Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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COVID-19 has unleashed its fury on Kimball County during the past week. According to covidactnow.org, Kimball County unfortunately leads the way in Nebraska in the percentage of daily new cases. The report lists the positive test rate in Kimball County at 60.4%. In previous weeks, Kimball County had continually been within a 25-38 active daily case range, but by last Tuesday the number had climbed to 56 and by Friday to 91. Monday of this week the total of active cases was 98. By Tuesday, the... Full story
The Kimball Public School Board met for the last board meeting of 2020 on Dec. 15 and the final meeting for three Kimball School board members: Clint Cornils, Carrie Tabor and Heather Norberg. Both Norberg and Tabor have served on the school board for five years while Clint Cornils has completed 12 years as a school board member. The three members were recognized for their service to the school district. The minutes, board bills and treasurer's report were all approved with a 6-0 vote. Superinte... Full story
The City of Kimball will continue to look for a city administrator as the previous candidate for an interview last week withdrew his name. And now the city also will be looking for a new city clerk as the resignation for this position by longtime City Hall employee Katherine Terrill is on Tuesday’s agenda. Agenda items also include Gabe Ingram and Kim Baliman taking their oaths of office and Mayor Keith Prunty appointing positions, boards and committees....
Local children were treated to an early Christmas as Holiday Heroes, formerly known as Shop with a Cop, treated the kids to breakfast, rides on emergency vehicles and presents for themselves and members of their families. The coordinator of Holiday Heroes, Erin Heidemann, reported that 14 children were recipients of the early Christmas project. Those children received special treatment from area police, firemen, state patrol and emergency responders as they each had an adult to help escort them...
The Kimball Quilt Guild raffled off its group project, which was a dog quilt, on Saturday at the Kimball Public Library. The quilt was a project that brought 15 different members, each making a block on the quilt. The members donated their time and materials for the fundraiser. Each of the 15 dogs on the quilt include 42 pieces, and it was estimated that each quilter spent 10-15 hours in preparation for the quilt, quilting it, trimming and adding the binding. The beautiful, colorful quilt was a... Full story
The Banner County JV boys basketball team under the direction of Coach Charles Jones has restarted the basketball program. The seven-member team opened the season against Mitchell JV at home. Freshman Jacob Parson had 11 points, junior Alex Rundell tallied 6 points, and Nate McGowan and Wyatt Onstott had 3 and 2 points, respectively. Although they lost against Mitchell and would then struggle against Bayard on Friday night, Jones said that they “are learning each game. The boys are showing improvement from where we started.” Against Bay...
Cody “Lil Hippie” Brinkman, 13, spent the past week riding miniature bulls in Mesquite, Texas, at the World Finals where Cody placed 17th in the field of 56 senior bull riders, ages 12-14. Cody and his mother returned home from Texas late Sunday after a week of bull riding. Over the course of the week, Cody stepped up on seven bulls – and he admits he is a little sore from the experience. The World Finals started on Wednesday. Cody was unable to make the whistle on his first ride, but had an exciting day on Friday when he “covered” his bull...
Today, I write for Mr. Tom Southard. An extraordinary man who I was beyond blessed to have the opportunity to know, to talk with, and to meet in the first place. He was the man that so many students and athletes at Kimball High School looked up to and honored. I remember first meeting Mr. Southard back in seventh grade. I will be honest, I had no idea who he was, but he knew who I was, as he knew everyone. Throughout my years at KHS, I grew to know Tom as a supporter of not only me, but Kimball... Full story
In the Panhandle and especially in our local Kimball area, celebrities are hard to find, almost impossible to find. But one local individual was a celebrity and lived right here among us and interacted with us on a daily basis. Oh, "our celebrity" didn't even know he was an area celebrity, but he was and always will be in our hearts and minds. Tom Southard was "our celebrity, Kimball's celebrity." He knew almost everyone and everyone knew him, his personality, dedication to sports, to the commun... Full story
The Panhandle Public Health District’s Risk Dial has slid backward just a little and is on the border of the severe/high range for the current week. On Monday, the number of active cases in Kimball County was 38, which was a bit lower than Friday’s number of active cases. Also on Monday, Kimball County reported nine new cases since the last report on Dec. 3. By Tuesday afternoon, the number of active cases in Kimball County had leaped to 56. If you are heading west of Kimball, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has ordered a mask mandate effective Wed...
Interview Update: This interview was cancelled on Wednesday morning. Another round of interviews for Kimball City administrator is scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Sagebrush. The Mayor, Board of Public Works and the Kimball City Council will hold an interview for Perry Mader of Mitchell for the position. Mader is originally from Crawford, but currently is the city administrator in Mitchell. He has more than 20 years of experience in city government. The interview will follow the same format as the two previous sets of interviews. Mayor Keith...
Getting their morning workout are Nate Entingh followed by Heather Entingh. The couple, along with Austin Allison and Jessica Hahlweg, hauled about 70 bags of shoes up the stairs to a waiting collection truck. Kim and Todd Baliman helped load the truck. The shoe drive is a local fundraiser organized by Nate and Heather to benefit local parks. Kimball was the first stop for the truck, which will end up in Orlando, Fla., with a load of shoes to be refurbished and sent to Third World counties....
The First English Lutheran Church had a long list of reservations for its annual Thanksgiving dinner and the calls continued to come in even on Thanksgiving Day. Church member Diana Engstrom said, "It was hard to plan this year." That was due to COVID-19 and, of course, the weather is always difficult to plan for. But this year's meals were either delivered or picked up for carryout. There was no dining on site. The members of the First English Lutheran Church started early Thanksgiving Day by d... Full story
Assistant Director Jessica Davies from Panhandle Public Health District told the Observer that the region is now “entering a difficult phase with the COVID pandemic where people need to think through their Thanksgiving and Christmas safety plans and not gathering in large groups. It remains critical for people to not let their guard down with safety precautions.” Davies said there “will come a time when standard family get-togethers will be safe again, but this isn’t the time unfortunately. I’ve seen where Zoom is lifting its 40-minute...
Brantley Brower, 4, was in the Christmas Spirit on Saturday at the Parade of Lights in downtown Kimball. Brantley and other children rode in the barrel train, which is usually seen at the Kimball Fairgrounds during Fair Week. Brantley is the son of Trevor Brower and the grandson of Brad Brower, all of Kimball. See other Parade of Lights photo on Page A5....
The City of Kimball is still looking for a city administrator after the candidate interviews on Nov. 16. Jonathan Canon from South Carolina was offered the job but received another offer, Mayor Keith Prunty said. Prunty said Canon took the other job simply because the salary was significantly higher than the salary in Kimball. The other interviewed candidate was Alan Lanning of Steamboat Springs. – Daria Anderson-Faden...
In less than a week, 13-year old Cody Brinkman of Kimball will climb aboard a mini bull to participate in the International Miniature Bullriders Association World Finals in Mesquite, Texas. "I can't explain it; I love it," remarked Cody about riding mini bulls. Cody qualified for the Dec. 7-12 World Finals while competing with a team out of Oklahoma, where the top two riders in the event qualified for the world finals. Competing in the senior division for 12- to 14-year-olds, Cody will ride... Full story
Topping off a successful 9-1 football season, eight Potter-Dix Coyotes have been named to the All-District team and head coach Dale Frerichs has added to the team's 2020 accolades by receiving the Six-Man Berens Coaching Award from Huskerland Preps. "There are lots of good coaches and it is an honor to win," he said. "It is very humbling." Frerichs started his coaching career with eight-man football at Potter-Dix in 2005, when the enrollment numbers in high school were higher. The school went...
Out of 160 recordings of the "Star Spangled Banner" submitted to the Nebraska School Activities Association, seven high school students were selected to sing the national anthem at the recent NSAA Football Championships. Students from Lincoln, Omaha, Wayne, Aurora, Pawnee City were all represented – as was Kimball High School junior Amy Birkhofer. With the help of her high school vocal teacher, Jacob Hoffman, Amy's recorded audition was sent into NSAA and by the beginning of November, the t...
Panhandle Public Health District has reported three COVID-19 deaths in Kimball County. PPHD informed the public that a male in his 90s, male in his 60s and woman in her 90s all succumbed to deaths related to COVID-19. Often people confuse the PPHD total positive cases with the active cases, so here is the breakdown for those cases according to the latest released figures. On Monday, Kimball County had 154 confirmed cases and 113 of those have recovered. The remaining 38 were active cases. The Ne... Full story
The naming of a new Kimball City administrator is still in limbo as Mayor Keith Prunty informed the Observer on Monday that he has been “in contact with candidate and hopes to have it finalized by this week.” In other news from the November Kimball City Council meeting, all members were in attendance for two public hearing at the top of the agenda. Public hearings on a dog kennel license at 600 Jefferson and the rezoning at 905 E. 3rd Street (Cottage Garden) took just minutes and neither public hearing had anyone speak in opposition, alt...
At least two organizations are providing a Thanksgiving meal to shut-ins and others in need of a great meal. The Red Knights Motorcycle Club NE Chapter 4 is providing Thanksgiving Day meals to families "that could use a little pick-me-up this year," according to Austin Garner of the Red Knights. Orders for meals from the Red Knights have to be confirmed by Tuesday, Nov. 24, so those who want meals should get a hold of Austin or other Red Knights and tell them how many meals they need. Although...
Despite COVID-19, local winter sports are ongoing with the Kimball Junior High wrestling and girls basketball underway, and the Nebraska High Schools were allowed to start winter sports practices this past Monday as well. Kimball Junior High Wrestling Kimball hosted its junior high wrestling tournament that we told you about in last week's Observer with a much smaller turnout, and as also reported, I have some individual results from that tournament for you readers this week. Tig Woolington had... Full story
Judy Anderson of Kimball freely and proudly admits she is a "fabric-a-holic" although, being a "fabric-a-holic" has come in quite handy the past few months. As a well-known area seamstress, Judy put her skills to work making masks, thousands of masks, all with her own fabric and not charging a dime. Kimball Jr./Sr High School Principal Danielle Reader discussed with Judy before school started the school protocol and offered to pay her for the masks, but that didn't happen. So in August, Judy... Full story
Two candidates for the Kimball City administrator job spent Monday morning touring the town and visiting the city services, then at 5 p.m., a special joint meeting of the City Council and Board of Public Works was held to interview both candidates. Each interview took almost an hour with North Carolina candidate Jonathan Cannon going first, followed by Steamboat Springs candidate Alan Lanning. Resumes and applicant packets were available to the public at the Monday meeting. Only a handful of...