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 manslaughter case of the State of Nebraska against William Serrano remains in Kimball County Court for now. Court documents show that a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11. Serrano, 36, is charged with manslaughter, which is a 2A felony. He is accused of shooting his girlfriend, Tessa Ghering, 21, at their home in Kimball. Ghering died at the scene. Serrano remains in Scotts Bluff County Detention Center with bond set at $100,000. On Jan. 20, all parties appeared via telephone and/o... Full story
The Kimball County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, Feb. 1. First on the agenda was County Road Superintendent Randy Bymer. He informed the commissioners that he set March 1 at 9:15 a.m. for the public hearing for the 1/6 Year Road Plan. Then Bymer reviewed and answered questions about the future chip seal project on county roads. To chip seal, one mile of a paved county road will cost about $26,000, including rock, contract labor, oil and hauling. The county has about 13 miles of paved roads. Chip sealing adds about 4-5 years...
The competitive side of Kimball Cobras Tumbling and Trampoline members comes with the talent and hardware to prove that they can do the flips. With two competitions under their belt, including meets at Gering and Lafayette, Colo., the girls have all brought home medals and proven themselves in their age group. The leader and most experienced gymnast of the Cobras is 11-year-old Breckyn Keifer. Breckyn is in her fifth year of gymnastics. For the two-hour practice, Breckyn spends much of her time...
Kimball 57, Banner County 34 JAN 27 First game back from the SPVA conference tournament where the boys played well we were looking to continue that momentum going into our 3 game stretch this week. Banner County was our first opponent on Thursday and even though they have some size, they are a young team like ours and looking to continue to grow their program. The first quarter saw us trying to put pressure in the full court to capitalize on steals and turnovers for quick transition points....
Keith Jones of Kimball is "keeping his fingers crossed" in the hopes of receiving a kidney. The kidney can come from either a living donor or a cadaver (after death donation). Even though he is waiting for a transplant, Keith is not about to let the need for a kidney donation interfere with his daily life. After a lengthy diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes combined with high blood pressure, by August 2021, it was determined by doctors at UC Health in Denver, Anschutz Campus, that Keith needed a... Full story
In late September 2021, the Nebraska Legislature approved the redistricting of the Nebraska legislative districts, and Gov. Pete Rickets approved the map. The redistricting is a result of the 2020 census. Kimball and Banner counties, along with Scotts Bluff County, will become District 48, effective for the legislative elections of 2022. Kimball County had been part of District 47 and was represented by Sen. Steve Erdman. Erdman will no longer represent Kimball County. The field is forming to...
COVID-19 has made a comeback to the area in recent weeks. According to the Panhandle Unified Command's last briefing on Jan. 19, Kimball County had 28 cases over the past seven days. By Monday, Jan. 24, the number increased to 30 with 725 total confirmed cases of Covid. Jessica Davies from PPHD said, "The latest sequencing in the Panhandle shows 75% of new cases are the omicron variant. In Nebraska, 94% of new cases are omicron." The omicron virus is spreading more easily than the original...
The Kimball City Council convened at 6 p.m. Jan 18 for its regular meeting. The council voted to change the meeting date to once a month. Meetings will be on the third Tuesday for the next couple of months until there is more on their agenda. Kimball Library Director Amber Sweetland gave her annual report to the board highlighting youth and teen programs, active attendance at the library and computer usage. In addition, the library has 26 periodical and two newspaper subscriptions. Matt Shoup from the electric department gave a presentation on...
Candidates filing for political office in Kimball County started bright and early on Jan 5. Christy Warner filed for mayor and was the first person to file at 8:14 a.m. Other filings for mayor of Kimball included John A. Morrison. The mayoral position is a nonpartisan position and a four-year term. Other filings for the City of Kimball were Creg Pike for Kimball City Council, which is a four-year term. The incumbent filing period is from Jan. 5 to Feb. 15, while nonincumbents have from Jan. 5 until March 1 to file. At 8:16 a.m., Harry Gillway...
About 25 people attended the first Kimball City Council meeting of the year. Many businesses owners had been waiting for the new round of business improvement grants to be released at the beginning of the year. The following businesses – GRI, Dino's Pet Spa and Muench Electric, Woody's Liquor and Sporting Goods, Kimball State Bank, Karen's Kitchen, and Ondori Ramen – received more than $42,000 for business improvement grants. The business improvements included everything from new signs, refrigeration, lighting, flooring, ADA bathrooms, ele... Full story
William Shane Serrano, 36, remains in the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center. On Jan. 5, his bond was set at $100,000. Serrano has been charged with a Class IIA Felony. The punishment for such a charge ranges from zero to 20 years in jail. Serrano's next appearance in court was scheduled for Jan. 26 at 9:30 a.m. for a status of waiver of preliminary hearing. According to the complaint filed by County Attorney David L. Wilson, “William S. Serrano, on or about the 3rd day of January A.D. 2022, in the County of Kimball and State of Nebraska, the...
On Monday, Jan. 10, during the Kimball School Board meeting, the board members heard the results of the Progress on School Improvement Goal – which is that 90% of all 3rd to 12th grade students will be proficient (70% or better) in the math skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as demonstrated on Rocket Math Worksheet. Jr/Sr High School Principal Reader presented the results for 7th-12th grades. Students tested at the beginning of the quarter and tested once again at the end of the quarter on the four basic math o...
The Kimball County Commissioners spent the first meeting of the year in reorganizational mode. Reorganization started with the election of officers, which remained the same as last year with Larry Engstrom chairman and Carl Stander vice chairman. The meeting dates, agenda deadlines, publication methods and bank depositories remained the same as previous years, and the appointments to the various boards and committees that the commissioners serve on did not change. Committee appointments for county boards included Jordan Autrey and Gary Haack....
When the Observer received this question from a citizen, we reached out to the hospital and received this response from Jim Cederburg, chairperson of the Kimball Health Services Board of Trustees. “Kimball County Hospital DBA Kimball Health Services has had the opportunity to operate for 70 years in a building that is owned by the county. However, it has always been understood that the hospital is responsible for the care and maintenance of the facility. “Initially, the USDA requested a transfer of ownership from the county to the hospital, whi...
Chase County 75, Kimball 25 The Saturday, Jan. 8, game saw a young Kimball Longhorn team come out and get a few early baskets but were not able to keep pace with the Chase County Longhorns. Scoring the first 2 points in the second quarter the young Kimball team found themselves down 10-20. However, the next 7:50 of the second quarter and into the first six minutes of the third quarter saw the team go on a scoring drought and were outscored 35-2 in that stretch. Chase County did well pressuring our players and getting them to rush their passes...
The Nebraska State Patrol released a statement Tuesday afternoon confirming that a 21-year-old Kimball woman, Tessa Ghering, was found deceased from an apparent gunshot wound to the head at about 8:45 p.m. Monday. The shooting occurred at 602 S. Oak Street in Kimball. On Tuesday morning, Kimball Police Chief Andy Bremer completed an affidavit regarding the case because he was first on the scene. "I made the arrest on the scene, cleared the house and turned it over to NSP," Bremer told the... Full story
As area COVID-19 cases rise again, Kimball Health Services has made some changes. A mask is required to enter Kimball Health Services, and once again, only the main entrance is open. All other entries have been locked. The clinic is still doing vaccines on Friday. The facility has all vaccines and will vaccine ages 5 and older. If you are experiencing COVID symptoms, the clinic asks that you call for directions. Meanwhile, Kimball County Manor is still testing staff twice a week, and the...
If health, exercise or fitness appeared on your New Year's resolution list, then check out the many places in Kimball that will help you keep that resolution. Even when the wind is blowing 65 mph and the temperatures are below zero, there are places out of the weather to get your workout in. Just ask Marie Janicek and Nancy Turner as they put in their daily 2 miles at Main Street Market. When the weather is good, you can see them walking outside, but for the past seven years, when winter comes...
Tiffany LaBeau, founder of Kimball's catch and release feral cat program, says she is pleased with the progress of the program. To date, she has had eight cats fixed and vaccinated. Tiffany told the Observer that the Cheyenne Animal Shelter is very busy this time of year, and they "normally only have time to get in my cats once a month." According to LaBeau, "Cheyenne is easy to work with, and I love their company. I never have any problems when I bring my kitties in. They are very grateful for...
A little luck never hurt anyone. Here is how to usher in 2022 with good luck traditions from around the world. Some practices require a little planning but others are quite simple. One of the simplest traditions to let the old year out and help the new year in is to just open the doors and windows. This popular superstition will let the old year out and welcome in the new year. Another simple and easy tradition from Puerto Rico: Dump a bucket of water (or a glass of water will work) out the window – it drives evil spirits away and signifies l... Full story
University of Pennsylvania senior Nicholas Thomas-Lewis has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford. From Kimball, Nebraska, Thomas-Lewis is majoring in cognitive science with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience, as well as health and societies with a concentration in public health, and a minor in neuroscience, in the School of Arts & Sciences. "We are so proud of our newest Penn Rhodes Scholar who has been chosen for this tremendous honor and... Full story
"So it is kind of like the Olympics, like getting a gold medal in the Olympics. Fort Worth that is the big show!" This according to Dave Haack. While Ernie Hottell chimed in, "It sure made it worth it." The big show that the Hottells and Haacks are talking about is the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America-Horn Showcase. The show is for registered Longhorns and is the only official horn measuring event for the Texas Longhorn industry. Longhorn owners Ernie and Lea Hottell, Dave and...
In coordination with the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the Dix Cemetery was one of 2,500 locations participating in the National Wreath Across America Day. Christmas wreaths were placed on veterans' graves on Dec. 18 in Dix, as well as thousands of cemeteries across the country. The LaSalle Colorado Historical Society was instrumental in making Dix a part of the Wreath Across America. The LaSalle Historical Society has donated any extra wreaths to another rural cemetery... Full story
The Kimball City Council met in regular session on Dec. 7. Mayor Keith Prunty's appointments for city clerk and city treasurer from within the city's employment were approved unanimously by the council. Kim Barnwell was appointed city clerk, while Jean Klassen was also appointed city treasurer. The city staff and the city attorney were directed to investigate the matter and the cost of infrastructure due to an annexation request by Ryan McElroy and Stephanie Risk-McElroy. The McElroys own a... Full story
The Kimball School Board met for their final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec. 13. The board received a “clean opinion” on their annual audit conducted by Trevor Schuessler from Rauner & Associates, P.C. The presentation by Schuessler showed no compliance issues, and the district is in a “much stronger position than two years ago.” The audit also indicated that the board has three months of expenditures, so there is “plenty of surplus.” Schuessler said the financial position of the school district has improved. The school board has a regular...