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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Walk down any Main Street, and you’ll see storefronts of small businesses that fuel local economies. From quaint “mom & pop” shops to sleek and trendy boutiques, these businesses often provide a human element that helps define the character of our communities. But many of these small businesses, the source of nearly 70 percent of American jobs, face an uphill battle when competing with out-of-state Internet merchants benefitting from outdated tax policy. In most states, including Nebraska, businesses collect sales taxes from patrons and remit...
Saturday’s volunteer effort to pick up refuse around Sidney, billed as the Great Trash Race, led to one of my better Facebook posts. Somewhere along the railroad tracks a member of the Sun-Telegraph team scooped up a discarded liquor bottle still in its cliché brown paper bag. I posed with the find and tapped out the caption “Sure you spend the morning picking up trash, but there are perks.” OK—not very original. And that was in the giddy moments before we learned that the Girl Scouts, UPS, Cabela’s, Saunders Construction and other teams kick... Full story
When President Barack Obama again turned his attention to the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay—the same facility he promised to close quickly when campaigning back in 2008—it reminded us that our response to the 9/11 attacks has now consumed almost a dozen years. This nation’s political leaders, unfortunately, seem unable to fully grasp Clausewitz’s assertion that war is an extension of foreign policy and therefore must be conducted with a clear (and achievable) outcome in mind. They receive less than valuable advice from this nation’s military... Full story
Maybe it just appears as though politicians and pundits are more prone to fabrication and logical flaws these days. The 24-hour news cycle, the advent of online programming and the election of those appealing to narrow electorates allow for such abuses, after all. But neither party benefits from misstatements, selective data or outright abandonment of fact. On the house floor, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Tex.) charged during a diatribe against revisions to FBI intelligence terminology in training manuals under the Obama administration that “they can... Full story
As graduation rapidly approaches and yet another school year is winding down, for many life seems to pick up pace and a different kind of schedule adopted. Kids are starting the last day of school count down, much like they do for Christmas break, and adults start to make arrangements to accommodate the three months of no school. Nonetheless, everyone in the family making plans for the summer; adults looking forward to summer vacation with the family, away from work and the stress there; kids looking forward to the long days of hanging out...
“Personal charm may be Obama’s last best hope” headlined the Washington Post on Monday. That charm was on ample display at the annual vanity fest called the White House Correspondents Association dinner over the weekend. The dinner always features two comedians — one professional, and the other, the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Skilled joke writers contribute the one-liners, but delivery counts, too, and President Obama has clearly improved over the course of four years. In 2009, some of his jokes were in bad taste. He said Dick Cheney...
As a U.S. Senator, I have the privilege and responsibility of nominating Nebraska students to our nation’s service academies: the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Nebraskans have a long and proud history of military service. Since our state’s founding, our sons and daughters have served our country with valor. This legacy, passed from one generation to the next, is foundational to America’s strength. As the war in Afghanistan winds down, new challenges face the n...
Five cubic yards of sand. It hardly seems like much to talk about—common grit moved from one spot in Sidney to another.Earth movers accomplish this simple task at just about every construction site. At the end of April, however, the folks at Peeley Landscaping & Irrigation donated that small but significant amount of sand—with the full support of Milestone Ready Mix—to complete the playground at Here Wee Grow Child Development Center. Not only did they donate the material, Peeley staff members moved, poured and spread everything. This is just...
I encourage all Nebraskans to get involved in their communities as a volunteer during ServeNebraska Week of Service, April 22-28. Many Nebraskans generously give of their time through volunteerism every day, and this special week is set aside to focus on the ability of all Nebraskans to serve others. First Lady Sally and I look forward to volunteering that week alongside many others in our state. The ServeNebraska Week of Service works to inspire Nebraskans to seek out creative ways to serve their communities. This statewide effort encourages...
May marks the 140th anniversary of this newspaper. The Sidney Telegraph began publication this month in 1873. Although archival examples from the early years of the Telegraph are sketchy, staff reporters back in those days had plenty to keep them occupied. Apart from the movements of cavalry and the Union Pacific railroad, chugging along the Transcontinental line, the Sidney to Deadwood trail brought loads of gold--or sometimes empty stagecoaches--into down. Wild west shootings filled Boot Hill Cemetery. The likes of Wild Bill Hickok,... Full story
For me the best part about this job has been meeting all of the different, amazing people that call Sidney home. I have found that everyone is uniquely different and bring their own special expertise in certain fields to the community table. Like I’ve said in previous columns, even those who think that they aren’t special and who think that they don’t have a story worth being written about them are wrong. Another aspect of meeting people that intrigued me was what some people would previously tell me about someone I was set to interview with.... Full story
Nebraska has no shortage of patriotic young people willing to serve their country. Each year, young men and women from the Third District attend our nation’s prestigious Service Academies. These institutions provide a first-rate higher education and unmatched opportunities for young people looking to achieve their potential in education and service. As a Member of Congress, I have the honor of nominating a select group of young Nebraskans to attend the U.S. Service Academies. The academies include: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N...
In just a couple of months, hundreds of cars taking part in the Lincoln Highway Centennial will pass through Sidney on their way to Kearney. Yep—as it turns out, the Nebraska town happens occupy a tract of land 1,771 miles from New York and San Francisco. Drivers will depart from both coasts and meet in the middle in celebration of the nation’s first coast to coast highway. Of course, in 1913, the road resembled rutted ranchland in many places. Military vehicles led by Dwight D. Eisenhower along the route in 1919 often bogged down. Yet the pas... Full story
Often the right’s fixation of President Barack Obama’s faults appears more juvenile than effective. The “birthers” shouted with petulant rage over his supposed foreign origins. Gun owners fought back against a fictitious attempt to wipe out Second Amendment rights, something only a vote of the states can accomplish. Talk show hosts look back with comparative nostalgia to the George W. Bush administration--and those are just three examples. In focusing of presumed issues, Republicans have overlooked some of the President’s true political... Full story
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: April 24 Boston Herald on politics: President Barack Obama and his team don’t have to worry about commercial flight delays. Maybe that helped secure the decision to begin furloughing air traffic controllers this week, leading to delays at the nation’s airports and the Democrats’ finger of blame pointed at tax-averse Republicans. The administration claims that, because of the sequester-related budget cuts, it has no choice but to furlough all 47,000 Federal Aviation A...
After going to the Sunol Community Center this week and seeing feeling the history within the walls of that building, I started thinking about how history should be preserved. As I described last week, Boston does a pretty good job of preserving history. Atlanta on the other hand, not so good. Many times over the years, some groups of people have tried to demolish the Margaret Mitchell house, where she wrote “Gone with the Wind.” Other groups, so far, have recognized the significance of this piece of historical property and have always sav... Full story
Earlier this month, President Obama released his budget even though it was due on February 4th. While the House and Senate have already passed 10-year budget resolutions and the President’s proposals have little chance of being enacted, it is a revealing look at his priorities and vision for America. Of particular interest to Nebraskans is how the President’s proposals would affect agriculture, the backbone of our local economy. For example, President Obama’s 2014 budget proposes cuts to the federal crop insurance program. While we need to redu...
We who work through colds, bad backs and low moods — however liberal we might be — have permission to resent those who could hold a job but don’t, preferring to collect disability checks unto the decades. You see them at the coffee shop, refilling their cups in leisure, or even pumping iron at the gym. And there are more of them all the time. Over 5 percent of eligible American adults are now receiving disability payments from Social Security. Twenty years ago, it was 3 percent. One reason is easier requirements giving more weight to self-made...
I need to clarify a few things that pertain to the column I wrote about homosexual marriage earlier this month. It has been brought to my attention that my thoughts were presented in a manner that could have been misunderstood. I did not at all mean to imply that Christians were the same as the KKK. I intended to use the Klan as an example of way some hate groups have misused the Bible – as well as Holy books from other religions –to justify their positions. If my thoughts came across in any other way, I am sorry. Contrary to what some may thi... Full story
It came as no surprise that a bipartisan Senate vote Thursday night approved a measure that would end furloughs for 1,500 air traffic controllers a day. After all, many members of Congress plan to fly today and next weekend, visiting their home states. Public pressure proved more important to their decision, of course. The House is expected to take up the matter today and the White House issued a statement that it would consider any bill put forward. The measure allows the Department of Transportation to transfer funds among departmental... Full story
Mars One announced startling news last week that they would receive applications from those willing to travel to Mars and establish a permanent colony on the Red Planet. A Dutch entrepreneur named Bas Landsdorp heads Mars One, and he hopes to send four astronauts to Mars by 2023, and then another four every two years thereafter. Landsdorp and his associates say, “this is not a hoax.” The catch is that no Martian colonist can expect to return to Earth. Those chosen for the Mars flight would liv...
Concern for the performance of American students in math and science, compared to the rest of the world, has become something of a national obsession over the past few decades. In a recent Program for International Student Assessment report, for example, American 15-year-olds finished 24th out of 29 countries in math literacy. Finland topped the list, followed by South Korea and Netherlands. The U.S. fared better in a 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study test of 4th and 8th grade students, placing 6th of 57 in science.... Full story
Decisions. Paul Arden once said, “if you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.” I have always had a severe problem with decision-making, and I believe that indecisiveness is in fact a specialty of mine. Then I met my boyfriend – someone who also delves into the talent of indecisiveness. Learning to decide on things together has helped us grow as a couple, while at the same time it has also forced me to make decisions sometimes and learn that I can have a say in thing... Full story
On Monday, one week after twin blasts rocked the heart of Boston, more than a thousand well-wishers braved the snow and rain in downtown Lincoln for a memorial run to raise money for the victims of the Boston Marathon attack. They weren’t the only ones. Communities across the country held runs and other events, picking up the torch for the world class race that was so abruptly stopped by evil. Last week was a difficult week for America. Four lives were cut short in Boston. Nearly 200 others were injured. Many people who have logged countless m...
A state senator from New York, Greg Ball, once again cast doubt upon the amount of grey matter lodged in elected heads when he suggested in a tweet that authorities should torture Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the accused Boston Marathon bomber. His timing was impeccable. Almost lost amid the turmoil of a tragic week, the Constitution Project released a damning report. In 560 pages, the Task Force on Detainee Treatment determined it is “indisputable that the U.S. engaged in the practice of torture.” Yeah, I know—we all assumed as much. Then vice presi... Full story
