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 Cheyenne County Republican Party held their bi-annual meeting for the election of delegates to the Nebraska State Republican Convention to be held June 5 and 6 in Kearney. Due to the Covid-19 orders, the Party met by Teleconference with Chairman Bernard Fehringer presiding. Four registered delegates, and five guests were on hand for the meeting. Under new business, Val Nienhueser proposed that the Cheyenne County Republican Party endorse Matt Innis for Nebraska’s Senator, following suit behind Scottsbluff County and Lincoln County. F...
To know Brandee Gillham for any length of time is to assume there is a notebook or keyboard somewhere, and a camera, somewhere nearby. With her tools are an observant eye of nature and people that is captured in her stories and photographs. She has a way of describing the everyday events in ranch life in an entertaining and relatable way. Her view on life behind the lens has the same skill level, capturing moments that can be understood a lifetime. Her ability to capture moments on the ranch ear...
The Sidney City Council recently approved changes to the LB840 fund, allowing the awarding of loans specifically to assist businesses stressed by the COVID-19 shutdowns. The streets of Sidney are quiet compared to a few weeks ago, the kind of eerie quiet that comes with mandated restrictions and even business shutdowns. City officials want to help businesses keep the lights on. During the April 14 city council meeting, Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard presented a plan to assist busi...
Sidney Regional Medical Center (SRMC) Extended Care confirms the first case to test positive for COVID19 in Sidney. The resident was screened upon the recognition of the only symptom, that of a sore throat. That resident's roommate has tested negative. Both families have been notified of the test results, and both were transferred to the hospital's COVID unit at the hospital to quarantine. Under the guidance of the Panhandle Public Health District, Region 21 Command, and the Nebraska Infection C...
The halls are dark and empty with the exception of the few staff assigned to work the building, but education is still taking place, for students and staff. On April 13, the Cheyenne County School District No.1 Board of Education publicly commended staff for its service to the district's children and education goals. The school board held its first virtual board meeting with Zoom. During the meeting, Superintendent Jay Ehler said the District is feeding about 280 students per day. “Everybody i...
Sidney Regional Medical Center (SRMC) will no longer be accepting referrals or admissions for the Home Health and Hospice services,as these services are being discontinued at this time. The hospital stopped taking new Home Health and Hospice patients when the announcement was made. However, some of these services that were provided at home will now be available in an outpatient setting for those traditionally home bound. This decision was made due to the lack of utilization and the ever...
The Sidney Tree Board will modify its annual tree give-away to follow social distancing guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic. The give-away will be held Saturday, April 25 at the City Park Shop in Legion Park between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. The City Park Shop is in Legion Park on the south side of the flood ditch adjacent to Kiwanis Field and across the street from the National Guard Armory. Modifications to the give-away will include: no activities at the Lodgepole Valley Youth Camp, no public...
INDIANAPOLIS (April 2020 / National FFA Organization) – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the country, many schools have turned to e-learning, and after-school activities have come to a halt. What hasn't ended, however, is FFA members living out the FFA motto – Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. Throughout the country, there are stories of FFA members and alumni reaching out to others in their communities – whether through assisting at food pantries, helpi...
Lincoln- For some time, most county offices, including county election offices, have been closed to the public as part of the counties' response to COVID-19. In connection with those closures, yesterday the Governor has signed an Executive Order, waiving the requirement of in-person voting at election offices, with the exception of voters with disabilities and certain other former federal employees. The executive order is effective through the May 12 primary. Nebraska voters with disabilities...
LINCOLN – Nebraska Farm Bureau is asking leaders in the U.S. House and Senate to push partisanship to the side and move quickly to boost funding for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Funding for the forgivable loan program ran out this week, a mere 48 hours after the administration provided rules on program participation for sole proprietors, including farmers and ranchers. In an April 17 letter addressed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leade...
From the World Health Organization to the Panhandle Public Health Department (PPHD), the public is encouraged to stay home more and interact with other people less. The instructions are promoted as a means of reducing the impact of the COVID-19 virus. The challenge is how do people maintain their health, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. How do you stay physically active with new social limits? How do you maintain relationships when the familiar hug, even a handshake, is...
The house is cleaned, meals are prepped and the first of several doorbells ring. The door opens to frantic smile and a child hurrying to his other home, the home-based daycare. While much of society is told to clean diligently, the practice is habit for daycare providers. Their first priority is the children they are taking care of, and then the family. In doing so, a licensed child care provider has an extensive list obligations they must meet, many of which almost prepared them for the...
The Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office arrested two women in Sidney April 9 following the theft of a dog from a Logan County, Colorado residence. On Feb. 29, the Logan County (Colorado) Sheriff's Office (LCSO) received a report of a burglary near Sterling. The report indicated a black and brown heeler was stolen from the residence. The dog had been recently adopted from the Logan County Humane Society and chipped prior to adoption. LCSO investigators were in constant contact with the owner, who...
While social distancing is keeping us away from each other, we can fortunately still be in touch with nature. Planting a tree is a great way to spend time in the great outdoors while looking toward the future, which is why this Earth Day, Black Hills Energy is giving away more than 1,000 free trees. Customers can claim a tree through our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation's Energy-Saving Trees Initiative beginning on Wednesday, April 22. Trees clean our air and water, improve physical...
Small businesses are the backbone of Nebraska's economy. From your favorite store on main street to your local coffee shop, small businesses bring vibrancy and prosperity to our communities. There are 172,958 small businesses in Nebraska that employ just under half of all workers in our state. Unfortunately, many of these businesses have been forced to temporarily close to slow the spread of COVID-19. This is a necessary step to protect the health of Nebraskans, but it has also led to...
Lincoln – In response to Congress passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) filed a request with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutritional Service (FNS) to provide emergency allotment funds for Nebraska households who are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. These emergency allotments will be used to increase the amount of funds SNAP recipients receive for the m...
Lincoln – Avoiding public spaces and working remotely can help to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but for those experiencing domestic violence, staying home may be a dangerous prospect, especially as job losses and financial strain continue to escalate. "Domestic violence is rooted in power and control," said Sheri Dawson, director of the Division of Behavioral Health. In a time where employees work remotely, and the CDC is encouraging social distancing, abusers may take advantage of an a...
The Sidney City Council Wednesday, April 1, approved amending the City's appeals process for utility payment to include residents impacted by the corornavirus. The decision was made in a nearly two-hour Zoom - an audio/visual virtual networking program - meeting with each council member, staff and attendee taking part from a remote location. The primary discussion point on the agenda is "Utility Disconnect for Non-payment, Procedures for Domestic Subscribers." At issue is how the City can...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners tabled decisions on purchases for the Highway Department Monday. The commissioners were scheduled to open bids on the purchase of a semi-truck, bottom dump trailer and armor coating for County Road 46. The county received two bids for a truck-tractor, both from RDO Truck Center of Lexington. The bids submitted are for a 2008 International with about 376,000 miles for $30,000 and $500 delivery. The second bid is for a 2012 Mack with a little more than 400,000...
The impact of the coronavirus has businesses and employees reeling financially. Businesses are limited on they can serve customers, which results in few staff needed to conduct the remaining business. Last week, a webinar was held among business and employment officials explaining options to help keep local businesses open, and employees cover lost wages. The meeting included Sidney Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard, Lisa Laws from the Sidney office of the Nebraska Department of...
The Cheyenne County Commissioners officially addressed the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, during the April 6 meeting. The audio Zoom meeting was held with all in attendance participating from remote locations. The policy opens by clearly saying “if you have tested positive for COVID-19 virus, or have been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, you are quarantined and must have a Doctor's release to return to work.” The policy is for county employees only. The policy goes on to say if a person...
People in Nebraska are being warned to be extra vigilant as scam callers are likely to ramp up their activity over the next few weeks to take advantage of increasing amounts of people being at home due to the current Coronavirus outbreak. CPR Call Blocker, makers of the US’s best-selling call blocking device, is predicting that scammers and fraudsters will be ready to strike and take advantage of the situation as more states go into lockdown, forcing people to stay at home, and is warning people in Nebraska to be on their guard for a rise in b...
As you are aware, in consultation with Governor Ricketts, Commissioner Blomstedt, and the Panhandle Public Health COVID-19 Unified Command, Sidney Public Schools has determined that buildings in Sidney will remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. We realize that this decision will have tremendous implications for our families, but we must do our part to keep our school and community safe and healthy. While our physical buildings are closed, the business of educating our students continues via the alternative learning...
Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Beginning today, Dollar General is proud to provide all medical personnel, first responders and activated National Guardsmen with a 10 percent discount on qualifying purchases*. Individuals can present their employment badge or ID at more than 16,300 stores to receive the discount. “At Dollar General, we are deeply appreciative for the ongoing and brave work that our medical professionals, first responder communities and National Guard activated continue to perform during these unprecedented times,” said Todd Vasos...
Food Safety and Supply PSA Watch and download FDA’s “What You Need to Know: Food and COVID-19” public service announcement with Frank Yiannas below (multiple file formats are available). A critical part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mission is safeguarding the human and animal food supply, helping to ensure that our food is not contaminated at any point during its journey along the supply chain. COVID-19 is a new frontier for all of us as we deal with the realities of a pandemic and the impact it is having on our lives, on our fam...
