Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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He always had it in his possession, but he never felt the need to use it. For 62 years, Todd Baliman had the key to his adoption, his original sealed birth certificate. It lay in that sealed envelope until his adoptive mother, Mary Conger, died in April of 2020. He just never wanted to hurt his mother. "I didn't feel I was missing anything," he said, speaking about his family that adopted him. "I just couldn't live with myself to do that to my mother when she was still alive," he said. "That's...
Brendan Halligan, 10, goes after the number 5 calf as he participates in last Saturday's ranch sorting event north of Kimball. This was Brendan's second ranch sorting event. Cinch RSNC Ranch Sorting made its debut in the Kimball area with rounds for beginners, rookies, novices and above. Halligan Agency LLC sponsored the event with 189 first-round teams at the Y3 Indoor Area....
Three seniors from Kimball High School testified last week during a Legislative Hearing in the State Capitol in Lincoln. They are Corey Gardner, Izaak Rohde, and Melai Casimiro. All three students were proponents of LB 327. LB 327 was introduced by state Sen. Julie Slama from Peru. It would make one semester of financial literacy or personal finance a requirement for high school graduation beginning in the 2022-23 school year. The Kimball students expressed that they are unprepared for the...
Kimball Volunteer firemen received a call to the alley along the 400 block of Monroe Street for a Dumpster fire at about 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, but the quick thinking chief and assistant kept the Dumpster lid down until a truck arrived and extinguished the fire....
The Kimball School Board met for their regular meeting on Feb. 8 with a full agenda. The minutes, board bills and treasurer’s reports resulted in no surprises. After viewing the treasurer’s report Board President Matt Shoup stated that “we are sitting better than we were.” Board member Travis Cook commented that the board should have 3 months of cash on hand and they felt they were moving in the right direction. Cook reported to the rest of the board on a legislative meeting that he attended via Zoom. According to Cook, there are 684 bills intr...
On Tuesday, Feb. 4 after meeting with Highway Road superintendent Randy Bymer, the Kimball County Commissioners meet with other heads of departments. Jessica Rocha, the County Tourism Director, reported that number of visitors stopping at the visitors center continues to be low. Rocha is continuing with grant preparation for AmeriCorps volunteers again. They would help with the Visitors Center, Plains Historical Museum and the Community Trail. The commissioners approved a letter written to the Nebraska Department of Revenue to request a list...
The Kimball City Council has approved the rezoning of this 2.31-acre property just north of the Frenchman Valley Coop gas station to be used for vehicle storage and 60 storage units that will be built. Daniel Acheson and Lori McGuire applied for the rezoning to pursue the project....
Banner County girls basketball played their first season of basketball in four years. They finished the season with a 0-10 record, but new head coach Brandon Avila saw "a lot of improvement in the different areas of the game." With nine girls to reboot their program, they all got valuable experience that will carry over to next year. The three seniors provided a foundation for the years to come and the four freshman played a significant number of minutes to help gain game experience. Two junior...
Panhandle Public Health District confirmed that there have been 110 new cases of COVID-19 in the Panhandle this past week from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1. Kimball has reported nine new cases in that time period, and most of the cases are due to community exposure. PPHD reported that no COVID-19 variants have been identified in Nebraska or the Panhandle. The variants will only be tested and identified if there is a cluster. Vaccinations will increase this week as 1,400 doses will be arriving in the...
After nearly a year, a class art project was finally completed by the arts students at Potter-Dix High School. The 4-foot by 8-foot mosaic is now on display in the party room on the north side of the duck pin bowling alley. The party room had recently been renovated but had no decorations, so according to art teacher Jennifer Thomas, "We made the mosaic to add some color and design to that area. We used stain glass." More than $400 worth of stain glass was used. The project was started by...
COVID-19 has been tough on 30-year-old Blane Millerking of rural Kimball. First, his business came to an abrupt halt as a direct result of COVID, and then his mentor and grandfather died after contracting the nasty virus. Blane's business was raising and selling meat goats to Colorado Indian restaurants. The successful business completely stopped due to COVID regulations and the closure of those restaurants in Colorado. Then he lost his grandfather to COVID, the grandfather that took him to...
Banner County Wrestler Wyatt Reichenberg has been busy with numerous meets and showing improvement. Placing fourth at Chase County, Reichenberg chalked wins over Houchin (Bay), Vitosh (Chase County), O'Brien (Hitchcock County) and Walz (Hershey). On Jan. 22 at Hemingford, Banner County's lone wrestler placed third with a win over Martinez (Minatare), then followed it up with another win over Martinez at Morrill. At the Mitchell meet, Reichenberg placed fourth again with wins over Bayard's...
A new complex of buildings is quite noticeable south of Kimball along Highway 71. The pheasant hunting complex is about 11 miles south of Kimball, close to the Colorado border. The complex includes nine bird houses with large pens, a lodge, rental cabins and numerous other outbuildings. The relatively new business in Kimball County known as Real Western Wings Controlled Shooting Area #290 provides hunting for pheasants and chukar. According to Dale Critchfield, owner and operator of Real Western...
Kimball County resident Jim Cleveland stopped by the Observer on Monday to show the amount of trash he picked up at Oliver Lake – this time around. Cleveland said he takes his dogs out to the lake and has always piled up trash to haul away. Monday's trip show the big items that people dump at the lake. It just a week after vandals damaged facilities at the recreation area with spray paint. He speculated that the "dumpers" probably had to drive right by the Kimball Landfill on Highway 30 b...
Red Dimond Realty owner Jeanine Perry told the Observer on Tuesday that the “old” Shopko building, which is now “under contract” for sale, continues to be in the “status quo” mode. Perry said she had no new information to provide to the Observer on this property located south along Highway 71. The potential buyer is believed to involve a business franchise. The old Shopko building sits on 3 acres and is just 11 years old. Perry told the Observer that the buyer does not want to “release any information until it is a done deal....
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...