Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 4147
I have been hearing a term a lot lately: “digital citizenship.” I wanted to understand what exactly this is and why it is important. I learned more on this subject and felt it was worth sharing with you. What is digital citizenship? Put simply, it is the way we conduct ourselves in the online community. Growing up, we were all taught the value of being a good citizen. Our words and our actions can have an impact, and through these, we support each other in the community we live in. But being a good digital citizen is also important and is mor...
September is here, and with it, we celebrate National Library Card Sign-up Month. Kimball Public Library invites all members of our community to sign up for a free library card. Children ages 5 and up are encouraged to have their own card. A library card can be a rite of passage for children, giving them a sense of responsibility. As library patrons, children learn the importance of caring for things that belong to others. Children take the essential early step in their development when they obtain their library card and become conscientious...
Oct. 15 will be the final day of operation for the High Point Visitors Center after 11 years of operation. The Kimball County Commissioners elected to close the tourism facility. On Monday evening at a special Visitors Center meeting, Kimball County Commissioner Rich Flores explained “due to budget constraints in LB 34, thank your Governor for that ... we really had to tighten our belts.” LB 34 is the recetly passed measure to reduce Nebraska property taxes. According to Flores, “The conse...
There was no discussion at the Kimball City Council meeting on Tuesday when the council held two public hearings to rezone a parcel of land from rural residential to C-2 general commercial, and to approve a conditional use permit for storage units on this property. The land includes 2.591 acres on Kearney Street. Additional items under current business included the ratification of the new members of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department, Jim Shoup’s reappointment as the city’s street superintendent for 2025, and the approval of an updated job...
Clean Harbors, Inc. is on track to have a big September and October to celebrate its expansion projects. The projects include housing developments, workforce housing, an apartment complex and a new incinerator. The most significant undertaking, the new $215 million rotary kiln incinerator, is set to commence operations in mid-October. Originally estimated at $185 million in 2019, the project's budget has experienced a 10% to 11% cost increase due to inflation, additional features and design...
Kimball High School freshman JaLeigh Bohac picked up a varsity uniform and captured the starting shortstop position for the the Gering Bulldogs softball team. Two additional Kimball freshmen, Deanna Solis and Dakota Nunley, have made the Bulldog JV squad. They did not play on Monday, but all three girls suited up for the JV game. JaLeigh had an out-of-the-park home run during the JV contest with Bayard. Gering beat Bayard won, 14-4. Starting out the season, the Gering varsity played Hastings...
About 20 people attended a special meeting of the Kimball County Commissioners on Friday, Aug. 16, with U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer to discuss the public perception of the Sentinel missile project. Fischer spent almost an hour listening to how the project is going in the Kimball area. The senator said that her office has had "really good meetings and updates from the Air Force, also from Northrop and Bechtel." Throughout the meeting, Fischer stated that the country needs this missile project, and that...
At the Tuesday commissioner meeting, the Kimball County Commissioners voted to approve Kimball Police Chief Jose Ruiz’s request to use the former Kimball Health Services hospital for training purposes. The approval is for training on Aug. 28 that will focus on clearing buildings. Ruiz must provide a certificate of liability for the training to be conducted at the former hospital building, which is owned by the county and up for sale. In other business, Kimball County Treasurer Cindi Rahmig and Dave Hottell, county sheriff, explained the t...
The Keno Funds for the Feral Cat program this year have been exhausted in Kimball, but two individuals have stepped up to continue working to control the feral cat population in Kimball County in a humane way. Sherrie Stevenson and Dawn Hinton took 17 kitties/cats to be spayed/neutered at the Northern Colorado Friends of Feral clinic over the weekend. The Keno Funds are used only within the city limits of Kimball, but Hinton and Stevenson are accepting Kimball County, Dix and Bushnell cats for...
Westen Hottell, 16, said, “I figured I always liked to talk, so I might as well get paid to do it.” Westen had to take special course to learn the language he is speaking, the language of an auctioneer. Last weekend at the Top Hand Longhorn Sale in Rapid City, S.D., Westen used his talking skills and chant to auction off a bred Longhorn heifer. On Saturday, Westen sold Lot No. 1, designated as a youth lot with only youth bidding. This was his second opportunity to practice his skills in an actual auction setting. Westen’s first auction attem...
The Kimball School Board received an update at its meeting Monday on summer projects in the school district. The board and administration have worked diligently over the past few years to make the district grounds and buildings more attractive. Projects completed this summer include the Junior/Senior High School asphalt work on the west parking lot, scoreboard installation, flooring in the student center and auditorium foyer, LED lighting in the practice gym and locker rooms, the gym floors being recoated, and the roof on the slant wall of the...
Ten years ago in August, Heather and Nate Entingh purchased the Wooden Keg and the laundromat from Ken and Nancy Heig, and now the Entinghs are celebrating. Living in Cheyenne and coming to Kimball for the Farmers Day celebration, Nate and Heather kept an eye on the Wooden Keg. In 2012, the Wooden Keg was advertised, but hesitant to jump into the business scene, Nate and Heather waited. By 2014, the price had dropped, and they took the plunge. They renamed the bar. Beer & Loathing was born. But...
A long week of Kimball-Banner County Fair activities concluded Saturday with the livestock sale, the Rubber Check Race and a dance in the arena. At the livestock sale, dozens of animals went through the sale ring with premium bids totaling thousands of dollars. Thirteen swine went through, along with 12 sheep, 30 beef and 31 goats. In the swine division Trey Cook had the overall FFA grand champion swine, followed by Jax Toth with the reserve. Trey also had the overall 4-H grand champion hog and Bodee Carruthers won the reserve. Tatum Medina...
The Kimball-Banner Fair has started with a variety of activities completed. Competitions that are in the record books include archery, clothing, fashion revue, static and the dog show. Archery competition was completed on Wednesday, with a group of high quality shooters. In the Unsighted division, Ember White took Junior Grand Champion and Braun Hottell was Reserve. Audrey Ferguson received a purple, and Kolh Hottell a blue. For the Intermediates, Luke Olsen, Joel Berger, and Alaina Sperslage...
The Park and Recreation Operating Board met to receive an update on the installation of sprinklers. Work on holes 4 and 14 has been the focus of the sprinkler updates. Roy’s Landscaping has begun removing old sprinklers and installing new ones. With golf pro Edward Tamsett’s employment at Four Winds golf course ending, the operating board purchased most of the merchandise in the pro shop from Tamsett and was awaiting an accurate inventory of the merchandise. It’s a common practice for golf pros to purchase merchandise that they sell at in pr...
Weeshire Mains, a sensory farm and a federally nonprofit organization, is a testament to the dedication of Sarah and Ken Shropshire. They purchased five acres when they moved from Thornton, Colorado, to Kimball in December 2021, with a clear vision of creating a unique space for their own autistic boys, but now the farm has a new mission of providing a place for kids with sensory challenges to explore. Their sensory farm is a work in progress, with 247 blueberry plants now thriving, fainting...
The 2024-25 softball season will be exciting for Kimball High School freshman JaLeigh Bohac. After the Kimball School Board negotiated a cooperative arrangement with Gering Public Schools, JaLeigh will begin her high school softball career with Gering High School. She will attend daily practices after her school day in Kimball. Conditioning for Gering starts Aug. 5. The Nebraska high school softball season runs until Oct. 5. JaLeigh said, "In Gering, I'm expecting to work hard and meet new...
Surrounded by family and friends, former Kimball County Attorney Dave Wilson accepted congratulations and praise Friday from colleagues, fellow county employees and friends at a reception in his honor. Wilson spent his entire career in Kimball as county attorney and in his private practice. He expressed heartfelt thanks to all the people who have been part of the Wilson family's lives, saying, "It has been a wonderful life here. We have made some wonderful friends. It is hard to leave, but we ha...
Crates of Toro sprinklers have arrived for the needed repairs at the Four Wind Golf Course. Course superintendent Jeremy Williams said they have begun installing the sprinklers on the top side of the fourth hole. Fairways were burned out in several areas after gravel plugged up old sprinkler heads. Roy's Landscaping is set to help complete the installation of the 200 sprinklers the week of August 8. The Kimball City-Kimball County Parks and Recreation Executive board approved a $110,000 loan to...
Kimball Longhorn head football coach Darrell Howitt said he was "super excited" for the season and said it is "always great to get on the field." Howitt had about 20 guys out for the first day of five practices this week. Early in the morning, they had an offensive focus and later was the defensive focus. Linebackers and defensive backs got some specialty work. Howitt said he was pleased with those showing up and had expected a few more, but some were on vacation and some just had to work at...
Progress has been made in efforts to replace bad sprinklers and improve burned out conditions on some holes at Four Winds Golf Course. A loan has been approved to buy new sprinklers. Henry Heeg, chairman of the Kimball-Kimball County Parks and Recreation Operating Board, told the Parks and Recreation Executive Board at a special meeting last week that they were in the “same place as last meeting and are trying to move forward.” The Parks and Recreation Executive Board is composed of the three county commissioners and David Wilson on the cou...
Ordinance #830, which updated the city code relating to Unsafe Buildings and Property Maintenance, generated some strong opinions at the Kimball City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 16. The new ordinance attempts to link the unsafe buildings and nuisance codes. The new ordinance addresses unsafe structures and property maintenance. It also sets minimum standards for what constitutes a safe home. City Attorney Matt Turman explained that the government cannot deprive someone of life, liberty and property without due process. The ordinance and co...
The excitement is plausible as Theo, 9, and Elizabeth Perry, 6, describe their upcoming Kimball-Banner County Fair projects. “I am more excited than I can explain,” Theo said. Yet the excitement for Theo was curtailed a bit when he required surgery on his foot from a BB gun incident just days ago. A BB from someone else’s gun was embedded in the bone of his big toe. With surgery a few days behind him, he is not letting it stop him from working his steer, although carrying buckets of feed are off limits. He limps around while his mother cauti...
The late May freeze and the drought conditions throughout the spring and summer had a huge effect on the wheat crop, according to officials at Frenchman Valley Coop. On Tuesday, they stated that 90% of the wheat crop is in and by the end of the week harvest in the area will be done. The yields were found to be 50% of last year with an average of less than 30 bushels an acre although the quality was good. Irrigated wheat was OK, but not as well as it should have been. Frenchman Valley officials...
The Sentinel missile program, hoped to boost this area’s economy, will continue with an increase in costs and a delay in construction, the U.S. Department of Defense announced. The department, Congress and Pentagon determined that the Sentinel program is essential to national security and there are no alternatives to the program at a lesser cost, according to information that the department released. Other reasons for the certification of the Sentinel program were listed as: The director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation agreed that n...