Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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The trial for William Shane Serrano continues this week in the Kimball County Courthouse. Serrano is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend, Tessa Ghering, in Kimball last year. Other charges against Serrano include terroristic threats, attempted first-degree murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The Tuesday morning trial session ended with the testimony of the 10-year-old son of Serrano and Sheena Erickson. The boy appeared to be mature beyond his years, confident, well-spoken and...
Tiffany LaBeau, the organizer of the feral cats program in Kimball, has provided an update on the March trapping and fixing of cats. The Northern Colorado Friends of Ferals have Saturday evening, March 25, set aside to trap 50 area feral cats, and the ferals will be returned to Kimball on March 26 after being spayed or neutered in Colorado. LaBeau and the Northern Colorado Friends of Ferals are asking for people to refrain from feeding the strays for two days before the 26th. This enables the volunteers to trap the cats much more effortlessly....
On Tuesday at the regular Kimball City Council meeting, the council held two public hearings and approved the special election to place Resolutions 2023-01 and 2023-07 on the special election ballot to be held on June 13. Resolution 2023-01 approved the placing of the City of Kimball Economics Development Sales and Use Tax on a special election ballot and Resolution 2023-07 places the matter of an infrastructure project local sales and use tax on the special election ballot with an increase of an additional 1/2% from the current rate of 1.5% to...
The City of Kimball has decided to move forward with a special election for the City of Kimball Economic Development Sale and Use Tax and an additional one-half percent sales tax increase. A reader posed the question: “How much is the special election going to cost?” Only voters from Wards 1 and 2 will be allowed to participate in the special election, and Kimball County Clerk Cathy Sibal is, as always, in charge of overseeing this local election. According to Sibal, the last city special election was in 2007, and the final bill was $3,094. Sib...
The Kimball School Board met in regular session on Monday evening, March 13. During the recognition of visitors, resident Michelle Barret addressed the board about starting a local beef donation for the school lunch program. Barrett cited that Bridgeport has such a program, and they receive nine culled cows a year that are made into hamburger. The animal has to be taken to a USDA packing plant, but the program is helpful for lunch finances, and local beef is being used. Superintendent Trevor...
This the second and last installment of Kimball basketball coach Chad Miller's review of his team's 2022-23 season. In the semifinal game against Bridgeport, turnovers and missed free throws on our end kept the game close and they were able to get the lead back down to 1 with just 45 seconds to go. However, our next possession saw us break their full court pressure as Bransyn Kiefer found Kyler Lusche on a half court pass in which Kyler was able to convert for an "and-one" layup and free throw...
The public hearing for the Kimball County's One- and Six-Year Plan, Highway or Street Improvement Project, is scheduled for March 21 to "hear support, opposition, criticism, suggestions, or observation" on the proposed plan. The One Year Plan has four projects – with the largest located on the asphalt road south of Dix and County Road 24. According to Project C53-279 (Priority #4) is going south of Dix four miles, and the start of the project is located approximately seven miles south to the e...
A Collective Gathering in Potter is celebrating 19 years in business and the folks there are excited to begin their 20th year. The unique business venture opened April 1, 2004. The sprawling 2,500 square footage building on Chestnut Street that holds the flea market has 30 booths and 22 different vendors. The flea market is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The business model includes a management team of two and eight volunteers to help work the store every day, all women....
This 2022-2023 boys basketball season was one of growth and learning of what it takes to play at a higher level. We knew coming in that the potential talent was going to make for an exciting year, however, players were going to need to buy into a culture that embraced higher standards and take on roles that may push them out of their comfort zones for the betterment of the team as a whole. Raising the bar started with preseason benchmarks and a "Longhorn 150 Challenge" that involves each player...
The Unicameral's Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee heard proponents and neutral comments Feb. 23 on LB712, which would allocate a $26 million grant to aid Kimball and the surrounding areas. LB712 was sponsored by Sen. Brian Hardin from the 48th District, which includes Kimball, Banner and Scottsbluff counties. In anticipation of the upgrade of the Minuteman III missiles to the Sentinel system, the funds would be used on infrastructure, water, wastewater system, child care,...
A special election will be held in June for voters to decide on a ½ cent infrastructure sale tax. Kimball City Council members approved in a 3-0 vote to put the ½ cent sales tax on the ballot. Voting for the measure were Gabe Ingram, Creg Pike and Don Muench. The council instructed legal counsel to draft the language and prepare the ballot language for the March meeting. The Kimball County Clerk's Office said that the special election would be held Tuesday, June 13, with...
Kimball High School senior Madison Ebeling has had a senior week to remember. Her cheerleading team placed first in the Class D Non-Tumbling Division at the Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Competition in Grand Island. A week later, Madison was eating lunch with the governor of Nebraska and testifying at a Unicameral committee hearing. Madison said, "The best part of the LB712 trip was having lunch with the governor, Jim Pillen." She explained that Gov. Pillen provided a little history of the...
The Nebraska Homestead Exemption Applications are available from February 1, 2020 to June 30. 2023 in the Kimball County Assessor’s office. According to the office, about 200 people in the Kimball area already take advantage of the tax relief program. The Nebraska homestead exemption was enacted to help certain groups of individuals who may not have a regular income and that may need financial relief. If you or you know someone who may benefit from the Nebraska Homestead Exemption visit the Assessor’s Office in the Kimball County Cou...
On March 4, "Broadway in the Bluffs" will showcase area talent – and Tom O'Brien from Kimball will sing a song from Disney's "Encanto" on stage. Broadway in the Bluffs is a musical fundraiser of Theatre West with local talent and alums performing different solos or small group numbers from Broadway and other musical shows. The event will be held at the Judy Chaloupka Theater at Western Nebraska Community College as a perfect evening to be exposed to live theatre and music. The Theatre West B...
Kimball 53, Bayard 45 In the Bayard game, we started the game off strong taking an early 11-3 lead but late in the quarter we gave them too much space on the perimeter and they took advantage by knocking in 3 consecutive three pointers to go into the 2nd quarter tied 12-12. The 2nd quarter was a little better, getting out on defense and holding Bayard to only 2 points the entire quarter and taking the 26-14 lead into halftime. The 3rd quarter then started with our opponent going on a 7-0 run to...
High West Energy confirmed that it will be using a drone for inspection purposes in Kimball County in the next few weeks. A pilot on the ground uses drones to inspect lines, insulators, poles, wire breaks and insulator wraps. They visually inspect the lines in the field and take photos of the structures for further review and documentation. Drones are invaluable for hard-to-reach areas where the roads are muddy and provide an overhead view of the utility structure. High West Energy drones fly only in the daytime, and the pilot, according to the...
Kimball Mayor John Morrison explained his absence from Kimball in a recent email. On Nov. 9, John Morrison was elected the new mayor of Kimball. He took office on Dec. 6 at the Kimball City Council meeting. Council meetings were either canceled due to no agenda items or lack of quorum until the Feb. 7 meeting. In reference to his time in Texas, a concern of some residents, Morrison said, “We had this planned before I was elected.” For the Feb. 7 meeting, he said, “I took two days to go back for the council meeting and represented the city...
At the February Kimball School Board meeting, the board approved the calendar changes due to early dismissals and snow days. From March 1 to the end of school, Wednesdays will now be a full day of school with no early dismissal for professional development. This calendar change will give back about 30 hours of classroom time. Superintendent Trevor Anderson explained that in the fall, Kimball Schools had four early dismissals due to heat. This winter, they have had six snow days as of Tuesday and two late starts. Furthermore, March 1 is an FFA...
The final two spellers at the Kimball Spelling Bee, Andrew Hawthorne and Aundrea Christiansen, battled back and forth with words such as "homeopathic," "ballast," "hematology" and "mercenaries." Finally, seventh grader Andrew spelled "conjugate" correctly to achieve his dream since 4th grade, winning the spelling bee. The odds for either a Hawthorne or a Cook to win the spelling bee were favorable as the spelling bee was a family affair. Before the contest, Andrew admitted he was "kind of...
The public hearing for the 1/6 Year Road Plan for Kimball County road department was set at the Kimball County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21. The public hearing has been set for March 21 at 9:15 a.m. The plan will be available at the road department or the clerk’s office by Thursday, Feb. 23. One item that could potentially be on the 1/6 Year Plan is the repair or replacement of seven miles of oil road south of Dix. The plan, according to Randy Bymer, Kimball County highway superintendent, is to grind the oil road up to a depth of...
On March 4 at 5 p.m., the Kimball FFA and supporters will have their annual Labor Auction, Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed, or chicken strip dinner. Other FFA dates to remember are the FFA Convention on March 28-31 in Lincoln and the Chapter Banquet on April 21. Various state-qualifying individuals and teams measure the success of the FFA in Kimball. Mallory Hottell placed 1st in the District 12 Creed Speaking contest and qualified for state, Grace Anderson took honors in TIG Welding, and her...
Potter-Dix FFA began the new school year with a new advisor, Miss Monica Wasielewski. The Officer team began a new tradition of feeding the local farmers at the Kimball and Potter elevators. This is just one method the chapter has done to give back to the community. In the fall of 2022, the Potter-Dix FFA went to Westco's FFA Field Day and Husker Harvest Day. Both events had a variety of activities and demonstrations. Eight Potter-Dix FFA members made a special trip to the National FFA Conventio...
LB 712, known as Create the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Deployment Fund, was introduced by Sen. Brian Hardin of 48th District that includes the Kimball area. Sen. Steve Erdman from the 47th District, along with six other senators, have signed onto the bill that would benefit Kimball and the Panhandle during the missile project. LB 712 was read for the first time on Jan. 18 in the 108th Legislative First Session, and a hearing will be held on Feb. 23. At the Kimball City Council meeting on Tuesday, Suzanne Brodine from Olsson presented a...
John Heidemann and Jim Shoup were awarded the 2022 Community Environmental Impact Award from the South Platte Natural Resources District. The Kimball City Council approved the placement of the award on the wall of the park shop/bathroom building in Gotte Park at the meeting on Tuesday. Another placement sign thanking the groups, businesses, and individuals for upgrading the horseshoe pits in Gotte Park was approved and will be mounted. Ordinances, updates, special elections and public hearings dominated the meeting. Ordinance No. 813 was...
The City of Kimball and Keep Kimball Beautiful received more than $172,000 in grants to combat waste and litter reduction and help with recycling and scrap tire cleanups. Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy announced $7 million in grants to 140 different projects throughout the state. Spud Rowley from Kimball Recycling and Keep Kimball Beautiful said that the recycling, public education and waste reduction were "fully funded" this year for $117,000; all three of those areas play a...