Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Republican Senate candidate Ben Sasse will be facing off against Dave Domina, the Democratic nominee, for the open U.S. Senate seat left behind in the wake of Senator Mike Johanns' retirement. Sasse, the president of Midland University, took a commanding lead early on Tuesday night gaining 44 percent of the vote with 16 percent of precincts reporting, easily jumping ahead of Sid Dinsdale with 25 percent of the vote and leaving Shane Osborn trailing with 23 percent of the vote. Sasse eventually...
When shopping for groceries, some residents may decide to go for more healthy fare, comparing calories, sodium levels and differing nutritional values. In past years, this has entailed picking up different boxes and different products and comparing them side by side, which some times can be a tedious process. In the end, residents may have still been left to wonder whether or not they made the most healthy choice. However, recently Main Street Market and the Panhandle Coop System has introduced...
Doug Peterson believes that in order to be a successful attorney general one must divorce themselves from political aspirations and focus wholeheartedly on the tasks at hand. Peterson, who was born in Columbus and raised in Lincoln, has served as an attorney for over 28 years during which time he has served as Deputy County Attorney in North Platte and served as Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Bob Spire. It is because of his years in the courtroom and serving the people of...
When one thinks about sports, the mind may drift to basketball, football or baseball given the attention they're paid and how they are seemingly commonplace in American society. However, there is often one sport that often gets overlooked entirely: shooting. The local Dead Eye Shooters, which are coached by Nicole and Larry Snyder, prove that shooting is just as valid and important as more commonplace pastimes and also teaches local kids important skill sets that they can use throughout their li...
The roof of the old St. Joseph's Catholic School, where the Head Start program is now housed located on 6th Street, was in tatters and strewn across the lawn Tuesday morning. Captain Justin Trout of the Kimball Police Department and Deputy Dwain Murdoch of the Kimball County Sheriff's Office arrived on the scene making sure that parents were able to easily find their children and get them to the safety of their homes as 35 to 45 miles per hour winds with gusts of 60 miles per hour gushed...
A new cell tower was discussed by the City of Kimball Planning Commission at their meeting Monday, April 21, where the proposal became a subject of, at times, heated debate. The proposal for a 75 foot cell tower that would sit at 3948 Road 34 North in Kimball was submitted to the commission via an application for a conditional use permit by Henry Jacobsen of Northeast Colorado Cellular speaking on behalf of Viaero Wireless. According to Jacobsen, the need for the cell tower on the west side of Kimball would be to accommodate the growing demand...
A late night call to the Kimball Police Department ended in a broken patrol car window and charges for a suspect at the Days Inn located off of Highway 30 April 16. A little before 1:25 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, the silence surrounding the Days Inn hotel was disturbed as owner Wesley Meitus was woken up by his wife alerting him that someone was waiting at the front desk. From the beginning of the interaction, the man, Santos Michael Munoz Jr., 34, appeared hostile and combative, according to... Full story
The three banks of Kimball partnered this past week for MoneySmart week which entails presentations given in front of elementary and high school students for the purpose of educating them about the importance of saving money.......
A new phone scam that has spread throughout the state of Nebraska and has caused some elderly residents to give up over $10,000 to scam artists has recently surfaced in Kimball. The scam, which revolves around Walgreens Green Dot MoneyPak cards, often starts with receiving a call originating from either Jamaica or another foreign country stating that the person has won a large sum of money. However, the call quickly starts to weave a sinister scheme by telling the person that in order for them to receive their winnings they must first send a... Full story
The Kimball County Courthouse held a training exercise for a new security measure Monday, April 14, in hopes of informing employees of how to calmly deal with hostile situations.......
A recent report has declared Kimball County to be the least healthy in the state of Nebraska. The report, conducted annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, ranks the overall health of Nebraska’s counties based on several factors including adult smoking, adult obesity, birth weight, college attendance, physical activity, and access to physicians. Out of the 93 counties in the state, 79 were ranked in the report with the remainder, including Banner County, being too small in popu... Full story
When one thinks about the armed forces, their thoughts more often than not go out to the men and women of our country over seas who put their lives on the line every day to insure that our freedoms along with the lives of their fellow service men and women remain intact. However, it is important to remember the forces that are working for us at home, forces such as the Civil Air Patrol. "Civil Air Patrol is the Air Force Auxiliary. They're responsible for over 90 percent of all inland search... Full story
Nebraska State Senator Pete Pirsch, an Omaha Republican, hopes to bring both his experience and passion for the work at hand to the Nebraska Attorney General's Office in 2014. "I'm running for Nebraska Attorney General, and I think that my unique experience, my background, my passion for that, for the position will enable me to do great things for the people of Nebraska," Pirsch said. Pirsch, who has served eight years on the senate, was originally slated to run for state auditor. However,... Full story
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, has thrown his hat in the ring in a late bid in the Republican race to become the next governor of the state of Nebraska. Bruning, who has served as the attorney general for the last 12 years, spent time last week campaigning throughout the panhandle, stopping in Kimball, Sidney, Scottsbluff and various other cities to sit down with small crowds and discuss the current issues facing Nebraskans and how he can serve to offer solutions. One of the key issues a... Full story
Kimball County was filled with surging waters as a flood left many local residents unable to leave their homes on county roads this past week. According to a U.S. Geological stream gauge on Lodgepole Creek at Bushnell, which feeds into the Oliver Reservoir, a peak flow volume of 960 cubit feet per second (cfs) was measured on the evening of Wednesday, March 5. Higher peak flows haven't been measured since 1981, when the peak reached about 9,390 cfs during a major flooding event that filled... Full story
A burst water pipe on the north side of Kimball left residents without water through Wednesday night, March 5, as Water Department employees worked to get the gushing water under control. According to David Ford, City of Kimball Water Superintendent, the problems started the afternoon of Tuesday, March 3, when employees went to inspect what appeared to be a service line leak. However, the situation quickly escalated early Wednesday morning. "During the night, it really broke loose so then we...
Representatives from the South Platte Natural Resources District along with the Oliver Reservoir Advisory Committee held a public meeting Wednesday, February 26, to inform local residents of the changes that will be taking place in the regulations that govern the reservoir and recreation areas. According to Galen Wittrock, Assistant Manager for South Platte Natural Resources District who have taken over management of Oliver Reservoir from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as of Feb. 1, resident... Full story
The Kimball County Jail, which sits on the top floor of the courthouse, is currently undergoing much needed maintenance to address health and safety issues that were brought before Kimball County Sheriff Harry Gillway and the Board of County Commissioners late last year. According to Gillway, the project, which comes at a cost of approximately $18,000 to the county, entails replacing much of the old plumbing through the facility in order to reduce water leaks which have plagued the structure in... Full story
With the recent snow fall that accumulated on the streets this past week leaving people to struggle to navigate the roads, Kimball residents took to social media to vent their frustrations, focusing primarily on the work of the City of Kimball’s Street Department. Comments posted to Facebook primarily focused on frustrations with the conditions of the roads around the local public school with one resident stating that they had seen “tons of people get stuck at the school trying to drop off the kids or trying to pick them up.” Concerned citizen...
The Board of County Commissioners voted to take legal action regarding the Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline, LLC at their February 4 meeting. According to Kimball County Zoning Administrator Sheila Newell, Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline, LLC, which recently moved into the old ASI building on the east side of Kimball, has begun construction on a pump station which will be used in the process of converting the Pony Express Pipeline, also known as 'PXP', which runs from Guernsey, Wyoming to Cushing... Full story
Cars lined the streets as residents descended upon the Harry McNees Auditorium at the Kimball High School to pay their respects to Bruce Evertson, the morning of Saturday, February 8. Evertson, 64, was killed along with a female passenger and business associate, Robin C. Lapaseotes, 56, in a car accident Tuesday, February 4, when his Cadillac Escalade crashed head-on with a semi westbound on Highway 88 west of Redington in Morrill County. The driver of the semi, Dennis G. Dobrinski of... Full story
Vencil Ash was brought to the Kimball County District Courthouse for a status hearing concerning his upcoming re-trial the afternoon of Tuesday, February 6. Ash is once again facing first degree murder charges for allegedly murdering Ryan Guitron of Fort Collins in 2003. According to reports, on April 3, 2013 a five hour long standoff ended with the arrest of Ash by Cheyenne officers who were responding to a call of domestic violence and allegedly found Ash inside his home wielding a high-powere...
Kimball residents will soon be dealing with the effects of a six percent increase in electric utility rates. According to Kimball City Administrator Daniel Ortiz, the city of Kimball has recently decided to increase the electric rates, which will go into effect April, 1, 2014, in response to changes to the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) due to increased federal regulations. The increase, which will be the second six percent rate increase since October, also comes on the heels of an added $63,000 the city will have to pay over the... Full story
Benjamin Klaassen was sentenced to 10 to 12 years imprisonment by Judge Derek C. Weimer in Kimball District Court for one count of Assault in the 2nd degree, a Class III felony. The charges stem from an incident that occurred July 2, 2012, at which time Benjamin and his brother Adam Klaassen, conspired to kill both their grandfather, Cornelius Klaassen, and his girlfriend, Frances Teeter. According to court documents, in the early hours of July 2, 2012, Ben Klaassen allegedly shot Teeter in her bedroom while she was sleeping, and at the same...
A car accident Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of prominent Kimball resident Bruce Evertson. According to Nebraska State Patrol, the accident occurred on Tuesday, February 4, when a semi westbound on Highway 88 west of Redington in Morrill County collided head-on with Evertson's Cadillac Escalade. Evertson, 64, and a female passenger identified as Robin C. Lapaseotes of Bridgeport, 56, were killed in the crash. The driver of the semi, Dennis G. Dobrinski of Bridgeport, 56, was transported to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff with... Full story