Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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The Kimball School Board met for a full agenda on Monday evening. The board approved the items on the agenda, the minutes of the past two meetings, board bills and the treasurer’s report. Superintendent Trevor Anderson’s report explained that Kimball Public School would receive $271,376 as part of the ESSER II funds. ESSER is the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund to help districts deal with the effects of COVID-19 funded by the Nebraska Department of Education. Anderson’s report also stated that Kimball Public Schools would recei...
Livestock judging participants look at the hogs during the FFA District 12 contest in Kimball. See story on Page A1 and another photo on A5....
On Monday afternoon, Dave Roberts works a field for Mike Reuter. Roberts was land-finishing on cornstalks just east of Kimball. Other area farmers were busy putting fertilizer on their fields before the snow hit....
Banner County High School freshman Jacob Parsons takes the written test for the Meat Judging contest at the District 12 FFA Contest in Kimball. See story on Page A1....
The Kimball Power Plant will be brought on line to help out during a planned shutdown of a power station outside of town, but according to Mayor Keith Prunty, "We just don't know what is going to happen." The city's power plant previously ran during the extreme cold without incident. On March 12 and 15, Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) will be making upgrades to their substation south of town, and they will be shutting down power to the City of Kimball. According to a press release from...
Kimball's most recent addition to the police department has always wanted to serve the community in a police officer's capacity, and she has finally taken the leap. For the next couple of months, Taylor Schmid will buddy up with fellow officers in the field; then, she will attend the police academy in Grand Island in May. When she completes the 16-week program, she will be a "full-fledged officer." She admits that she has "a lot to learn.." Officer Schmid hopes to make a positive impact. "I...
Clerk of the District Court Deb Diemoz presented information on LB 102 to the commissioners. LB 102 would force the court system’s consolidation in more rural areas. Diemoz opposes LB 102, which would affect District 12. The Board of Commissioners made a motion and voted to oppose LB 102 and authorize staff to draft a letter to send to the committee. Proponents say it will save taxpayer money, although it may lead to a possible reduction of staff. Diemoz also talked about the security of the district courtroom and requested approval of a s...
Kimball County had no new COVID-19 cases for the past week, and the Panhandle Risk Dial is in the yellow or moderate zone. The last time the area saw yellow was in October 2020. Only Banner, Box Butte, and Grant counties are in the high category. To date, in the Panhandle, 11,324 adults have been vaccinated, and 2,400 doses plus the required second doses will be arriving this week. The newly approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine will come to the Panhandle next week. Officials at Panhandle Public...
Weather permitting, Four Winds Golf Course will open March 15, according to course Superintendent Jeremy Williams. Williams said “the greens are in good shape” due to constant watering during the winter. He worries about the tee boxes and fairways, but the last snow helped with moisture. The Nebraska winds are brutal on the course. Improvements to the course will include a cart path on the sixth hole. Although not completely done, as soon as the ground thaws Shane Hays’ crew will be back out to finish the pathway. In addition, a new sand trap...
Kimball cheerleaders captured second place at the Nebraska State Cheer competition in Class D Non-Building/Non-Tumbling, receiving the highest overall scores in their division. Representing Kimball at the Grand Island event were seniors Samantha Bemis, Raven Johnson, and Melai Casimiro and sophomore Xavier Thomas-Lewis. Assistant coach Ashley Heidemann said the cheer competition was such a supportive and enjoyable environment, and they also were able "to see what else is out there." The Head...
Last week proved to be an enormous strain on the electrical grid as temperatures dipped and electricity demand increased. The Kimball Municipal Power Plant, which has not operated continuously since 1980, did just what it was supposed to do in such a critical period. It was running and producing extra needed electricity for the grid. Under a contract with Municipal Energy Association of Nebraska/Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, the local power plant must be tested quarterly and be on standby to...
The regular February Kimball City Council meeting included discussion on Business Facade Grants and Business Infrastructure Grants. Former Flower Haven owner Kay McBride asked for an explanation for denying her infrastructure grant reimbursement on the roof at the business. After a lengthy discussion, the council returned McBride's reimbursement request to the Loan Advisory Board. The council appointed Keith Jones as the latest member of the Loan Advisory Board. Receiving infrastructure or...
The Kimball Spelling Bee began last Thursday with a practice round for 23 students and concluded an hour later with only two students left spelling. In the final round, Andrew Hawthorne, a fifth-grader, drew the word "casualty." Unfortunately he misspelled it. Anna Coleman, a seventh-grader, would have to spell "casualty" correctly and then spell the next word correctly to win the spelling bee. That is just what she did. For the win, Anna spelled "plague."...
Officials at Panhandle Public Health District said on Monday at their briefing that the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is 80.2% effective after 14 days. Their data shows that 14.3% of adults in the Panhandle have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine process was interrupted last week due to adverse weather, and PPHD is in the process of catching up. The Panhandle will receive 3,700 doses this week, plus the required second doses. The shipment comes at a time when new virus cases in Kimball County were at four this past week, the same n...
Receiving the prestigious Fireman of the Year award for the second time in his career with the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department is Marv Nelson. Marv always responds and is essential in helping to train the younger members....
Ron Leal, Director of Region 21 Emergency Management, recently purchased a drone with a thermal camera. Leal said the drone would help law enforcement in search and rescue operations. It will also be valuable for storm damage documentation, tower inspection, fires, and various other things. Over the years, local law enforcement has repeatedly asked him if he had any such equipment to help in search and rescue operations, so he pursued the idea. Leal received approval to purchase the drone from...
South Platte Natural Resource District is gearing up for the recreation season at Oliver Lake. The SPNRD usually has a public meeting to explain and clarify rule changes and upcoming enhancements, but with COVID-19 they have to rely on other means to get information to the interested public. A simple and painless change in registration has been made and will require that both the vehicle and the camping unit be registered; therefore they know how many campers there are and where they are...
Highway Superintendent Randy Bymer reported at the Kimball County Commissioners meeting Tuesday that some people were upset that the county road graders weren’t out on Sunday or Monday after the snow. Bymer said it was a “bad call on his part,” but weather reports indicated that it was supposed to be minus 40 degrees. One grader is down, according to Bymer, and repairs appear to be on their way. When not grading the road crews are working on equipment repairs. The One/Six Road plan has been completed and a public hearing is scheduled for March...
At 5:15 p.m. Sunday, the Kimball Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatch received a call reporting that an individual had fallen through the ice at Oliver Lake. According to Sheriff Harry Gilway, the reporting individual may not have seen the entirety of events that led to the call. Apparently, three teenage boys were on the ice, which was covered by snow. They were “playing around” in the snow and one fell and then, according to other accounts, he rushed to their pickup. The reporting individual then just saw two individuals and therefore called 911,...
The long awaited veterans bricks have arrived and the VFW #2243 is moving forward with their Gotte Park project. Although Brian Howard said the brick project took longer than they expected and they encountered some pricing issues, it is happening. In August, the VFW received 60 bricks and more are coming. If you missed out on the original order period for bricks, the VFW will send in one more brick order and they must receive the information by March 15. Forms to order veterans bricks are...
Cases in Kimball County decreased significantly in the past week with four new cases of COVID-19 being reported to Panhandle Public Health District. Most of the cases in the area, 68%, are contacted through community spread, according to the data from PPHD. The COVID-19 Risk Dial has remain unchanged but still is in the orange or high category. Vaccines continue to hit the Panhandle with 2,200 doses plus the required second doses to arrive this week. As of Monday, 8,604 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in the PPHD area. The Federal...
After five years of no boys basketball, Banner County has put seven young guys on the court this season to re-start their program. The team consists of five freshman, one sophomore and one junior. They have played throughout the pandemic, but Coach Charles Jones said that practices are interesting because they cannot scrimmage and the players have a big learning curve. The team will complete its season on Feb. 19. In its first 10 games, the young team had a 2-8 record with wins over Garden...
“It sold. The transaction has been accomplished, but the buyer is not ready to disclose on what he is going to do there.” Words straight from the mouth of Red Diamond Realty broker Jeanine Perry, who handled the sale. She told the Observer the news Tuesday. “You are going to like the business,” Perry said. “I think everyone will enjoy it.” In the next few weeks, the buyer will be coming to Kimball to check things out in town....
COVID-19 cases for the past week in Kimball County have increased from 9 the previous week to 23 with a majority of the cases considered to be community spread. Kimball County has one more COVID-19 related death reported, a female in their 90s. The state must verify the deaths in order for it to be considered a COVID-19 related death. Panhandle Public Health District reported that the the Panhandle will be receiving 1,500 doses this week and its hoping to finish up vaccinating the 75 and up age...
Keep Kimball Beautiful received a share – a nice share – of the $6.69 million in grants that support 144 projects across the state of Nebraska, according to Nebraska Department of environment and energy Director Jim Macy. In total, KKB received $115,342. Keep Kimball Beautiful received a $24,532 grant for public education for Kimball and Banner County schools focusing on litter prevention and proper waste management. In addition for recycling, KKB received a grant of $73,216 to continue to operate the Kimball Recycling Center, which serves Kim...