Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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As the U.S. COVID-19 related death toll edges toward 450,000, additional vaccines are being tested. Currently, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are the only vaccines that have been given emergency authorization. Waiting in the wings to be approved in the United States are three other vaccines: AstraZeneca’s AZD1222, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax. A variety of other companies throughout the world have released their vaccines and begun vaccinating residents in other nations. According to COVID-19 Prevention Network, it is important to continue the v...
Kimball City Council had a packed agenda for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Topping the agenda items was a laundry list of businesses that qualified for reimbursement for the Business Façade Improvement Grants, Business Façade Grant and Business Infrastructure Improvement Grant. Many businesses qualified for multiple grants. Business that received partial reimbursement were Harley Dietz Rentals, Days Inn, Norberg Automotive & Diesel, Kimball Tree Service and SinEasy LLC. A p...
Kimball’s one and only Japanese restaurant is coming together and by the end of February the new restaurant is expected to be opened. The restaurant, named Ondori Ramen, will be located at 114 S. Chestnut directly across the street from Larsen’s Jewelry Store. Contractor Jeffery Barborak has spent the past seven months remodeling and updating the interior of the building. Now Barborak is simply waiting on the plumbers and electricians to complete the overhaul. Then the new restaurant will be...
The Kimball County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, Jan. 19. The regular agenda items were addressed before the 10 a.m. public hearing on a conditional use permit. A preliminary report was provided at 9:45 by County Zoning Administrator Shelia Newell. The application for a conditional use permit was submitted by Real Western Wings, which is owned by Dale and Ruth Critchfield and landowner Lonnie Yung for an "indoor or outdoor recreational facilities that due to the nature of the...
Nebraska residents 65 years of age and older are encouraged to place their names on the COVID-19 vaccination list at Panhandle Public Health District. The number at PPHD to call is 308-262-5764. PPHD reported that more than 4,700 people have already signed up, and that they anticipate the Panhandle will receive 1,100 doses of the vaccine along with the second doses already spoken for next week. As of Monday, Kimball County had five reported cases of COVID-19 since Jan. 14. As the vaccine is rolled out and the number of cases in this area has...
Late morning Tuesday, a Frenchman Valley Coop fertilizer spreader from Pine Bluffs was turning off of a Kimball County road north of Kimball, and a collision occurred with a truck traveling north on that same road. People on the scene reported that no one was injured....
Three newly elected school board members took their seats Monday at the January meeting of the Kimball School Board. The three new members – Albert Hargreaves, Lanny Little and Chauncey Pedersen – joined Tom O'Brien, Matt Shoup and Travis Cook on the Kimball School Board. Matt Shoup was elected president, vice-president Travis Cook, Treasurer-Chauncey Pedersen and Secretary Tom O'Brien. Yearly agenda items were tended to in quick fashion. Appointment to board committees, appointment of sch...
As COVID-19 fatigue sets in on the Panhandle, Kimball County’s numbers continue to stay steady or even decrease. With a total of 361 confirmed cases, the county had 18 people testing positive in the last 14 days. Since Jan. 7 Kimball County has reported only four new cases of COVID-19, which is encouraging. Neighboring Cheyenne County has had 810 confirmed cases and 54 in the last 14 days. Kimball County has had six deaths while Cheyenne County has experienced 15 COVID-19 related deaths. The Kimball area isn’t over COVID-19, but there is lig...
Pastor Roger Gillming reported to the Observer that the local Salvation Army was able to work just two and half days during the Christmas season, but the bellringers from St. John’s Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church and United Trinity Methodist Church received more than $1,900. This amount is a record for the Salvation Army Christmas Bell ringing. Pastor Gillming said, “We have never brought in that much.” Daria Anderson-Faden...
Recycling Resolutions for the New Year 2021 are simple to participate in and give you a feel good moment, when you recycle you are saving landfill space and preserving precious natural resources. The first recycling resolution in this series of articles was the recycling of cardboard, which is considered the easiest and most lucrative of products. Next, Recycling Resolution #2 is to keep those plastics out of the landfill. Kimball Recycling Center, which is a program of Keep Kimball Beautiful, t...
Carl Stander takes the oath of office Jan. 12 as a Kimball County Commissioner from County Court Clerk Michele Woods. The commissioners, in their first meeting of the year, conducted their annual organizational business. They next meet 9 a.m. Jan. 19....
Banner County Wrestling competed through the end of 2020, but Wyatt Reichenberg, at right, is the only wrestler completing as Noah Yetter suffered a season ending injury before the first tournament. As a freshman, Reichenberg is 5-4 overall at 152 pounds. He has wins over Lewis of Morrill (2), Zorkowski of Aniworth, Stevens of Brady, and Vitosh of Chase County. Wyatt placed fourth at the Sidney/Bridgeport Invite on Dec. 19, where he lost to Zink of Ogallala and Allen of Gerin...
With fingers crossed, the Shopko building at 1217 Highway 71 will no longer be called the Shopko building, as it appears that it will be sold. According to Red Diamond Realty, the building has been under contract for about a month and the expected close date is the end of this month. Red Diamond Realty listed the building for $700,000 and it has been for sale for about a year and a half. It has been on the market, then off the market and then on again, according to Jeanine Perry of Red Diamond...
The Flower Haven in Kimball changed ownership Jan 1. Joe and Andrea Harroun purchased the local business from Kay McBride, who owned Flower Haven since 1988 and will stay and continue to help Andrea with funerals and holidays through Memorial Day. “We are really excited,” Andrea said. “We are going to keep it a flower shop and maybe expand to some other things....
On Dec. 30, the Kimball County Manor became one of the first nursing homes in the area to have residents and staff get the COVID-19 vaccination. According to Director of Nursing Sarah Stull, 31 out of 41 nursing home residents took the shot while 13 out of 15 individuals in the assisted living also received the vaccination. Staff were also vaccinated with 12 taking the vaccination, but 12 to 15 more have signed up to receive their first dose in 21 days when the others receive their second shot....
COVID-19 vaccinations for those 75 years and older are now underway in Kimball and the surrounding area. Panhandle Public Health reported that as of Jan. 4, "2,108 people in the eligible population have received the COVID vaccine in the Panhandle." Kimball Health Services Director of Emergency Preparedness Jessica Webb said that they had 40 Moderna doses and they were "going through their patient list and started calling." The drive-thru clinic at the North Campus for the 40 doses was held Thurs...
Purchases and major decisions made by the Kimball City Council 65 years ago continue to have an impact on residents today – and the water tower south of town is a perfect example of lasting decisions. In March 1956, the council approved construction of a new storage reservoir and water system, according to March 22, 1956, Western Nebraska Observer. That reservoir, or water tower, located just south of town continues to serve the community today. The Kimball Country Club provided the site for t...
The effects of COVID-19 have obviously been felt throughout the world, but small local business owners have certainly taken the brunt of the effects of the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases continue to plague Kimball County, Panhandle Public Health District on Tuesday reported 42 cases over the last 14 days and a total of 341 confirmed cases. Dawn Moeser from the Sagebrush explained that COVID-19 affected them immediately, right after they purchased the building on March 3. "We were unable to receive...
4 will be remembered like other benchmark years in history – 1918, 1941, 1968, 1972 – but usually those years are remembered for just one or two events. 2020 will be remembered for COVID-19 which occurred throughout most of the year. Terms like social distancing, active cases, Zoom meetings, Zoom graduation, asymptomatic and flattening the curve became our norm. Many other wild and crazy things happened in 2020. Here are some of the other major events. Wildfires, the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash, the...
Mayor Keith Prunty’s report during a recent Kimball City Council meeting included a list of “City of Kimball Abatements” for properties that had fallen into poor condition. From June to December 2020, owners of 71 different properties in Kimball have been issued abatement orders or told to clean up their properties. These include abandoned residences, businesses, family residences and rental properties. Many of the property owners quickly cleaned up their residences, and their properties were then deemed up to code. Initially, courtesy phone...
As we close the book on 2020 and look forward to the New Year with a commitment to be better, lose weight, exercise more, read more books or just enjoy life, a simple yet profound resolution can be easily attained by learning about recycling and participating in recycling in our local area. Kimball Recycling has made it easy, very simple for the community to recycling. Kimball is sprinkled with recycling containers in alleys throughout town. Those wire containers are a single stream container,...
The vaccine has arrived and, according to Kim Engel, director of Panhandle Public Health District, Phase 1a should move along “pretty quickly.” Engel told the Observer on Tuesday afternoon that they were just receiving the vaccine at that moment. Although everything is subject to change, Phase 1a includes Healthcare Personnel and Long-term Care Facilities – and that has already started locally as Kimball Health Services has received the Moderna vaccine and vaccinations started on Tuesday for those in Phase 1a. (See report on Page A8.) The situa...
The Kimball City Council year end meeting saw the departure of long-time council member James Shields and the installation of previous Councilwoman Kim Baliman and newly elected Councilman Gabe Ingram. The City of Kimball continues to look for a city administrator and now will also be looking for a city clerk, as Katherine Terrill's resignation was accepted at the meeting. The council will be ready to tackle a new year as the housekeeping business was tended to at the December meeting....
Santa arrived early in Bushnell, last Saturday, to hand out gift bags of food to some special individuals. This event is sponsored by the Bushnell Fire Department, the Bushnell Firebells and the Bushnell Lions Club. This long standing traditional giveaway project provided 20 bags of food for local Bushnell singles....
Almost a year ago, a 15 year-old Mattie Debord from Virginia came to western Nebraska to pick up a weanling from Jo and Roger Timmerman. Timmermans had donated the young filly to the American Quarter Horse Association Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program and Mattie was one of 44 participants, Mattie received the Timmermans horse to train and own. The Observer did a story on Mattie, the Timmermans and Charis or SJQC Arual Blanton in February and now the program has been completed....