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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
As of Monday of this week, the Panhandle jumped into the middle of the severe COVID-19 spread range, and the Panhandle is also making national headlines as the cases and spread of COVID-19 have skyrocketed in this area. Kimball County has certainly faired better to date than other Panhandle counties, but the season appears to be just getting underway and the numbers change daily. Since the beginning of COVID-19 Kimball County has recorded 135 cases with 77 people recovered and currently 58 active cases. Cheyenne County had 173 active cases but...
Two properties, 123 Front St. and 605 S. Myrtle St., were determined to be "unsafe properties" at the Oct. 20 Kimball City Council meeting and will require some attention by the owners. At left is 605 S. Myrtle....
Members of Trinity Methodist Church in Kimball help unload USDA Farmers to Families food boxes from the delivery truck this past week. The program offers boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products for Kimball residents. The boxes are distributed on Thursdays at the church with the only requirement, these days, being to wear a mask....
Mary Lynch Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Ben Ferguson and some of his students explain at a recent Kimball School Board meeting why they like the new program “Beyond Textbooks....
Nate and Heather Entingh of Kimball are looking for used shoes, any kind of shoes or boots, this includes work boots, high heels, gym or tennis shoes, any type and any brand, except shoes with wheels. Although used, the shoes must be in a salvageable condition. Nate and Heather are collecting shoes for their fundraiser. Known as Positive Spaces Shoe Drive the shoes are collected at Beer and Loathing or the laundromat, within the next 4-6 weeks the shoes will be paired, tagged, sorted, bagged...
A large grass fire erupted between Kimball and Dix last week. Along with the Dix Fire Department, the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department helped stamp it out. The fire started just north of I-80 and the wind swept the fire north almost to Highway 30 consuming about 300 acres, according to Mark Miller of the Dix Volunteer Fire Department. Smoke surrounded the house and building at the Arrow Diamond Ranch, but they were saved. Miller said the cause was determined to be a set of truck dual wheels...
Rising COVID-19 cases in the area have Kimball Health Services introducing a set of new guidelines. The clinic requests that if you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms, call and receive instructions and an appointment before coming to the clinic, so no walk-in COVID-19 patients are being accepted. In addition, the Kimball hospital allows one visitor per patient per stay while visitors to the clinic and outpatient are limited to only those accompanying a minor patient. As of Tuesday, Kimball County had 31 active recorded cases of...
Kimball Fitness Center hosted Business After Hours in conjunction with its grand opening Nov.6 in the renovated Longhorn Building. The event included food, drinks, live music and door prizes with over 125 people in attendance. The new fitness center has 60 different machines working all different parts of the body as well as a tanning booth. Entry into the fitness center is with a key fob so it is open 24 hours a day. Above the fitness center are brand new apartments. According the owners Shane...
As “Shop with a Cop” approaches its 10-year anniversary change is coming according to organizer Erin Heidemann. Erin said the “big changes” include a name change. The event will now be called “Holiday Heroes.” The name Holiday Heroes reflects all the people and agencies involved in the event, such as police, ambulance personnel, fire departments, the sheriff’s office, state patrol, the ladies auxiliary, businesses and donors. The change is a result of COVID-19, of course, but also the closing of Shopko and the need to include all agencies. The...
Maintaining a six-foot distance, the practice gym was the setting for the Kimball School Board regular monthly meeting on Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Board members were stationed six feet apart while most other attendees had masks or face coverings on. Highlighting the meeting was a short presentation about Beyond Textbooks. Beyond Textbooks was recently adopted and is used in the third to sixth grades. Mr. Ben Ferguson along with four of his fifth-grade students described why they like Beyond...
A long standing Halloween tradition continued this year as Mary Lynch elementary students from pre-K through the sixth grade walked across the street to show off their costumes to the residents at Kimball County Manor. As the manor continues to be on COVID-19 lockdown, the students went along the outside windows and waved to the residents....
Unofficial results of the 2020 election have been tabulated and recorded by the Kimball County Canvassing Board. Locally, Kimball City Council and Kimball School Board have drawn the most attention with a variety of candidates. Winning four-year seats on the city council are newcomer Gabriel Ingram and incumbent Kim Baliman. Six individuals were vying for three school board seats. Albert Hargreaves, Chauncey Pedersen and Lanny Little were the top vote-getters for school board, with those...
Recovering from COVID-19, Kimball County Commissioner-elect Carl Stander of Kimball said, “I was flat on my back for 12 days, sleeping 20 hours a day, getting up only to drink lots of fluids, use the bathroom and check my temperature and oxygen level.” He continued, “I have never been that sick in my life.” Prior to getting COVID-19, Stander thought he was being careful by using sanitizer, social distancing and sometime wearing a mask, but it wasn’t enough and he has no idea where he picked up the virus. Stander’s words of wisdom are: “Every...