2014: A look back

Here is a look back at some of the stories that made news in Sidney and the surrounding areas during 2014:

January

The Cheyenne County commissioners discussed how to fit raises for elected county officials into an increasingly tight budget. The commissioners agreed on a base pay of $55,000 per year starting in 2015 with a 3 percent cost of living increase for the following three years.The county attorney and county sheriff should receive 150 percent and 120 percent, respectively, of the base pay, to which the commissioners also agreed. The county attorney's salary will increase from around $69,000 in 2014 to around $82,000 in 2015. The sheriff's salary will jump from around $59,000 this year to $66,000 next year.

Nancy Gipfert was sentenced to 24 months of probation, the first 90 days to be served in Cheyenne County jail, for her part in an incident that led to the permanent brain injury of an infant in her care. In November 2013, a jury of six men and six women found Gipfert guilty of negligent child abuse, a class I misdemeanor.

The first baby of the new year born at Sidney Regional Medical Center arrived on Jan. 10. Andre Daphnis was born to Corissa Trowbridge and Fabenson Daphnis. It was the couple's first child.

Cory Lundgren was sentenced to five years of intensive supervised probation as well as jail time earlier this week for his part in an accident on Oktoberfest weekend in 2012 that sent eight people to the hospital, including himself. He was found guilty of attempted second degree assault, a class IV felony on Oct. 16, 2013, for his part in the incident. Lundgren was traveling along a minimum maintenance road just south of Pennington Field near Greenwood Road at the wheel of a Sierra pickup truck on Oct. 7, 2012, when he veered across a ditch and struck an embankment.

Sidney police and Cheyenne County sheriff's deputies responded to reports of an attempted bank robbery on Jan. 24 at the Sidney Federal Savings & Loan. Two hours later, 30-year-old Potter resident Janetta Lenstrom was apprehended east of Sidney. She was apparently armed, carrying a small handgun.

February

Jason Custer, 35, was convicted of first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon in Cheyenne County district court following a week-long trial. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for around five hours before determining Custer's guilt in the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Adam McCormick just after midnight on Nov. 3, 2012, over a debt of $150.

The city approved the final plat for both the Cabela's corporate office expansion and the Sidney Regional Medical Center addition. The yes vote by Sidney's city council allows both projects to move forward to their next phases. Cabela's plans to grade and develop a 27-acre section adjacent to the company's current headquarters facility. While work will cover the entire plat, Cabela's expects to build upon the land as needed. The initial construction will include an office structure and parking, as well as preparation of the remaining land and drainage work.

Craig Johnson, 48, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Cheyenne County district court for the Dec. 11, 2011, murder of April Smith. During the trial, prosecutors theorized that Johnson killed Smith because of jealousy over her continued relationship with her husband, Ed Smith, from whom she was separated.

Panhandle businessman Bruce Evertson, a prominent figure in the state's oil industry, was killed in a highway accident Feb. 4 along with his passenger, Robin Lapaseotes of Bridgeport. Evertson, CEO of Evertson Companies in Kimball, was behind the wheel of a Cadillac Escalade traveling east on Nebraska Highway 88 in Morrill County. According to the Nebraska State Patrol, he collided head-on with a westbound semitrailer, driven by Dennis Dobrinski of Bridgeport.

Belinda Westfall, principal of North Elementary informed the school board that 2nd and 3rd grade students had improved significantly on standardized tests in vocabulary comprehension and fluency in preparation for NeSA testing. NeSA, or Nebraska State Accountability, tests the proficiency of students in various subjects statewide.

Richard N. Cabela, who founded the outdoor gear company Cabela's, the world's largest direct marketer and a leading specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise based in Sidney, died Feb. 17. He was 77. The heralded outdoor enthusiast and entrepreneur died peacefully in his home with his wife, Mary, at his side.

Billy Fields, 36, was sentenced Feb. 18 for the part he played in the events surrounding the November 2012 shooting death of Adam McCormick. District Court Judge Derek Weimer sentenced Fields to 20-60 months imprisonment, the maximum allowed for his conviction of accessory to a felony, itself a class four felony.

Amber Davis, 39 of Sidney, was sentenced to 18 months probation Feb. 21 for obstruction and lying to a police officer, both misdemeanors. Davis helped Jason Custer flee Sidney for Big Springs on Nov. 3, 2012 shortly after Custer shot and killed Adam McCormick. She then mislead police when first questioned about the crime.

March

Cheyenne County District Court ordered Pine Bluffs Gravel & Excavation to cease all gravel mining operations at property owned by Raymond and Teresa Kuehn on County Road 99 about seven miles west of Sidney. The gravel firm and the county have been at odds for around a year now over the company's work on agriculturally zoned land where it operates a gravel mine. The case of Cheyenne County vs. Pine Bluffs Gravel & Excavating Inc. was tried on Jan. 16. The court issued its judgment on Feb. 28. In this civil case, Cheyenne County sought to stop the excavation of rock and gravel at the site in question.

West Elementary sixth grader Haley Kennedy knows what it must have been like for children living during the American Revolution. For starters, she said, "you would have had to help with the family farm or business and do extra chores." Her essay on the subject, written as part of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution contest, was awarded first place in the state.

The final plat for the first phase of The Ranch, Cabela's housing subdivision on the east side of town was approved at the March 11 city council meeting. This phase will include 92 of the 750 lots which will eventually exist inside the development.

This is what the company considers phase 1A, which includes only land which lies outside the flood plain. The company must wait for government approval before continuing with phase 1B, featuring land in the flood plain. This could take six to eight months.

Jason Custer was sentenced to life in prison without parole March 20 for fatally shooting Adam McCormick in the front yard of a Sidney home nearly a year and a half ago. In the state of Nebraska, life in prison is mandated for first degree murder convictions. Additionally, Custer received a sentence of 20-50 years in prison for use of a firearm to commit a felony and 10-20 years imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a felon. Custer was ordered to serve time for both of these additional felony charges consecutively to the life sentence.

A jury convicted Larry Martinez of first-degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony March 27 after only 53 minutes of deliberations. The jury of 11 men and 1 woman heard four days of evidence in Cheyenne County district court before reaching its conclusion. Martinez shot and killed Mandy Kershman at a residence on the north side of Sidney on July 18, 2012. He was reportedly angered by a text that Kershman sent to him shortly before the shooting.

April

Sidney renewed its commitment to a tree-filled community. Park superintendent Tom Von Seggern represented the Sidney tree board at the city council meeting. On April 2, Sidney received its Tree City USA designation for the 28th year in a row. Tree City USA status is designated by the Arbor Day foundation and is based on sound urban forestry management practices.

The Sidney woman accused of assisting in her husband's suicide and then concealing his body pled not guilty in Cheyenne County District court on April 8. Deann Kimble, 53, was arraigned on one count of assisting suicide and one count of concealing human skeletal remains, both class four felonies. Kimble could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each offense. There is no mandatory minimum sentence for these charges. Law enforcement reportedly found Russell Kimble's body at the igloo storage units near the old Sioux Army Depot on March 26, after receiving a tip from a citizen informant.

Sidney schools are on the right track, in the opinion of an external accreditation team who visited the school. The accreditation process for the middle and high school takes place every five years. This process includes an external review performed by administrators from other districts in this region of the state. The reviewers conducted interviews and completed classroom observations.

A civil complaint filed against the Sidney police department for negligence in a child abuse investigation was dismissed in Cheyenne County District Court earlier this month. Amelia Bell filed a suit against the Sidney Police department in late 2012 on behalf of her children for actions taken by officer Curtis Hofrok and Lieutenant Keith Andrew during an investigation into discoloration of her son's ears. Bell claimed that the children were improperly removed from her custody and that Andrew made maliciously false statements during the course of the investigation.

May

On May 1, Sidney Regional Medical Center's board of directors officially approved the construction of its new $53 million facility. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place May 28 at the new building's 40-acre site. The new facility will be located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Greenwood Road and the street currently named Virginia Lane. Virginia Lane will soon connect to Toledo Street and both will be re-named Pole Creek Crossing from 10th Avenue east. The new building will feature 25 private acute care rooms, four intensive care beds and three high tech surgical suites as well as a formal helicopter pad. The hospital hopes to have the new facility finished by fall 2015.

The new Bell Lumber and Pole plant located northwest of Sidney received a big welcome from members of the community as well as state representatives at a May 6 grand opening. The $25 million utility pole treatment plant located north of the Adams Industries Industrial Park has already created at least 30 local jobs and is set for possible expansion. Many local government leaders spoke to the large crowd at the opening. They all applauded the project's success due to the cooperation of the Bell company, Adams Industries, the city of Sidney, Cheyenne County and the village of Potter.

The city plans to begin work on the removal and replacement of the deteriorating pavement on 10th Ave. between Osage St. and Illinois St. on May 12. This project involves improvements to the storm sewers along 10th Ave., in order to improve drainage and limit flooding on the roadway. It will also include replacing the outer portion of the sidewalk on that stretch of road to align with ADA compliance, according to public services director John Hehnke. The project will be completed in phases, with traffic re-routed from 10th Ave. to 13th Ave. around the section on which construction is being performed at that time. The city plans to begin work on the second and fourth phases today, to be completed in mid-July.

The Sidney city council made the final vote on Tuesday night to change the name of Toledo Street to Pole Creek Crossing from 10th Avenue. east. City officials decided that a new name with a Sidney connection would be appropriate for such a vital street leading into the fast developing eastern part of town. The city decided not to change the name of Toledo Street from 10th Avenue west. Those with Toledo addresses west of 10th Avenue were not in favor of a change.

The Sidney school bond was defeated again on May 13, this time by a margin of just 64 votes. The $16.95 million bond would have funded the construction of a new K-4 school to replace the three aging facilities that now house those grade levels, the oldest of which was built in 1929. The initial count after the polls closed was 953 votes against the bond and 889 in favor of the bond.

Theodore Medina, 24, pled guilty May 20 in Cheyenne County District Court to reduced charges for the November 2013 beating death of 51-year-old Ernest Ward. An altercation in Ward's home between he and Medina, who was Ward's ex son-in-law, ultimately ended in Ward's death due to blunt force head injuries. Medina also pled guilty on Tuesday for the part he played in a jailhouse fight two days after Ward's demise.

The Sonic restaurant opened on May 29.

June

A revenue growth of $475 million in 2013 as well as more stores in the future were highlights of the 2014 Cabela's shareholder meeting, held at Sidney High School Performing Arts Center on June 4.

Deann Kimble received 36 months of probation and will have to perform 50 hours of community service for her role in the suicide of her husband, Russell Kimble in March. Citing a lack of criminal history and apparent remorse on the part of the defendant, Judge Derek Weimer gave Kimble credit for time served. Kimble, 53, appeared for sentencing in Cheyenne County District Court on June 12 on an amended charge of assisting suicide, a class four felony. She had originally been arraigned April 8 on one count of assisting suicide and one count of concealing human skeletal remains.

A Sidney man was sentenced to five years of intensive supervised probation on June 24 for the part he played in his ex-father-in-law's death. When Theodore Medina, 24 came home from work on the morning of Nov. 2, 2013, Ernest Ward, who was reportedly belligerent and intoxicated, began insulting him according to police documents. The two entered into a physical altercation later that day, which ended when Medina slammed Ward to the ground. Ward, 52, died later that night at Sidney Regional Medical Center due to blunt force trauma to his head.

Delays due to an absent concrete crew as well as less-than-perfect work have left the city frustrated with Werner Construction, the firm contracted to finished work on 10th Avenue. "As it's no secret to the community we've had some issues with the 10th Ave project," said City Manager Gary Person at the city council meeting. "John (Hehnke, public services director) did extend an invitation to a representative from Werner to be here tonight to kind of help explain some of the issues." The invitation was not accepted. The city deserves some explanation for some of these issues, Person said. Mayor Wendall Gaston asked what would be done about the uneven curb on 10th Ave. between Illinois Street and Jackson Street that was previously poured.

July

Officials at Sidney Public Schools hope to complete work at the Middle School before classes begin on Aug. 18. "We just all have our fingers crossed and hoping that school can start on schedule and not sure yet," said Sidney Schools Superintendent Jay Ehler at the July 14 school board meeting. The contractor replacing the windows and doors at the Middle School still plans to have the project done by the start of school, but acknowledges that it will be tough to complete in time. The contractor is guaranteeing that the windows and doors on the east side of the school, the ones currently boarded over will be replaced by the beginning of school. The window replacement workers should be in Sidney this week to begin installing those windows.

Some who revere historical accuracy were perplexed when they learned about replacement of historic windows in the Fort Sidney Post Commander's Home. A concerned citizen recently informed the city of Sidney that the windows in the building were removed and sold, replaced by historically inaccurate vinyl windows. The Commander's Home is owned by Cheyenne County and operated by the Cheyenne County Historical Society, which is funded by the county as well as through donations. Although the city has no power over the organization or its building, City Manager Gary Person wrote a letter on behalf of Sidney's Historic Preservation Board regarding the windows.

Sidney residents experienced wide spread power outages this weekend due to two separate incidences which both damaged portions of the city's power grid. During the early morning July 19 a vehicle ran into one of Sidney's transmission lines just off of Haskell Hill Rd that feeds its south substation. The city had to take that line out of service in order to make necessary repairs. Sidney asked that all citizens and businesses conserve energy that day until the line could be repaired. Power was out for 3 hours and fifteen minutes on Saturday, although the city worked to repair the damage for around 11 hours. Outages mostly affected those south of Toledo St., in the central and south portions of the city.

Eleven-year-old Camille Highby drawing, titled Silly Sea Horse was featured in the Your Own Pages section of the July edition of Highlights magazine.

A local teen is accused of texting while driving before he was involved in a head-on collision that killed a 19-year-old Chappell girl last month. Hayden Graham, 16 of Sidney, was traveling west on Highway 30 about five miles east of Sidney when he allegedly crossed the center line and hit Karman Reichman on July 31, according to the sheriff's office. When law enforcement arrived on scene, Graham had exited the Jeep Liberty he was driving. Reichman was pinned inside her four-door sedan. Both vehicles sustained front-end damage.

August

Cheyenne County will issue $32 million in conduit bonds on behalf of Sidney Regional Medical Center in order to fund its new building project. The public hearing in the matter was moved from the commissioner meeting room to the district courtroom to accommodate all of the community members and hospital representatives in attendance.

The Sidney Sun-Telegraph received six awards for writing and photography in the 2014 APME Great Plains competition, held by the Associated Press. In the division for small dailies, sports writer Stephen McKay won third place awards for his action sports photo titled "Bull riding" and his personal column "Wrestling and wearing pink for a cause". Former editor and publisher Dave Faries won a second place award for his spot sports photo titled "Leyton emerges on top". Former news reporter Caitlin Sievers won third place awards for her general news photo titled "City, county throwing stones" and her enterprise story "Lawyers increasingly scarce". Sievers also won a first place award for her personal column titled "North and South."

With the addition of 20 preschool students, the entire enrollment at Sidney public schools rose from 1,260 in September 2013 to 1,342 as of Monday, an increase of 82 from last year. Sidney's pre-school is full with 40 students. On the first day of school in the fall of 2013, there were 111 kindergarten students enrolled. As of Monday, there were 120.

Even with 100 percent of its students taking the ACT, Sidney High School students still scored higher on the test than the national average. Sidney's graduating class of 2014 achieved a composite score of 21.5, while the national composite score was 21. The highest possible score on the test is 36. Nationally, only 57 percent of high school students take the test, which serves as the college entrance exam for most schools in the midwest.

Construction got underway at the site of the Cabela's corporate campus expansion, west of the company's current location on Old Post Road. The work is part of phase one of the redevelopment planned for the 27-acre location. It includes land grading, construction of roads for various access points, storm water management processes and construction of the new 160,000-square-foot office building.

September

Long lines of people waited to pay for their discounted books, toys and collectibles during the final clearance sales at the Book and Coffee Corner from Sept. 5-7. The store, which opened in 1974, will be closing its doors permanently later this month, according to Cindy Rohm, current owner of the business.

Electricity rates for the city of Sidney are increasing by 10 percent after an ordinance was passed Sept. 9 by city council. According to Public Services Director John Hehnke, the rate increase is necessary due to new regulations passed down through the state and federal governments and additional costs associated with generating facilities that had not been anticipated nor budgeted for.

The plan was to make the short walk to meet their parents at their church and then head home for the evening. They proceeded together from behind the school's gymnasium east toward the intersection of 19th Avenue and Jackson Street. Shortly after – at about 8:15 p.m. Aug. 25 – they were both struck by a car while in the crosswalk in the shadows of the high school. They were headed to the Church of the Nazarene, located at the corner of 15th and Jackson – just a few blocks away. The Webbs were both transported to Sidney Regional Medical Center by ambulance. Thomas, 15, was airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., with possible head injuries and remained in stable condition today. Jessica, 17, was treated at SRMC and was released.

Sidney City Manager and Economic Development Director Gary Person was named the 2014 Nebraska Economic Developers Association Professional of the Year in the community/county category. The award was presented by NEDA, the largest association of economic development professionals in Nebraska, at its Fall Conference in Columbus.

October

The Cheyenne County Sheriff's office hopes to participate in a study to find out if sharing facilities with the city police is a good fit. The Sidney Police Department completed a feasibility study earlier this year that determined the department needed larger, more centrally located facilities, and that space could also be made available for county facilities, if necessary.

Sara Von Seggern, a senior at Sidney High School, has been honored with the 2014-2015 Believers and Achievers award. Believers and Achievers is a statewide program designed by the Nebraska School Activities Association and U.S. Bank to give recognition to Nebraska's future leaders. It rewards high school students in Nebraska for their excellence in academics and participation in NSAA activities.

The Sidney City Council weighed the decision to create a new energy substation at its meeting Tuesday night that would help ease the city's needs as growth and construction continues. The council listened to a proposal by Ken Fairchild of Olsson and Associates to create the that would help with the energy demand for upcoming projects such as the new hospital and the potential for a new elementary school.

A proposed Love's Travel Stop and Country Store received approval Oct. 21 from the Sidney Planning Commission. Dave Pierson, a senior project manager for Galloway Architecture and represented Love's, made a presentation to the commission that included plans for an International House of Pancakes, a housing facility for its employees and a new hotel. The stop will be located off the easternmost Sidney exit of Interstate 80.

November

The Sidney teen who pleaded "no contest" to a charge stemming from a head-on fatal crash this past summer received probation during his sentencing on Tuesday afternoon.

Hayden Graham, a 17-year-old junior at Sidney High School, was driving a vehicle on July 31 that crossed the center line on Highway 30, about five miles east of Sidney, and collided with a car driven by 19-year-old Karman Reichman of Chappell. She died the following day.

With the aim of incorporating male role models into the lives of its students, North Elementary School started a monthly breakfast tailored toward fathers this morning called "All Pro Dads." More than 145 people – comprised of fathers and their children – attended this morning's breakfast. The school's objective is to have hard-working, significant role models spend some quality time with their kids once a month at school. The breakfast will take place the second Tuesday of each month. 

Voters in Sidney will head back to the polls for a special election in February to decide whether the city needs a new elementary school. It will mark the third time residents have voted on the issue since September 2013, with the two previous bond measures failing by narrow margins each time. The newest election will take place Feb. 10, which was set at a November school board meeting.

December

Nebraska has been ranked a "Top 10 State for After School" in a recent national survey that gauged parent satisfaction and overall support of after school programs. The After School Alliance's After 3 p.m. survey ranked Nebraska No. 8 behind California, Washington, D.C., Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Oregon.

The former coffee and book store at 10th Avenue and Jackson Street in Sidney has been transformed into The Blue Rooster Bakery and Cafe. Mary Katos and her son Jim are the owners of this warm and cozy cafe that just opened its doors. The space occupied by the former "Book Corner" will be turned into an art gallery that will focus on local artist. It's also a meeting room for groups who are looking for a quiet place to sit down and talk.

Mark Nienhueser was elected the new mayor of Sidney by his fellow City Council members at the Dec. 9 meeting. Nienhueser takes over the post previously held by Wendall Gaston.

Larry Cox, who served as chief of the Sidney Police Department for eight years, died Dec. 11 at his home in Sidney. He was 61. Cox was the police chief from June 2001 until his retirement in October 2009. He spent 33 years in law enforcement.

Sidney has a new industrial park in the works as City Council reached an engineering agreement with Baker and Associates at its meeting on Monday night. The project will consist of preliminary and final platting for the Sidney Industrial Park, including 86 acres of land east of highway L17J and south of Highway 30.

The price of gasoline is lower on Christmas Day than it has been in some time, and Sidney residents are benefiting from a bit of a "gas war" going on in town. In fact, according to GasBuddy.com, the prices here are about the best you'll find anywhere in Nebraska. Thrifty's Gas and Liquor – located on Sidney Chase Drive just south of the I-80 overpass – has the lowest price in town as of Friday morning, charging $1.71 for a gallon of unleaded gas. Meanwhile, the Western Convenience store – located at the east end of Illinois Street – has unleaded gas at $1.72 per gallon. Gas dropped the next week to $1.68 per gallon.