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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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
Despite demands from the right, the Obama administration yesterday announced that accused Boston Marathon bomber Dhokhar Tsarnaev would not be tried as an enemy combatant. Over the weekend the most vocal of this crowd, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were joined in a statement by fellow Republicans Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Peter King from New York. They expressed seemingly valid concerns, including the information that might be lost to the protection offered by Miranda rights and the slow pace of criminal... Full story
As some of you may know, I graduated from Boston University with an MS in Health Communications. The events at the Boston Marathon saddened and shocked me tremendously. I consider Boston my home as much as I do Atlanta. I fell in love with Boston when I first glimpsed the skyline. I knew that I would love it and that someday, I would call the city home. Boston is such a peaceful, beautiful and clean city, with a low crime rate for a city of its size. The Greater Boston 2010 census estimated 4.5 million people inhabited the area, making it the 1... Full story
April 17 Boston Herald on bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon: The words have now been spoken — and by the president — lest there be any doubt that this attack on Marathon Day could have been anything other than an act of terrorism. “Anytime bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror,” President Obama said yesterday. It was a word he seemed to avoid on Monday — however he chose to define it. “What we don’t know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed b...
“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment,” Loa Tzu. I was struggling with what exactly to say this week in light of all the tragedy that has happen in such a short time. I chewed over many different approaches to my thoughts on the bombing in Boston and the loss of life, the implication it is an act of terrorism, the anger that has since poured from the thoughts and mouths of people from the east coast to the west coast, all over the social media and television. I have thought them out very carefully because some of my tho...
During the big health care fight, the right told older Americans that Obamacare was grabbing money from their Medicare and giving it to young people. Now it tells young workers that Medicare and Social Security are draining their take-home pay to support retirees sitting around the pool. The story, it would seem, moves from the young taking from the old to the old taking from the young. The one constant here is the motive: to weaken public support for government programs offering Americans a modicum of economic and health care security. We can...
It was inevitable that the Boy Scouts of America would face the moment of decision. Over the past few years their opposition to the admittance of openly gay and lesbian members caused a rift, not only within the organization, but also among the groups sponsors and supporters. So today’s decision by the Boy Scouts to submit a proposal to their board stating that no young person be denied membership based upon sexual preference alone hardly comes as a surprise. The proposal continues the ban on openly homosexual adult members, presumably to assua... Full story
For most of us, our first glimpse into the horrors of the Boston Marathon tragedy came through the lens of Boston Globe photojournalist Steve Silva. In two minutes and 42 seconds of video, we see and hear what happened as one explosion follows another and the air fills with smoke and then screams and then a cascade of shouts and sirens. The Boston Globe quickly posted Silva’s video, and to say it went viral feels exactly right, as it not only spread images of the attacks but also infected our hearts. Shock, fear, loss, grief — all of this swe...
I’m from Boston. Over the years, I lived in two apartments within a stone’s throw of Monday’s bombings. Over the years, I stood and cheered marathon runners countless times. I know every square inch of the area in all the pictures, which is hardly unusual. It’s the center of Boston. My nephew was around the corner when the explosions went off. This week’s terror hit home for me. And what to do? That is always the question. Do you stop going to sporting events? Cultural events? Outdoor rallies? I was raped around the corner from where the bombs...
The Senate’s defeat of gun control overhaul left many seeking answers to what went awry. After all, the measures voted down were supported by a strong majority of Americans. One – the bill to clarify gun trafficking laws – even reached the floor with verbal support from the National Rifle Association. It received 58 votes. just two shy of the necessary 60. The effort to expand background checks, which drew the approval of a vast majority of citizens, fell 54-40. The ban on military-style assault rifles and the attempt to limit ammunition clip... Full story
