Looking Back

These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons.

100 YEARS AGO

‘Confessed An Old Crime’

May 10, 1913

We read in an exchange the confession of R. J. Dunbar of his part in a murder eight years ago in Redfield, Maine. His part was to purchase a rope and to entice a girl a few rods from the house, after which the man responsible for her ruin jumped out from some bushes and strangled her to death. Her name was Mattie Hackett and at the time of the murder the story was made a great furore over the country. At that time Dunbar was but seventeen years of age. He escaped to New York and no suspicion rested upon either of the guilty men, but a woman of Redfield, Mrs. Elsie Hobbs Raymond, was tried and cleared of the crime. Dunbar wondered around trying to escape from his conscience, and at one time drifted into Sidney. Sheriff McDaniels arrested him on information from Cheyenne that he was wanted for forgery. Later the police of Cheyenne arrested him from his description given by the Brooklyn police who wanted him for larceny. On his was to Brooklyn with the detective, he confessed to his share in that murder, saying, “I simply can’t stand this horrible mental torture any longer.” Since committing the crime he has married and his wife and two children are now living with her parents four miles west of Sidney at Margate.

The man must have been under great mental distress for when arrested here by Mr. McDaniel he tried to make a confession, but the sheriff thought he was one of these big-talking fellows trying to dramatize a ten cent novel and so shut him up.

75 YEARS AGO

‘Hopper Battle Front Is Prepared For War’

May 13, 1938

Cheyenne County farmers are urged to watch for new hatches of young grasshoppers and to cooperate in the 1938 control program by reporting these hatches to their precinct grasshoppers control committee members or to County Agent Swinbank.

Early information on the location and extent of hatchings are very important to those planning the poisoning campaign, Swinbank says. The young hoppers usually hatch around field edges and turn rows, fence rows, roadside sod strips, or ditches or in some instances in stubble fields. The young hoppers stay close to the hatching grounds for about two weeks.

Poisoned bait spread just before hoppers start to move from their hatching grounds will give the greatest kills, require the least amount bait, and prevent the greatest amount of crop damage. Two or three spreadings ten days apart are extremely important for the control while the hoppers are young.

Although cold, damp weather has delayed hatching somewhat, a substantial batch of hoppers may be expected with a few warm days. There has been no weather condition which would be likely to damage hopper eggs, Swinbank points out, and though Cheyenne County has less eggs than a year ago there is every indication that hoppers will soon hatch in damaging numbers.

Plans are already being made through the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau to set up a county bait mixing plant for distribution of bait on about the same basis as it was put out in 1937.

Federal officials advised that no bait can be supplied unless farmers are definitely organized to carry on poisoning operations in a systematic manner.

50 YEARS AGO

‘Water...Nice Stuff To Have, And Sidney Has It’

May 10, 1963

New pump house is nearing completion to house city well pumping equipment at what is called Well No. 3, on the location of the old fire station. This well was drilled in 1943 at a cost of $1,320.90. It cost another $5,390.91 to put a pump on the well, which is 90 ft. deep. The well can be pumped at the rate of 1,250 gallons per minute on an indefinite schedule. However, it really doesn’t work just this way. Water Superintendent Floyd J. Sanks, says the city pumps from six wells, and the pumping is gauged by sensitive control instruments located at the power house. When water pressure drops, well pumping is activated, and from one to six wells may be throwing water into the city mains simultaneously, until needs are satisfied, when they shut themselves off automatically.

25 YEARS AGO

‘Suspect To Face Hearing’

May 13, 1988

The next appearance for John A. Grabowski will be an arraignment in Cheyenne County District Court at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday.

After a preliminary hearing Thursday, Grabowski, 39, was bound over to Cheyenne County District Court for trial on charges stemming from the March 14 deaths of Arnold Thomas ‘Tom’ Dolan and Nancy A. Doan.

The bodies of Dolan, 79, and his 33-year old daughter were found outside their rural home northwest of Colton on March 15.

Grabowski was arrested April 21 at his home on Dodge Street in Sidney by officers of the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol. He was charged with five felonies; two counts of murder; burglary; robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony. On April 27 he was arraigned in Cheyenne County Court before visiting Judge Christine Cecava of Ogallala, on the charges.

Co-counsels Don Tedesco and Steven Mattoon, Sidney attorneys appointed by Judge Cecava during the arraignment, represented Grabowski Thursday. County Attorney Robert Goodwin appeared for the prosecution, assisted by William Howelan, an assistant state attorney general from Lincoln.

At the end of the preliminary hearing Judge Cecava noted the hearing was not a “trial. The Court does not determine guilt or innocence.” She explained the duty of the judge in such hearings is to determine if it “appears” a crime has been committed and there is probable cause that the person charged did commit the crime.

She also stated “it’s this court’s finding that on count one, Murder in the First Degree of Nancy A. Dolan, it does appear that a crime was committed and there is probable cause to believe John A. Grabowski committed the crime.” Using much the same words, Judge Cecava read through the entire list of charges, finding the same in each case.

“John A. Grabowski is committed to the county jail of Cheyenne County,” she noted and bound Grabowski over to the Cheyenne County District Court to stand trial. A request by County Attorney Goodwin to deny bail was denied and a request for a lower bond amount by Defense attorney Tedesco was likewise denied. Bail had been set at 10 percent of $1,000,000 during the arraignment.

Nine witnesses were called by Goodwin during the lengthy, four hour, 20 minute, hearing, which began with a written motion by Tedesco and Mattoon to have the proceedings closed to the press and public “for the purpose of allowing Mr. Grabowski to obtain a fair trial.”

Judge Cecava denied the motion, noting “only in extreme cases should the court close to the public.” She also noted the issue was “a fundamental right to free speech, consequently I am overruling this motion.”

The judge sustained a motion that the witnesses be ‘sequestered’ or kept apart from testimony during the hearing. The action is apparently often taken to prevent witnesses from collaborating, accidentally or intentionally, in their testimony. Judge Cecava also admonished the witnesses, “You are not to discuss your testimony with anyone.”

10 Years Ago

May 10, 2003

Recent rains relieve, but not end drought

Rains have turned pastures and hillsides green, lawns lush and are producing a crop of smiles on the faces of farmers who have endured three years of drought.

The rains have also relieved, but not ended, the drought that was classified as extreme throughout western Nebraska last year.

A concern now is whether the rains will continue on a regular basis through the summer, or after a wet beginning of the year, will extremely dry conditions return.

“I hope the rains we are seeing are the beginning of the end of the drought,” said Ken Quandt, water resources coordinator for the South Platte Natural Resources District, “but we won’t know until we are able to look back in retrospect and look back on the year’s rainfall and weather patterns.”

“We’ve had three years of drought and it may take three or more years of rainfall to get water levels back to where they should be,” he said.

The Sidney Municipal Airport has recorded 6.22 inches of precipitation since March 1 and 6.40 inches this year, including .68 Wednesday, and another .36 Thursday. The airport total is 1.01 inches above normal for the year.

But while the Brule Aquifer, the underground source that supplies Sidney with its water supply, has been slowly inching up this spring, there is far for it to go before city officials are ready to say it is where it should be.

The weekly Water Watch prepared by the City of Sidney and published each Saturday in The Sun-Telegraph, indicated that the average depth of the eight wells that supply the city has come up almost one foot, from 47.6 feet on April 3 to 46.7 feet on May 8. However, that is still about four feet below the average.

“I think there is still a need for some concern,” said Quandt. “I’m sure most of the water levels will be down compared to last spring.”

He said while checking the NRD monitoring wells west of Sidney, he has noticed some of the water levels being on the rise. “There were a few that were up. I think that’s mainly due to some changes in the cropping patterns. He said in some cases fields were taken off irrigation earlier than normal, giving the aquifer more time to recharge. “Cropping patterns can positively influence groundwater recharge,” he said. “That’s what we will see in the west Sidney area as a result of a change in cropping patterns that a lot of those producers are going to—lower water use crops that they will take off earlier compared to corn and alfalfa where you would water later with those crops.”

Quandt said many of the fields west of Sidney traditionally planted to corn are planted to other crops this year. “A lot less corn is being planted and a lot of that is going to oats or millet hay or sunflowers, and all of them are less water intensive,” Quandt said.

He said that change will show positive results.

“There’s going to be a number of benefits: One, less water pumped; two, lower input crops. They won’t take as much fertilizer, herbicides, that sort of thing, as well as water so we will see less inputs there and I think that will help with the nitrate levels, too.”

“The rains we have had are encouraging and I am sure we will see some recharge from that, but there is still a concern. A number of places have had to restrict and we are still seeing impact from the drought. We just haven’t fully recovered. There just hasn’t been the recharge because of the drought and that will take some time.”