Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Kimball City Council met for their January monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 16, and council President Don Muench conducted the meeting due to the absence of Mayor John Morrison. Others in attendance included Christy Warner and Gabe Ingram. City administrator Annette Brower was absent, as was Councilman Creg Pike. Council approved a $25,000 business grant for Patriot Carwash, LLC to be paid when the project is completed. In the big news at the meeting, the long awaited Road Safety Assessment...
Sidney police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Dix man, Nathan James Robinson. The 23-year-old is being sought for the assault of an 84-year-old Sidney female. The incident happened on Jan. 17 in Sidney. According to the Sidney Police Department, Robinson has yet to be apprehended as of Monday evening, but no other information was provided. Robinson's charges include three Class 2 felonies, which include robbery, theft/shoplifting, and abuse of a vulnerable adult. In addition to the...
For the first time in Kimball, 14 junior high girls are being exposed to the sport of wrestling. A special upbeat attitude existed in the wrestling room, and it was apparent that the young girls enjoyed their tough practices. The girls were hard-working yet thoroughly having fun. Girls could compete in Federation wrestling but were matched up with boys. This is the first time that girls will be wrestling girls. The consensus from the young ladies was that "wrestling gets you stronger for...
Gen. Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force, spoke candidly in an online interview about the Sentinel missile project destined for Kimball, the tri-state area, Montana and North Dakota. Kendall’s words could be a cause for concern in the Kimball area. He spent about four minutes of the hour long interview voicing his own concerns about the Sentinel project. The interview was hosted by a Washington, D.C., think tank, the Center for New American Security, on November 13, 2023, and is available on YouTube. Dr. Staci Pettyjohn, senior fellow a...
Three Kimball residents remained in jail as of Tuesday after the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office conducted a bond search at 713 Oak St. Bond conditions set by the judge required the individuals to submit to a search of person, property, any vehicles owned, any vehicles located in, and residence upon request of law enforcement. In addition, the defendants shall submit to testing of blood, breath or urine for presence of alcohol or drugs upon the request of law enforcement. On Friday morning, Jan. 12, the sheriff’s office conducted a bond search...
Roger Gillming, director of the local Salvation Army, said he was “very pleased” with how well the area did with the Christmas bell ringing campaign. This year was much better than the past few years. Gillming said they collected about $2,800 in the weekends prior to Christmas. Six different area churches provided the bell ringers. Gillming thought the pleasant weather before Christmas helped with donations. In addition to the local individuals who put money in the Salvation Army pot, the Bushnell Lions Club and the Kimball Ministerial Ass...
Discussion and action items consumed a majority of the meeting time at the Tuesday, January 16, Kimball County Commissioner meeting. At the last meeting, the commissioner decided not to reappoint Steve Warner, buildings and grounds superintendent, but no action was taken on his termination. The non-appointment turned out to be a gray area and so the termination of Warner was on the agenda. Commissioner Carl Stander stated that Warner has worked for the county for 7-8 years and has built and repaired a number of projects, including most...
When the Kimball School Board voted to approve the negotiated two-year agreement with the Kimball Education Association for the 2004-25 and 2025-26 school years, it cinched the four-day week school year. The deal included a 162-day contract with a $1,000 base increase for both school years and a retention bonus. The agreement was approved in a 5-0 vote, with board member and former athletic director Ken Smith abstaining with conflict. After the approval of the 162-day contract, the board...
Kimball County Court has increased its traffic and criminal caseloads significantly from 2022 to 2023. Traffic cases from 2022 to 2023 rose from 645 in 2022 to 941 in 2023, a 32% increase. Agencies responsible for the traffic cases are the Nebraska State Patrol, the Kimball Police Department and the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office. County Attorney Dave Wilson explained reasons for the increase in cases. Wilson said that the Nebraska State Patrol does a concentrated patrol on certain areas, and in the Kimball area the patrol focuses on I-80. T...
Kimball County Buildings and Ground Superintendent Steve Warner was stripped of his appointment at the first meeting of the year by the Kimball County commissioners. The appointment never came to a vote because when Commissioner Carl Stander made the motion to reappoint Warner, the motion died for lack of a second. This all occurred shortly before the vote when three commissioners, attorney Matthew Turman, County Clerk Cathy Sibal and Warner had an executive closed meeting. Even with the vote to not reappoint Warner as superintendent of...
After two long days and nights of working wrecks on the interstate during the Christmas blizzard, Kimball County Sheriff Dave Hottell said he anticipated having a nice, quiet day at home on Wednesday. The relaxing day off did not happen. A county court arrest warrant for nonpayment of a fine would trigger a search warrant and eventually the arrest of a total of seven individuals for felony meth possession. Wednesday began by serving an arrest warrant for fines unpaid from the County Court of...
Josh Holz is moving in a positive direction as the New Year begins. "You have to look forward," he said. "There is no sense in looking backward." These wise words from 33-year-old Josh Holz ring true as he begins 2024 using his first prosthetic hand. Daily, ordinary things have been difficult, but with his new prosthetic, he can hold and grip things. Josh said it is "easier to hold the plate and cut my steak" and "easier to butter toast." His first prosthetic "is a very simple one that uses a...
After public hearings and agenda items, the Kimball City Council rezoned two properties from single family residential to multi-family residential for a planned Clean Harbors housing developent. At the public hearings, the council heard neighbors of the properties voice concerns about traffic, the number of apartments, and the stipulation that Clean Harbors open the apartments to the general public. The two rezoned tracts directly north of Kimball County Manor were re-plated to one tract. The...
The Kimball School Board is expected to continue discussing and gathering information on the four day school week into its next regular meeting. According to Superintendent Trevor Anderson, the next year’s school calendar is typically approved in March – and decisions will be made. Kimball Public Schools currently function on a 4.5 day a week calendar with a half-day of professional development scheduled on Wednesday afternoons for the entire year. In recent weeks, surveys were sent out to students, staff and patrons to obtain information. A m...
The Kimball City/County Park and Recreation Executive Board voted unanimously to borrow $182,500 at 5.35% interest to drill a well and repair Four Winds Golf Course’s largest pump. Sargent Irrigation from Broken Bow will be doing the installation and repairs. The well will be operational by April 1, 2024. Approval for the well was given at a meeting on Tuesday, December 19. Four Winds Superintendent Jeremy Williams explained to the Observer the recent trouble with the large 100 hp well. For the past couple of years, the heads have plugged up wi...
At Tuesday’s Kimball County Commissioners meeting, the structure of the courthouse was a topic that building and grounds superintendent Steve Warner reported on. Warner told the commissioners that he contacted Jacob Hurla from Community Solutions, and Hurla obtained a structural engineer to look at the foundation. Warner said that the structural engineer found that the grade on the foundation of the courthouse needed to be raised. Warner said, “In 1988, the grade was lowered, but it should have been raised.” The next step is to get an idea...
Reorganization was the main objective of the Dec. 14 meeting of the Kimball City Council but the council entered executive session to discuss selling of city properties and pending claims and imminent litigation involving Hometown Hardware, Inc. The city had a long list of appointments and approvals for their reorganization meeting. The council approved Mayor John Morrison’s appointments of Annette Brower for City Administrator, Paula Tarnago for city clerk, Jean Klassen for treasurer, and Jose Ruiz for chief of police. The active members of t...
The Kimball Food Pantry has scored again for the second month in a row, and just in time for the holidays. Kimball EMS volunteers sponsored and organized the "Fill the Ambulances" food drive on Saturday. They estimated their food collection to be about 2,000 pounds of products, and an additional $1,370 in cash that will help stock the pantry. Chellie Autrey, director of the Kimball Food Pantry, said that she was overwhelmed by the amount of food and money they brought in. "They probably had six...
Results from the survey on whether Kimball Public Schools should move to a four-day school week were shared with the Kimball School Board at its meeting on Monday evening. The results from students, staff and parents were favorable, although lots of questions remain before any decision will be made. Superintendent Trevor Anderson stressed that the school district wants to do what would be best for the students of Kimball County. During the public comment period, Laura Perry spoke on the issue. Perry favored the four-day week, but was concerned...
Don Lease has been appointed to be the newest Banner County commissioner. He will serve the remaining term of long-time commissioner Robert Gifford that expires January 5, 2025. The appointed followed an open session on Thursday, Dec. 7, in which a committee of Banner County officials interviewed three candidates for the open county commissioner seat. Those interviewed were Eddie Shaul, Lacy Krakow and Don Lease. The interviewing committee is composed of County Clerk Katie West, County Treasurer...
Kimball Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary and Kimball Health Services EMS have accepted the challenge of taking over the Hometown Heroes program. Former organizer Erin Heidemann helped the auxiliary with its first event on Saturday. For 19 local children, Saturday began with breakfast at the fire hall, a fire truck ride, a visit from Santa with gift cards to give out, and other gifts and prizes. Each child's family received a $50 gift card to Main Street Market for the holiday meals. Four...
Upside Down Childcare opened its doors on Monday, December 11, one year after purchasing the former church building at 1200 East Sixth Street. Mother and daughter co-owners Angie Luppen and Dalton Barber say the license will give them the ability to care for 39 children, including 12 infants. The newly remodeled building has an infant room, a preschool area, and a toddler room. They will accept children from 6 weeks to 13 years of age. When Luppen began her daycare quest, her experience...
The experience and maturity of the Kimball girls was the difference between Kimball and Garden County. Garden County's young team was overpowered by Kimball's experience and Kimball won, 51-30. Coach Jaclyn Burks was pleased with their execution and the press. Facing Garden County, Addy Olson had 19, Julia Winstrom playing a solid post position had 12, Grace Anderson added 8, sophomore Grace Moore was all over the court and had seven. Finishing out the scoring were Joey Perry with 3 and Rachel...
Canine respiratory virus is affecting dogs in Fort Collins and along the Front Range of Colorado. Local veterinarian Dr. Mimi Shaw said that, with people and animals from this area going back and forth to the Front Range, it should make it a concern for dog owners. Shaw said she had not seen any cases but encouraged owners to make sure and have dogs current on their vaccinations, including canine influenza, bordetella, and parainfluenza. Shaw confirmed that symptoms include sustained coughing...
Kimball County ended its long exhausting relationship with convicted murderer Vencil Leo Ash III on Friday, October 27, when he was delivered to the Nebraska State Penitentiary. The Kimball County Sheriff's Office was responsible for the transportation of Ash from the Federal Super Max prison in Florence, Colorado, to the penitentiary in Lincoln. Before Ash could fulfill his first degree murder sentence from Kimball County, he had to complete a sentence for federal gun charges from an incident...