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 High School was placed on lockdown on Wednesday, March 15, during a routine search of student lockers and vehicles. Students were held in classrooms to prevent interaction with the canines during the search, according to Kimball Superintendent of Schools, Marshall Lewis. “This particular event was planned as a preventative action,” Lewis said. “Law enforcement interaction is a regular part of the community collaboration in which Kimball Public Schools engages.” Though the event, a cooperative effort between the Nebraska State P...
In his second year coaching the boy's golf program at Potter-Dix High School, Ryan Mumm, is rebuilding with two new golfers. Sophomore Nathan Robinson joins junior Dylan Nielsen on the course this year, a first for both athletes, though they have competed for the Potter-Dix Coyotes on the football field and the basketball court. Though both boys are just learning the game, they have been doing so quickly according to Mumm. "The boys have been working really hard to improve and learn the game,"...
In his first year as head coach for the Potter-Dix track team, Dale Frerichs returns a slew of seasoned athletes and adds a few enthusiastic newcomers. Joined by assistant coaches Jerry Brown and Krista Deal, Frerichs will build on the core group of competitive athletes that earned MAC second place (girls) and fourth place (boys) last year. The boy's team also earned third place in the 2016 district contest while the girl's team were named district champs. Frerichs will expect his returning...
With only three athletes returning out of the eight on the roster this season, the Banner County Track team will be concentrating on individual improvements for the upcoming season, and though her team is small they bring a mighty positive attitude, according to Banner County head track coach Kari Gifford. Gifford, along with assistant coaches Bill Gifford and Priscilla Bastian, will return state qualifier MaKenna Dahlgrin, who placed eighth in the state in shot put, and fellow returning letter...
With more rural schools in the tri-state area opting to move to a four-day school week, the Banner County School Board hosted a community meeting on Thursday, March 9, to examine the potential benefits and pitfalls of the same, though this decision solely falls on the school board, as a vote is not required. “I would like to thank you all for coming. We appreciate your time,” board president Charity May said. “I would like to remind you that we are simply here to listen; we don’t have the answers.” Dozens of residents showed up for the meeti...
Though she is a new face in town, Liz Williams, Peer Specialist with Panhandle Health Group, is busy meeting new people in her quest to help consumers in Kimball and the surrounding areas. Williams, who prefers the term Peer Navigator, uses her own life experiences to assist others. While this is a newer concept here in the Nebraska Panhandle, peer specialists have long been used for military veterans and those in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Though some clients are referrals...
During the Feb. 21 City Council meeting, council heard a request for Keno funds from the Kimball Police Department for the purchase of a police vehicle. “Our fleet is pretty worn out,” Kimball Police Chief Andy Bremer said, “We have three Crown Victorias that are in various stages of disrepair. Also, our Durango and Explorer are pretty worn out.” One unit, a Crown Victoria, is mechanically sound but the lights and siren are non-functional. “I have set up a regiment with Wolf Automotive for all of our cars now,” he added. “Every time I take t...
Positivity is a word that is not recognized by my spell check. Weird, right?! It is, however, in the dictionary, and it means exactly what we would think: 1.the practice of being or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude The tendency to be positive, or optimistic in attitude. Well, that suggests that it is almost innate, really. A tendency is something one leans towards or tends to be. That makes it easy! It is easy to be positive when surrounded by people behaving in a generally positive way. It isn’t hard at all to be positive w...
Third grade teacher at Potter-Dix Elementary school, Kristen Kasten, paired with Potter-Dix High School social studies teacher, Ryan Coffey to present youngsters with a lesson in the Legislature that they won't soon forget. When thinking of third-grade appropriate lessons on American government, one might question how much is too much, but these two teachers taught just such a lesson easily, by enacting the branches of government. According to Kasten, the third grade students were the...
The City of Kimball plans to hire a Community Service Officer to assist the Kimball Police Department with tasks such as abatement processes and stray dog calls. “We are going to ramp up our abatement processes,” Kimball Mayor Keith Prunty said. “This officer will be responsible for making abatement letters and tracking them.” The CSO will be a part-time position, according to Kimball City Administrator Dan Dean. The force, with four full-time and three part-time officers, finds that much of their time is needed for higher priority calls....
Kimball's wind farm, located just northwest of the city, will soon be decommissioned and replaced with 12 new turbines. 2017 marks 15 years of operation for the local wind farm, the first utility-scale project of its kind in the state, according to a recent news release. Increasing maintenance requirements for the aging turbines, and the associated cost of repairs, led the Municipal Energy Alliance of Nebraska (MEAN) to begin looking for green alternatives. The project, scheduled to begin this...
One Kimball County youth chosen as a finalist in the National American Miss Nebraska Pageant. Kyla Ramsey, 11, of Dix will travel this month to Omaha to compete in the pre-teen division of the pageant, according to a recent news release. Kyla, the daughter of Crystal Ramsey, has been an active participant in youth basketball, junior cheer, Destination Imagination and 4-H in the Colts and Fillies group. She also enjoys riding four-wheelers and horses and she has volunteered to hang flags at the...
Kimball City Council members reviewed the status of six properties owned by the City of Kimball during the recent Kimball City Council meeting, on Feb. 21. Each of these properties have been used in the past for a variety of purposes and may be used or sold in a variety of ways. Since 1996 the Community Gardens area, located on East 7th Street, were once used as a place for several families to use to grow vegetable gardens. This worked well for many reasons, but in recent years, participation has dwindled. Pictured below. Potential reasons for...
Renowned cowboy poet, award winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer/entertainer, Tim Nolting, will host a book signing at the Kimball Public Library on Thursday, March 16. His book, "101 Yesterdays", was published in January and was debuted at the Prairie Art Studio in Gering last month. This is Nolting's first time being published in book form, though he said that he has been writing poems and stories since childhood. "I have always enjoyed writing," he said. "I have always written a...
Mayor Keith Prunty acknowledged the dedication and commitment of George Risk Industries (GRI) to the community with a 50th Anniversary Proclamation at the Feb. 21 City Council meeting. Opened in 1966, GRI, which has remained family owned and operated from its inception, has grown to employ 165 in Kimball and Gering. Bonnie Risk accompanied her daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law, Ryan McElroy to the meeting where Prunty presented them with a certificate commemorating the anniversary. As Kimball...
The Dead Eye Shooters 4-H club of Kimball have competed across the panhandle and brought home lots of hardware this past month. On Sunday, Feb. 5, six members of The Dead Eye Shooters 4-H club competed in the Hyannis Panhandle Best Shoot. In bb gun competition, Jessica Terrill earned first place in the nine and ten-year-old brackets with a score of 361. Julia Winstrom (355) and Chris Foster (346) brought home second and fourth place, respectively, in the 11-12 age bracket and Winstrom placed...
It takes awhile to narrow down the top 30 spellers in grades four through eight at Kimball schools, but the annual Kimball Spelling Bee finally did just that. Each of the five grades were represented by the six top spellers who gathered on stage in the Harry E. McNees Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 16 immediately following classes. All of these students made it through the first round of the Bee and the competition became increasingly difficult as enunciator Kathleen O'Brien moved down the spellin...
Four stolen vehicles in one week in Kimball County led to the recovery of a stolen Dodge pickup from Sedgwick, Colo., behind the Dix Bible Church according to Kimball County Sheriff Investigator Anthony Osborn. This vehicle was recovered within 24 hours of being reported stolen, and it contained items believed to have been taken during recent burglaries in Kimball County. At that time, Sheriff Harry Gillway said, "We believe the suspects are driving the second vehicle stolen from Dix. We did...
After years of trying, the City of Kimball was finally able to complete the abatement process at 212 S. Burg St. in Kimball, a property they have attempted to abate since 2010, according to Kimball Mayor Keith Prunty. "We have finally gotten through the legal process. I think we are fortunate that we found some avenues to pursue (abatement)," he said. "I want to commend our street department, they did a wonderful job on this and the line crews will finish up with the trees." Throughout the...
At not quite twelve years old, Sierra Starr Boviall continues to make a name for herself among young wrestlers. Boviall, a student at Potter-Dix schools, lives in Kimball with her grandmother, Penny Hobbs. Boviall has been wrestling for four years in the Federation wrestling program and currently trains and competes with the Tri-state Grapplers. She wrestles folk style and Greco-Roman currently but will be learning freestyle soon. In addition to learning a new wrestling style, she is learning...
Disposing of unwanted items alongside county roads is a growing concern, is considered littering and is unlawful by Nebraska revised state statute 28-523. With hundreds of miles of county roads in Kimball County, unlawful dumping of debris along those roads can become a big problem. Anyone found guilty of this offense the first time will be found guilty of a Class III misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail or a fine of up to $500, or both. A second offense will be a Class II...
Though Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is serious, it doesn’t have to cause panic. In fact, the bacterial infection is not more contagious than others, it is simply resistant to many antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Anyone can contract the highly resistant infection, but it is most commonly seen in those who are most often in group settings, such as patients in medical facilities, nursing homes, military barracks and even students and athletes. The infection can be spread from c...
Just one short week on the job and Kimball's new City Administrator, Dan Dean, has jumped in feet first and with a broad smile described his first day, Wednesday, Feb. 1, as full of meetings. "I got right into the middle of things with some very long meetings for much of the day," he said. "That's just fine, just get right in and figure out what is going on." But don't expect to find him stuck behind his desk all the time, as Dean plans to be involved in community events and civic organizations...
Just a few mornings ago I woke up still tired and groggy, sure that it was at least an hour before my usual wake up time. As I sat up in bed the tell-tale ache in my head and the stiffness in my neck screamed that my night was anything but restful. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and began slowly stretching my neck – touching chin to chest and circling it first one way, then the other. Then I saw it. My alarm clock. 6 a.m. I’m late! Understand, as an early riser, 6 a.m. is late for me, and it meant that I could not enjoy a cup of cof...
The Kimball Event Center was put up for bids following a special Kimball City Council meeting on Nov. 8, 2016, with the caveat that it be used in a similar fashion to its current use – as an event venue and community center. “The price was set to encourage a buyer (at $10,000). They would receive almost everything in the building, such as kitchen equipment, dishes, tables, chairs, and fitness equipment,” council member Christy Warner said. “That makes it a good deal but the buyer would have a true investment in making the Event Center succeed...