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 oil derrick that once sat on the edge of town as a monument to the oil boom that occurred here decades ago has been laying on its side for the past couple years. More recently, the tower was sold, leaving a lot of local residents wondering why. Fortunately for those who wish to see the derrick installed again, it remains intact and waiting for a new location. According to the Executive Director of the Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce, Jeanette Rabender, it was originally sidelined because of the land it sat on. “The state took i... Full story
Potter-Dix high school will be participating at state competitions with their one act play “Macbeth: A Tale of Darkness”. According to Director Beth Bogert, the production is a bit of a departure from traditional Macbeth interpretations. “I found somebody’s adapted version which left a lot of freedom for directors and after talking with the students, we decided to take it in a very different direction than traditional Macbeth and place it in a post-apocalyptic time period,” Bogert said. The... Full story
David Ford changed his plea from not guilty to no contest on charges of 3rd degree assault which is a Class I misdemeanor at his pre-trial the morning of November 28. He was subsequently found guilty of the charges by the Honorable Judge Randin Roland based on the factual evidence presented by the prosecuting attorney. The charges stem from an August 3 incident, during which Ford allegedly grabbed Amie Rutledge around the neck after she entered city offices to complain about water department activities. Ford was originally charged with... Full story
Mayor James Schnell announced the choice for the new City Administrator of Kimball at the City Council meeting the night of Tuesday, December 4. “We conducted our meeting on November 26th, with the interviews of the four finalist candidates and came away from that with input from the Board of Public Works, Shortie Kiefer too and Jim Merryfield as a candidate who had won election and hadn’t been seated yet,” he said. “Everyone was on the same track of what we came out of those interviews with. With that, I am announcing Daniel Ortiz. He and I h... Full story
Over the next several days, Harold Farrar will attend his last city meetings in an official capacity. After serving Kimball as Clerk-Treasurer and as City Administrator, his commitment to family forced him to relinquish—very reluctantly—his commitment to this town’s people and government. Indeed, he was so hesitant to leave Kimball without all loose ends tied, he gave notice well in advance of his departure and took as active a part in the search for his replacement as the law and propriety allow. In that one act, as with his day to day work,... Full story
There’s nothing like a little violent tragedy to get Americans talking. Well, not talking exactly--just following a well-worn script that contains plenty of drama and lots of character, but no real conclusion. The story generally opens with a few gunshots. Over the long weekend, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend nine times and himself once. His senseless acts left two people dead and an infant orphaned. Reacting to the tragedy, columnists and--most notably--sports broadcaster Bob Costas referred to presence of h... Full story
December 6, 1865: The Thirteenth Amendment to The Constitution of The United States is adopted. Passed by the House in April of 1864 and the Senate in January of 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated before seeing the first amendment to the Constitution in more than 60 years finally adopted. The historic amendment states clearly and concisely that; “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to t... Full story
With weather predications mostly in the 60 degree range this week it sure does not feel like December--which is fine by me, other than I really want some moisture. Sort of like wanting my cake and eating it too! I also still have a few things that need taken care of outside that the good old wind has kept me from getting finished. Maybe this week. I talked to my sister in Wyoming the other day and she is having a terrible time getting into the Christmas Spirit. Personally, I think part of that is the fact that the economic part of the holiday... Full story
The Texas Trail Museum is holding their annual grocery raffle. Buy a ticket (or two…or ten…) for the chance to win $200 in groceries at the Texas Trail Market in Pine Bluffs. All proceeds go to support the museum. Tickets are $1 apiece and are available at The Sisters Grimm. The drawing will be held Saturday, December 15. Deb and Tim Nolting will perform twice in the Kimball area on Saturday, December 8. Please join them for music and poetry at BeeHaven Farm’s Victorian Christmas Market between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and at First English Luthe... Full story
The Kimball County Board of Commissioners moved to approve the addition of two members to the Kimball Visitor’s Committee at their meeting the morning of December. Carol Brown was approved by the Board of Commissioners to represent the Economic Development Committee and Jennifer Provance was approved to represent the Chamber of Commerce on the Visitor’s Committee. The appointments will be effective immediately with each member serving a one year term ending on December 31, 2013 with the possibility of re-appointment January 1, 201... Full story
Kimball High School’s Interact Club selected its officers for the school year. Kimball High School started an Interact Club in January of this year and this will be the first full year of its existence. Interact comes from combining the words “International” and “Action” and is sponsored by the local Rotary Club of Kimball. It is a service organization where the student members organize one local service project and one international project annually. The members will meet at least two times... Full story
Why do we love steak so much? The flavor is rather basic, when you think about it—just a husky, meaty and familiar heft. Yet douse it with sauce and you obliterate its very essence. Order one from a lean cut and that vaunted savor likewise disappears. Steaks are also temperamental things. They wither into shoe leather under too much heat. Still, there’s something about a thick, glistening, cushy filet. At Buffalo Point in Sidney, they sometimes play loose with rare orders. At least mine was all... Full story
Empyrean’s Burning Skye claims to mimic Scottish copper ales. But it pours far too pale for such a comparison. And the ales I’ve tried from the UK’s northern reaches tend to be more robust. Of course, that’s the beauty of any American brewing company’s play with language. The caveat “style” excuses any such alleged flaw. The eastern Nebraska artisans are merely sampling (to use music industry parlance) as best they can with the ingredients available. And what Empyrean created is an easy, highly drinkable beer. It gives off aromas of caramel, t... Full story
Morrill held the lead in the winner’s bracket game Saturday for 33 seconds. The remaining 31:27 belonged to the Longhorns. Kimball routed the Lions 57-29 on their way to a 2-0 sweep of their home tournament. Ten different Longhorns put points on the board and head coach Bruce Tjosvold used all 13 varsity players. “Our bench did a good job,” he said. “I wanted to get those guys time.” The deep squad received plenty. Jake Reader sat out much of the second half after scoring 18 points. Point gua... Full story
Kimball spent much of Saturday living in denial. On their way to a 41-33 winner’s bracket victory, they denied the Southeast Cyclones open shots. The visitors hit on only 27.6 percent of their opportunities. They denied them passing lanes and easy boards, outrebounding Southeast by double digits. “When you hold your opponent to 33 points, you have to be pleased with the defensive effort,” said Longhorns’ head coach Ken Smith. Darbi Klinkhammer helped secure the win with 21 points. Jessica... Full story
The wrestling season began inauspiciously for Kimball. Only five of the team’s seven athletes were eligible for last week’s home triangular against Morrill and Mitchell and the Longhorns dropped four of their first five matches. At the Southeast Invite in Yoder, Wyoming, however, Kimball’s wrestler’s blitzed through the field. Jonathon Withrow went 3-0 to capture the 145 crown. Rowdy Keller, weighing in at 106, also emerged unbeaten to win his class. The rest of coach Wade Brashear’s small squ... Full story
The Banner County Wildcats faced off against the Potter-Dix Coyotes Saturday, December 1, on their home court, losing 51-35. “We got a bunch of gamers and they hit the boards. We struggled getting into our offenses. There’s a lot of potential here. They’re young. They’re aggressive. This is our second game, and I think we get more experience with every game we play. We didn’t win the game, but we almost feel like we won the battle with the age we are,” Wildcats Head Coach Jim Wyatt said. The Game started out rough for the Wildcats with the Co... Full story
The Wildcats started strong in their game against the Potter-Dix Coyotes on December 1 at their home court with Ashlynne Hannan driving down the along the baseline and scoring amid the Coyotes’ defense and again finding herself wide open for a layup on the next possession giving the Wildcats a 4-0 lead with 6:43 to go in the first quarter. However, The Coyotes soon gained an advantage through a drive to the hoop by Kaidee Livingstone and a three pointer sunk by Taylor Juelfs, putting the Coyotes up 5-4. The Wildcats were plagued with the s... Full story