Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Two new Kimball City Council members, Jamie Murdoch and Austin Garner, are preparing to take their seats at the December meeting. The Observer asked them about their short- and long-term goals and what constituents can expect from them. Austin Garner wrote this response to the questions: “In order to prepare for my seat on the council, I have been studying city ordinances, the comprehensive plan, financial report and Roberts rules of order. I have also spoken with a representative of KHS Ambulance, Chief of Police, Sheriff, the City Administrat...
Kimball Board of Public Works Chairman Jim Cederburg sat to discuss electric rates with the Observer. The five-member board has struggled with consistency as only one member has been on the board for more than two years, although some were members previously. The board serves at the discretion and appointment of the mayor, with the approval of the City Council for a four-year term. With the appointment of Greg Robinson to the council the Board of Public Works is looking to fill his seat. Shocking and concerning for the board was the 2023-24...
The streets by Mary Lynch Elementary School were lined with cars, and the guests were lined up out the doors of the school on Tuesday morning for the Grandparents Breakfast. Doughnuts, fruit and sausage were on the menu for the annual breakfast on Tuesday. Monday, Danessa Terrill was getting everything ready for the event, which brought out 140 adults last year along with 142 students. Normally, she said that they feed 70 students breakfast. Excited for breakfast, students and grandparents...
Interviews were held for the open position on the Park and Recreation Executive Committee at the Kimball County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday morning. Individuals interested in the position were Maggie Laughlin, Gabe Miller and Harold Farrar. All three individuals had completed an application. Maggie Laughlin was interviewed via phone, while Miller and Farrar had an in person interview in open session. After the interviews, Chairman of the Board Rich Flores made a motion for Farrar to fill the position, and it was seconded by Carl Stander....
America Recycles Day on Friday, Nov. 15, was celebrated in Kimball at the Kimball Recycling Center with an open house, tours and education. Guests were treated to breakfast, lunch or dinner at the all-day affair. Kimball Recycling Center Director Spud Rowley is passionate about recycling. He never tires of giving tours and explaining statistics. In the third quarter, the center recycled over 212,000 pounds of cardboard, 11,000 pounds of shredded paper, almost 17,000 pounds of household...
After a tension filled, heated discussion and debate at the Kimball City Council meeting on Thursday, Kimball Police Chief Jose Ruiz and Kimball County Sheriff Dave Hottell have met – and according to the sheriff all dispatching will remain in Kimball County. This is the most recent information obtained by the Observer on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed by the sheriff in relation to the retention of the city's dispatch in this county and not Cheyenne County. Mayor John Morrison also confirmed t...
Scheduled to take office in January 2025, two newly elected Kimball School Board members attended the Monday, Nov. 11, board meeting. Taylor Brown and Landon Smith introduced themselves. Taylor is from Kimball and is looking forward to involvement in the school system, while newcomer Landon Smith hails from Holyoke, Colorado, and spent 14 years in Wyoming. He and his family reside in Kimball County. He is also excited to become involved in the local educational system. Trevor Anderson's superint...
The process and deadlines continue on the recall petition for Kimball Mayor John Morrison. Morrison provided his defense statement to Kimball County Clerk Cathy Sibal, and that statement and the recall statement appear on the first pages of the recall petition. Lines for 20 signatures appear on each page after the statements. Recall petitioner Ronald Buchart was scheduled to pick up the petitions on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at about noon. He will have 30 days to gather signatures and submit the pages, then return them to the clerk’s office. After t...
Claiming not to be an emotional guy, Air Force Col. Stephen M. Kravitsky, the keynote speaker at the Veterans Day program in Kimball, said he got a little emotional when a group of high school students sang the national anthem and the elementary students sang the "Armed Forces Salute" on Monday, Nov. 11. The anthem was beautifully sung by Rachel Berger, Skyla Stierwalt, Grace Moore, Renee Murdoch, Parker Fredrick and Connor Markum. Their voices resonated with pride and respect. The "Armed...
With the Nov. 5 election in the books two years after he was appointed to the Banner County Commissioner, Don Lease was elected in his own right to a four-year term. He had 314 votes, 10 write-in votes and 65 undervotes (undervotes are the number of ballots left blank on that issue). Banner County School Board had three seats open and three individuals vying for those seats. Jacob Knaub and John-Robert J. Faden tallied up 277 votes each, and Laura Baker had 252. There also were 10 write-in votes and 318 undervotes. All three individuals will...
Eldon Cramer and the American Legion Post 36 Color Guard presented the colors and the 13 point flag ceremony during the Veterans Day program at Banner County School. National Honor Society students and sponsors Kaitlin Knaub and Kinsey Groves assisted, and Mical Cooper organized the musical numbers....
E SPORTS in Kimball is competitive and finding its way in the high school gaming world. Coach Kelvin Pittman has five players participating in regional play for the fall semester. Pittman took his five players to Scottsbluff for the 2nd annual E SPORTS tournament despite the snow that blanketed the area on Saturday. The team departed Kimball at 5:30 a.m. and played in the first round from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kimball had two Fortnight teams participating. Finals continued after the first round...
After 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Kimball County Clerk Cathy Sibal released the unofficial results of the Nov. 5 general election. Official results will not be available until the canvassing board meets on Nov. 13. On the local scene, Kimball County Agricultural Society requested up to a 1.15 cents levy on $100 of taxable valuation was narrowly passed by the voters with 853 voting yes and 789 voting no. The other levy request from the Plains Historical Society was successful by a slim margin of 818 for...
The energy and excitement was palpable as Brogran Cross, 8, and Breklyn Cross, 6, described their recent Make-A-Wish trip and gifts. Brogan and Breklyn are active and happy kids, participating in such activities as volleyball, basketball and football at recess and P.E. And riding horses. Brogan is the typical older sibling, not one bit shy, as he took charge of the interview for this story by sharing both of their experiences. But eventually, his sister Breklyn got to tell her story. Banner...
Brad Hottell said, "The military changed my life." Brad graduated from Kimball High School in 2003 with no direction or "zero goals" in mind, but circumstances led him to enlist in the U.S. Army before his graduation. He left for Fort Knox, Kentucky, and basic training shortly after graduation. Landing in Fort Knox was the first time Brad had been outside of Nebraska. After basic training, he was assigned to live at Fort Lewis, Washington, until deployments. He said, "All the units I was with co...
Clouds of smoke could be seen from Kimball at just past noon on Thursday, Oct. 24, as the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department was called into action for a large and fast moving grass fire south of I-80 just across from the Four Winds Golf Course. Emergency Management 21 said that 245 acres were burned and fortunately the fire ran into a green wheat field, which halted its southeast progress. Fire Chief Andrew Bohac said the fire started on the interstate right of way but the cause is...
Plans for the 2025 Longhorn All-Class Reunion are being solidified with the dates set for July 3-6, 2025. The reunion committee is on a special mission to find the oldest living graduate of KCHS, with a keen focus on the graduates of 1957, 1958, and 1960. Your presence is not just desired, but it’s crucial to make this event truly memorable. With an influx of individuals hitting the town of Kimball, the All-School Reunion committee is asking for residents with extra rooms to offer up a place for alumni to stay. The Kimball Public School F...
A recall process has begun on Kimball’s Mayor John Morrison with the filing of the Recall Petition Filing Form. The form was filed Oct. 22 by Ronald C. Buchart. Recall is a lengthy process in the state of Nebraska; the process could take up to 80 days with deadlines and certifications. In this case, for a recall election to occur, 280 valid signatures must be gathered, which is 35% of those that voted in the last general election. An attachment to the recall form included these reasons for the recall form: • Raised community property tax levy d...
Several weeks ago, incumbent Senator Deb Fischer was interviewed by the Observer during her visit to Kimball. In an effort to provide fair coverage, the Observer contacted her opponent, Independent Dan Osborn for an interview. The long-awaited election is Nov. 5, and Osborn was crisscrossing the western part of the state. While in Sidney on Monday, the Observer met with him for a brief interview. Osborn noted that as he travelled throughout the state, Nebraskans expressed concern about the economy/inflation, immigration and the border, and...
For the second time in two days, Gloria Gonzales went missing last week. She was found both times but not without a very long and extensive search in Kimball and surrounding areas, a credit to the dedication of the search teams. Numerous agencies were involved in the search for Gonzales, including CERT teams from Kimball, Scottsbluff and Sidney, the Nebraska State Patrol with a drone, Kimball police, the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department, Kimball County Sheriff's Office, Kimball EMS, and Region...
Over 400 Kimball County voters have cast early ballots for the November 5 election. With early voting continuing through November 4, and then polling places opening on November 5 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the time to make your voice heard is now. The polling places are the Sagebrush in Kimball, Bushnell Fire Hall, and the Dix Fire Hall. At the forefront of the local ballot issues are the property tax levies for the Kimball County Agricultural Society and the Plains Historical Society. If approved, these levies will be in effect for five year...
Kimball woodcarver Don Story said, "I don't sell anything; I have never sold a carving; I give a lot of them away." Story shared some of his carvings and his love of the skill with the crowd at the Kimball Friendship Center last week. Each and every carving is a work of art with tiny details and intricate designs. Every Christmas, he makes an ornament for his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, that is, 19 ornaments he will make. He began his carving days while delivering fuel, waiting for the...
Eldon B. Lewis, 27, of Kimball, has been arraigned and appeared in court again on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Lewis is accused of a Class 3A felony, intentional cruelty to an animal, during an alleged Oct. 8 incident in Kimball in which he killed and ate a pet cat. Mark L. Kovarik, attorney for Kimball County, said in a complaint that Eldon Lewis “then and there … knowingly and intentionally, cruelly mistreated an animal by intentional torture, repeated beating, or mutilation of the animal.” In addition to the felony, Lewis is charged with viola...
The Sons of the Union Soldiers of the Civil War ceremoniously honored George W. Beard, the last Civil War Union soldier to be buried in Kimball during a brief ceremony at 11 a.m. Oct. 19 at Kimball Cemetery. The ceremony was conducted by the organization's John Surman. Beard's grave is highlighted by a Grand Army of the Republic marker. This marker, a symbol of his service and dedication to the Union, serves as a poignant reminder of his contributions. Beard was in his 30s when he fought for...
The Kimball County Emergency Dispatch is open and staffed 24/7, 365 days a year, to field calls for various agencies making response times as quick as possible. Last year, county dispatch answered 7,244 calls for Kimball Fire Department, Kimball ambulance, the Kimball Police Department, Bushnell Fire, Dix Fire and, of course, public calls. On occasion, they receive calls out of Banner County for fire response. Dispatchers sit on the third floor of the Kimball County Courthouse and often are need...