City Council, Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard updated the city council on economic development in the area. She said UST Global has 113 people on staff with projections of adding as many as 100 new positions in the near future. Most of the staff are currently working from home, she said, a result of the coronavirus social distancing directives. While Sidney and Cheyenne...
Fun in the sun - Madelyn Douglas enjoys the new-found freedom of playing in the park recently, taking her turn on the playground at Legion Park. She and her mother Erin were able to take advantage of a warm afternoon after the playground was reopened....
