Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 1221 - 1245 of 1718
Dear Editor, Since early July, there has been much concern among the good citizens of Sidney about the treatment of our chief of police, B.J. Wilkinson. He received an outrageous sentence for his plea. The mayor and city council wanted to assure the good people of Sidney that they would conduct a thorough investigation. They would hold executive sessions and get to the bottom of it all. The mayor was sent emails and had public requests to support B.J. Wilkinson. Council members were sent similar emails and had to have taken input from citizens... Full story
Mel Blanc was known as “the man with a thousand voices” because he created voices for numerous cartoon characters. For Warner Brothers, Mel was the voice of Wile Coyote, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe LePew, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. “What’s up, doc?” Then, for Hanna Barbera, he was Barney Rubble and Cosmo Spacely. On occasion, Mel also appeared on Jack Benny’s television program.” In one classic routine, Mel would wear a wide-b...
Dear Editor, In 1979, Tammy Wynette won a Grammy for her fabulous song entitled “Stand By Your Man.” I know that the title of this song applies to the situation regarding Sidney’s Chief of Police. To the good people of Sidney – and to the not-so-good as well – this letter is a request for your support of Chief B.J. Wilkinson. I’ve met so many new folks and friends who have agreed with me regarding this mess that was created by people – two of whom no longer work for our city. There have been many fist-bumps, many handshakes, many more words of... Full story
Dear Editor: Last week, the headline read “Sad Day for Cabela’s.” The article that sparked my attention was “Company reaches settlement to improve the hiring of minorities.” It grabbed my attention, because I graduated from WNCC last year with an Associates of Arts degree in journalism. After my graduation, I applied for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 jobs with Cabela’s. Most of the jobs I applied for were entry-level positions. I had high hopes about finding a job with Cabela’s, because of all of the awards I earned during my time at WN...
Yogi Berra played catcher for the New York Yankees for 19 years, from 1946 until 1965. Noted for his funny expressions, such as, “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over,” and “I didn’t say everything I said,” his most quoted malapropism is the gem, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Yogi said that when he was giving directions to his house during a conversation he had with Joe Garagiola. Yogi meant that from that fork in the road, either way led to his house, but his words came out funn...
Dear Editor: The City Council will be selecting a new city manager soon. I hope they will pick one who will listen to the people and taxpayers of Sidney and stop this wasteful spending and overspending on projects. In 2012, the voters approved a half-cent sales tax to help pay for our streets, pay for a swimming pool, upgrade the irrigation system and park improvements. So far, the city officials and city council have overspent on every project except for our deteriorating streets. The so-called swimming pool was to get $3 million, and now it... Full story
Two historic events occurred on Sept. 11. The first was at Brandywine Creek, west of Philadelphia, in 1777, and the second was Sept. 11, 2001. In the first, General George Washington’s ragtag army tried to stop General William Howe’s superior troops from taking Philadelphia, the city where the Second Continental Congress convened. Washington’s army failed when Howe outflanked Washington and forced American troops to flee the battlefield. The terrified delegates to the Second Continental Congr...
Dear Editor: Ya know, I’ve been thinking, and I got a question I would like the city attorney to answer. Let’s see, now if I got this right, we have five council members, three who work for Cabela’s, including the mayor. My question is could we have the possibility of collusion here or a threat of repercussion in the workplace if one did not vote for the mayor’s personal agenda? If the city attorney answers “yes,” and with the people wanting up-and-up and straight and narrow government here in Sidney, we would need another resignation...
Dear Editor: I find the Nebraska legislator, Ken Haar’s proposal to dissolve the Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission and spread its responsibilities around to a variety of other organizations very interesting, but baffling. At a time when it’s clear there is too much government and too much government spending, why not dissolve a small, efficient commission that takes nothing from the Nebraska General Fund? Why not ignore the fact that regulating one of the most important industries to our Country requires substantial expertise? And above all, why...
“Life is a lot like jazz,” said George Gershwin. “It is best when you improvise.” During the 2004 political debates, the radio host Don Imus described the two vice presidential candidates Dick Cheney and John Edwards as “Dr. Doom and the Breck Girl,” because Cheney appeared glum, dour, like a bulldog, whereas Edwards appeared well coiffed, “like a pretty girl in a shampoo ad.” A journalist in Florida named Roy Peter Clark then riffed on Don Imus’s comment. Riff is a jazz term that describes im...
Dear Editor: Until this year, Nebraska’s home-grown oil and gas industry has been largely out of sight and out of mind of the public and state policymakers, and for good reason. Nebraska operators are small oil and gas companies, not giant oil companies. We are a well-regulated industry that contributes significantly to the rural economies of southwest Nebraska and the Panhandle. Ever since Nebraska’s first long-term producing oil well was drilled in Richardson County in the 1940s, Nebraska producers have been generating income for inv... Full story
“Miss! Miss! Why do you keep calling this a school?” asked Ashley. “This is not a school!” It was an awkward moment, at an assembly, in November 2002. Because a fight had broken out that morning, the school’s new principal, an angry Linda Cliatt-Wayman, called all the students and staff to the auditorium where she hoped to present her expectations for the students’ behavior and for their achievement. Ashley, a student, interrupted her with the chilling words, “This is not a school!” Fast...
Dear Editor: I want to speak of some items concerning Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson’s treatment and situation at the hands of the city manager and almost, by the members of the city council, which meets Tuesday evening. The director of Public Works broke the law and was issued a citation to appear in court by the Police Department. By city policy, he (John Hehnke) had to report what happened to his boss, the City Manager (Gary Person). The two of them must have talked the situation over and came up with an action plan (what to do). One o... Full story
On Saturday afternoon, July 18, President Barack Obama and his two daughters, Malia and Sasha, were pleased to attend the new musical based upon Alexander Hamilton’s life, Hamilton. The popular play moved to Broadway, to the Richard Rodgers Theater, on July 13, after it received rave reviews off-Broadway. It is the brain-child of the gifted lyricist and hip-hop musician Lin-Manual Miranda, 35 years old, of Puerto Rican descent, who wrote the songs and stars in the lead as Alexander Hamilton. M...
Dear Editor, I and a lot of other people agree 100 percent with Larry Nelson’s letter from Monday, July 20 titled “Jail time for chief is way out of line.” I would venture to say every police officer in the country (including Sidney) has at one time or the other used his discretion or authority to scrap a possible citation for a friend, family member or someone of importance, or even just to give someone a break. Even judges have been known to rhow citations and charges out of court. One hundred percent enforcement of the law could get prett... Full story
Dear Editor: The headline in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph read “Chief gets jail time.” The Chief of Police. Who would make such a complaint that would result in such a sentence? Was it the city of Sidney official who was out of control? I doubt it. Was it the city manager who wanted this energetic man to be gone in such a short time? I doubt this too. When all this took place, Chief Wilkinson had been on the “job” for a little over six months when one of his officers responded to a call about suspicious activity. The officer did the best he coul... Full story
In the spring of 1594, 26 London actors joined together to create an acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. These actors included London’s leading dramatic actor at the time, Richard Burbage; plus Will Kempe, London’s leading comic actor; as well as Richard Cowly, William Slye, John Heminges, Alexander Cooke, Henry Condell, and the 30-year-old actor from the small town Stratford-on-the-Avon, William Shakespeare. He, as well as the others, were most fortunate, because this acting compa...
In 2002, multi-millionaire Jay Walker designed and built his Library of Human Imagination. Located in Ridgefield, Conn., Walker’s 3,600-square-foot home stores and displays his collection of books – more than 50,000 volumes – plus his myriad of museum-quality artifacts. It is both library and museum. Wired magazine wrote that “it is the most amazing library in the world,” and after seeing pictures and videos of it, I agree. First, Walker drew his inspiration for the library’s floor tile from t...
Dear Editor, This could get interesting. The county can’t afford to hire a man to grade the roads and then the sheriff says we need a new $16 million jail. Meanwhile, we still have that school bond issue lurking out there. Mike Hartzler Sidney... Full story
On Sunday, June 25, 1950, North Korean bombs fell on Seoul, South Korea’s capital, and the civil war began. It ended three years later, on July 27, 1953, with the same division as it had begun, with the Korean peninsula divided into two parts at the 38th parallel, communist to the North and a democratic-republic to the South. South Koreans now call the war, “the 6-2-5 Upheaval,” but the North Koreans call it “the Fatherland Liberation War,” even though no fatherland was ever liberated. In 2011, Suki Kim, a Korean-American woman, then 41 years...
Dear Editor, With the repeal of the death penalty and ensuing referendum, we have been asked if we have a position on that issue. From its inception in 1973, National Right to Life and its 50 State Affiliates, of which we are one, has had a single issue focus. Our mission is to bring as many people together from all walks of life to work to restore legal protection to innocent human life from conception through death. That does not include a position on the death penalty or any other unrelated issues. We welcome people on both sides of the... Full story
Dear Editor, The Iraqi Army has a history of moving to the rear and exposing their back sides to attacking forces. The Iraqi Army melted like butter when we attacked them in 2003. They faded away when ISIL attacked them, and then lost Mosul and most of northwestern Iraq along with large quantities of U.S. equipment. Recently they turned tail and abandoned U.S. military equipment when they ran from Ramadi. The Iraqi Army cannot be relied upon to fight ISIL or any other insurgent groups, and we should not supply them with weapons we could... Full story
Fred and Wilma Flintstone lived in the past, George and Jane Jetson will live in the future and Ralph and Alice Kramden live in the present. Although “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons” were animated, the three fictional sitcoms, including “The Honeymooners,” follow similar story lines. The husbands work at jobs: Fred on a rock pile, George at Spacely’s Space Rockets and Ralph as a bus driver. Their wives – Wilma, Jane and Alice – stay at home. The comedy occurred in the characters’ home,...
Dear Editor: It just feels great to know that our “Red Raiders” high school track and field team are Nebraska’s Class B state champs! The early-season goal setting, dreams of improvement, setting personal records, winning districts and, finally, securing dibs on winning the state title, well, that’s just terrific. I’m sure that I am speaking on behalf of all of our hometown fans in exclaiming, “We are so proud and happy that you guys are the mantra in helping make this sport so much fun.” Have a good summer of healthy and easy running. Stan... Full story
Dear Editor: With the current fiasco in Iraq and Syria, the President is telling the Coast Guard and the American public that the real problem we are facing is “global warming.” The mess in Iraq is his problem and he can no longer blame it on G.W. Bush. Tell this fable to those families who have lost loved-ones or who are living with service men who have been injured for life in the Iraq war which was won only to have been foolishly abandoned by our Commander in Chief over the objections of his military advisors, and even now is attempting to c... Full story
