Good Old Days 07-19-15

Compiled By Delaney Uhrig

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

50 YEARS AGO

'Confusing Harvest Gets Underway; Race With Rust Clouds Forecast'

July 16, 1965

Hot, drying weather has spurred the ripening of the winter wheat crop in this area and has set the peak of harvest activity a week ahead of estimate.

In a fight for life against black stem rust, the wheat needs the heat and dryness to maintain the weight and quality it has.

Many wheat farmers throughout the county are windorwing the grain, hoping to dry out a record-breaking invasion of weeds and beat the devastating effects of black rust.

Most elevators in the county have received at least samples of grain, much of them from windrowed fields, and managers anticipate that harvest should be well underway by the fore part of next week. If the hot weather keeps up, the cutting should be completed by about July 27, which was approximately the time it was figured a few weeks ago that the harvest would be getting a good start.

Early varieties of wheat, such as Warrior, have the best weight and quality, but the newly developed, rust resistant, variety of Lancer seems to be living up to expectations in fighting off the stem blight.

However, with so much wheat being windrowed it doesn't matter if the variety is early or later.

The greatest activity reported this morning was at The Farmers Elevator in Chappell and at the two Dalton elevators. The Chappell area is just beginning to open up while the dalton elevators have been getting leads in from the north Dalton area, traditionally early because of the lighter, sandy soil in that section.

From all indications, the best wheat in the county will be from this north Dalton community. This grain matured rapidly enough to beat the ravage of black rust, it was comparatively free of winds and it is testing from 59 to 61 bushels. It has a yellow cast, indicating a lack of protein, but considering the weather it has survived it is excellent grain.

25 YEARS AGO

'Funds Requested For New Fire Truck'

July 17, 1990

The very day the Sidney Fire Chief Keith Stone appeared before City Council to request more money for the department, the city's volunteer firemen were called out to extinguish a threatening fire six miles east of Huntsman.

The fire's origin is unknown, Stone said. It was reported about 11:50 a.m. Monday and it burned a large portion of a wheat field that had been harvested just the before the Art Frerichs place. The fire was a threat for a while to the house and barn.

Dispatched to the fire were 11 firemen, a pumper, a tanker and a "quick attack" truck.

On Monday night, Stone made a presentation to Council as a part of a budget workshop in which city department heads are discussing and defending their proposed 1990-91 budgets.

Stone asked Council for $190,000 for a new Class A pumper fire truck to replace a 25-year old Mack pumper for which it has become difficult to find spare parts when they are needed.

Stone also asked Council to budget an additional $130,000 to expand the firehouse. He explained that at present two main line fire trucks have to be parked outdoors because there isn't room from them inside the fire station.

That's not bad in the warm weather but in wintertime they must be drained of the water used in fighting fires.

10 YEARS AGO

'Railroad Crossing Gate Approved For County Road 109'

July 19, 2005

The Cheyenne County Commissioners approved a resolution to install a railroad crossing gate at County Road 109, west of the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds at their meeting on Monday, July 18.

Bud Rankin was not present at the meeting.

With the commissioners approval, a contract will be drawn up and presented to the State of Nebraska and Union Pacific Railroad. The state is paying 80 percent of the total cost while Cheyenne County and Union Pacific Railroad are each paying 10 percent or about $30,000.

The amount of traffic through the crossing merited the installation of the crossing.

Until the gates are installed, the commissioners also approved a temporary stop sing for the crossing.

In other news, the county has hired a new weed superintendent. Brian Hiett. He attended Monday's meeting to discuss the county's need for weed maintenance with the commissioners. The county has not employed a weed superintendent since May. Because Spring is the critical time to spray for weeds such as bind weed and canadian thistle, the weeds have become a problem.

Hiett is from Sidney and has been a commercial sprayer for over five years.

5 YEARS AGO

'Gun Shows, Keno Discussed'

July 20, 2010

Gun shows and keno tickets were two of the items discussed Monday morning during the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners' meeting.

Rich Fahey, who runs the keno operations in Cheyenne County, successfully lobbied the commissioners to eliminate the requirement for printed pay tickets. Fahey informed the board that the state no longer requires printed pay tickets to be retained by operators for winning to be retained by operators for winning tickets under $1,500. Above this level, a printed ticket is required to comply with IRS regulations, said Fahey. He added that computer disks record all winning tickets daily as well as a printed log.

The board of commissioners heard a request to rent the exhibit building at the fairgrounds for a gun show. Sheriff Darrell Johnson said he he didn't see any reason there should be any problems with the show.

"The only thing that we need to be careful about is that they have a certificate to purchase," Johnson said. "I think it's a great deal."

Larry Collins, who came in support of the gun show, said he regularly travels to other shows in the are and feels that a show in Cheyenne County would provide an economic boost to the area.

Commissioner Harold Winkleman said he didn't feel that a fun show was any different than any other organization renting the building and therefore he had no problem with the rental. The board determined that there was no official action needed by it at that time.

The commissioners received several updates Monday. County Treasurer Diane Scott provided the board with her annual report. In it, she noted that the county's overall finances appeared in good shape.

"It wasn't down as much this year as it was the previous year," Scott said n regard to overall revenues. She added that as the economy continues to improve, she expects revenues to improve as well.