Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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“It is always important to ask questions. Don’t immediately assume that the person on the other line is valid, especially if they are threatening you or if they are telling you to send money now or you are going to go to jail.” The Observer obtained this advice from Jina Ragland, associate state director of advocacy and outreach for AARP Nebraska. Ragland continued, “The most important thing is to ask for a call back number, and when you call that number back, you can always verify whether or not that is a true person or an imposte...
Memorial Day services in Kimball will be Monday, May 31, at the Kimball Cemetery. The 10 a.m. service will include the presentation of the flag, the national anthem and taps. Last year, the service was short and sweet to abide by COVID-19 rules, but this year the service itself will return to a more familiar format. The traditional hamburger feed after the ceremony, however, will not be held this year. A special speaker is in store for the ceremony: Thomas W. Tudor. Tudor is a past board...
The Kimball City Council and the Kimball Board of Public Works met in a joint session on Monday evening in the City Council Chambers. The only item to be discussed at the meeting was the future of the power plant. Although the power plant produced electricity when it was needed in February, over the past few years it has become a drain financially on the city budget. In 2018-19, the total loss for the power plant was almost $70,000. By 2019-2020, the numbers had jumped to nearly $350,000, and from October 2020 to May 21, 2021, the loss is...
The Kimball City Council meeting did not go as the Porters had hoped. Sonny, Kathy and Gerry Porter were somewhat disappointed by the outcome that council rejected their development project. Sonny Porter said, "Before we commit any more time and money, we need to see what our options are and then see where to go from here." He encouraged people to come and talk to them about their project. But he said, "Nobody did." The continuation of the public hearing from last month on the rezoning of 22...
It won't happen this Memorial Day, but by Memorial Day 2022, the extended family of World War II Staff Sgt. Penrod L. Reader of Kimball should be able to honor and bury him here in the United States. Since last August, DNA testing has been in the works, and if a match is confirmed, Reader's remains of will be brought home from the Philippines. The official declassified documentation lists the 21-year-old Reader as a Japanese POW, P. I. (Philippine Islands). He succumbed to death from malaria and...
Addressing a packed gym for the Kimball High School Graduation Exercises, Principal Danielle Reader said the school was thrilled that conditions were "as normal as possible," especially considering the previous year. Reader thanked all school personnel for everything that they did to maintain the "in-person instruction." The Kimball High School band announced the incoming graduates with "Pomp and Circumstance," and junior Amy Birkhofer sang an impressive rendition of the Star Spangled Banner....
The Kimball County Clerk’s Office confirmed Tuesday that the City of Kimball mayoral recall effort is over. The allowed time for signed petitions supporting a recall lapsed May 14. The effort sought to remove Mayor Keith Prunty from office. The clerk’s office on April 23 sent certified letters and emails to recall petitioners Ashley Sisk and Mary Laughlin to notify them that the time was near for them to pick up the petions at the clerk’s office, which they never had done. Neither certified letter was claimed at the post offic...
Randy Bymer, Kimball County highway superintendent, updated the Kimball County Commissioners on the county roads at their May 18 meeting. He said wet conditions were putting a damper on work to be done. The department has been grading and graveling between rains, and work on the 1/6 Year plan project has been halted due to muddy conditions. Bymer said that on June 1, two additional GPS units will be installed on county pickups. He said work also has been completed on the roof of the Dix shop for a total of $5,850, but the roofers may have...
Six students graduated from Banner County High School on Saturday, May 15. The 2021 graduation marked the 101st commencement exercises for Banner County High School. Superintendent Dr. Evelyn Browne briefly addressed the crowd and was thankful for returning to in-person instruction at Banner County despite the pandemic. As salutatorian, Aubrey Clement shared memories of teachers and praised them for the time and effort that they invested in the students. She said everyone was "pushed out of...
Cleanup at the Kimball Park and Rec Area was Saturday, May 8, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nineteen community volunteers plus the grounds crew worked on the softball fields, golf course and trap range. Jeremy Williams, grounds superintendent at the rec area, reported that "we did get quite a bit of work done."...
In a special presentation this month to the Kimball School Board, high school English students Grace Anderson and Aaron Gillming explained their assignment named "It's More than Just Tractors and Cows." Their project introduced FFA to young students in the Elite after school program with demonstrations ranging from welding with frosting and graham crackers to introducing baby piglets to the students....
Connect Kimball, along with the Rotary Club, hosted the Class of 2021 Senior Showcase on Friday, May 7. COVID-19 created the unique parade activity in 2020, which was followed by cruise night. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves during that strange time. Connect Kimball, formerly known as Kiwanis, has rebranded itself to be a local organization. The seniors decorated their cars, and while they were being judged, the seniors took advantage of their free meals at Dairy Queen and Nebraska Coffee....
Potter-Dix Schools seniors were the first of the area seniors to graduate. The 15 P-D seniors graduated on May 8 at 2 p.m. Their Class Motto was a quote from Tim McGraw: "Chase Your Dreams, but always know the road that will lead you home." The afternoon began with a 10-minute slideshow highlighting the seniors, and salutatorian Jaydin Paxton and valedictorian Mary Kasten relived moments and thanked family and staff. Teacher and coach Dale Frerichs addressed the seniors and crowd with wisdom,...
With the school year winding down, the Kimball Public Schools staff and school board addressed issues at Monday’s board meeting that will affect next year and beyond. Activities Director Ken Smith recapped the number of participants in activities this year and explained what the plan is to get more students to participate. Activities include FFA, music, sports, cheer, play production,and speech. The ninth grade class has 29 students, and 21 of them participated in one or more activities, with music being the most popular for all students. The n...
Good morning, Banner County! School is winding down here in the Burg. It is going better than at this time last year for sure. Thursday, May 13 – tonight! – is the activities and academic banquet for high school students, followed by senior graduation on Saturday, May 15th. That will take place in the big gym at 3 p.m. We have seven students moving on this year. Monday the 17th will be Patron’s Day for K-5th and will be an all day event. Or at least it used to be. I think they finish up around noon nowadays. On Wednesday, May 19th, there will...
Mary Lynch fourth-graders helped the City of Kimball celebrate Arbor Day by planting four evergreen trees in Gotte Park. The short ceremony began with the head of the street department, Jim Shoup, talking about Arbor Day and how Kimball "has an urban forest." Shoup continued to explain to the fourth-graders that there were conifer and evergreen trees in the park because "in the wintertime, we want to see green and in the summer we want shade." Arbor Day was proposed in 1872 by J. Sterling...
The Kimball County commissioners heard a financial update from the Veterans Service Office assistant, Darcee Wheeland on Tuesday, May 3, at their regular semimonthly meeting. According to Wheeland’s records, Kimball County veterans or spouses received $34,395 in April from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation, VA pensions, retired military funding, or VIP Program Care. About 350 veterans live in the county. Christy Warner, the transit administrator, reported that the service is busy and has hired three new drivers and an i...
Since March 17, 2020, the Kimball senior center has been closed to the public and only providing curbside service. Now the Kimball Senior Center at 107 S. Oak Street is open again for business for regular sit down meals. Lunchtime meals are served inside at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, but curbside service still exists. The senior center menu is featured in every edition of the Observer and appears on Page A6 this week. Call ahead for meals at 308-235-4505....
A local citizen posed this question to the Observer: Who is responsible for cleaning up the alleys? Here is what the Observer found out about the alley situation. The city has a 20-foot easement in the alleys, 10 feet from the center on each side. The Street Department and Katie Potterf, the community service officer are responsible for helping to keep the alleyway clear for trash pickup and the city utilities department. Jim Shoup, head of the street department, said there is a lot of encroachm...
On May 3 the Unified Command confirmed that Kimball County once again has zero COVID-19 cases and vaccinations are continuing. Panhandle Public Health District has vaccination data per county, and Kimball County data shows that 837 individuals are fully vaccinated, which equals 29% of the population. Banner County data reports that 38% of residents are fully vaccinated, and Scotts Bluff County reports 36% of the people have been fully vaccinated. Dr. Matthew Bruner, OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer at Regional West Health Services based in...
The City of Kimball is looking to fill a vacancy on the Kimball City Council as a result of the resignation of council President Kim Baliman. Baliman’s letter of resignation was made available to the public on a table at the April 20 council meeting. She referred to matters surrounding the mayoral recall petition as among the factors in her decision. As for the vacancy, residents wishing to submit their name must do so by 4:30 p.m. May 14. Letters must include the applicant’s name, address, phone number, email address, reasons for interest in f...
On Monday, following the April 20 Kimball City Council meeting, Mayor Keith Prunty said he was "very pleased with the courtesy shown by everyone" regarding a proposal to rezone Ridgewood Trailer Park. He said that with a positive attitude like that, "things can be accomplished." The council had directed the Porters, the project developers, and city officials to work together and look for some common ground for revamping the old Ridgewood Trailer Park. Prunty said the plans have been revised and...
Nebraska Coffee has outgrown its location on Highway 30 and will expand and move to a recently purchased downtown building near the underpass. Owner Hannah Snyder shared with the Observer some pertinent information about her new venture. "We won't have just one drive-through window," she said. "We'll have two." During the worst of the COVID-19 crisis, Snyder realized that she needed more room, and there was no way in its present location to expand or grow. So she began looking for a building, an...
The Kimball County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 20, with much of their meeting consumed by discussion of road department equipment. According to Randy Bymer, road superintendent, road grader operators were out on Friday after the last significant snow. They were only out until it got “sloppy,” Bymer said, “and it got sloppy fast.” Bymer notified the commissioners that fixing the county’s 1982 John Deere loader was getting more difficult because parts are hard to find for that unit. Also, the 1977 belly dump has the s...
How do you recall a recall? Kimball County Clerk Cathy Sibal said she has received a phone call from one of the petitioners looking to recall Mayor Keith Prunty inquiring about withdrawing her recall petition – but it appears the only way to stop the process is to let it move forward. Nothing in the recall statutes addresses withdrawing a petitioner’s recall forms. A spokesperson in the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office told the Observer that “once the recall petition is filed, no one can stop it, it is official.” Even though the individua...