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 City Council voted in favor to recommend a Class C liquor license application put forth by Bob Hinton concerning Mad Dog’s Sports Bar for approval by the state. The council heard comments from Hinton who assured the council that if granted the license, he would make sure that no complications arose from it. “This is strictly a landlord-tenantship between Tom Williams and I. If I do feel like that is violated, I will pull this license myself. I will not be dictated. I’m trying to make an establishment that could be good for people to go to...
Chief of Police Mark Simpson stood in front of the City Council the night of December 4, to ask for support for the Shop with a Cop program by way of a $4,500 grant. “Before you make a decision,” he said, “I want to tell you two stories.” Simpson went on to tell the council of a little girl who took the money given to her through the program the previous year and bought presents for all of her family, excluding herself completely. “The whole time she kept saying, ‘I would have never been able t...
The Board of the Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously at their meeting Monday night, December 10, to help out the local efforts to get the oil derrick put back up through a donation of an unspecified amount of funds. “We have money set aside that was given to us by the state of Nebraska when they took the oil derrick down from its location,” said Jennifer Provance, President of the Chamber board. “When that happened, we put that money into some CDs with the intent of pu...
The Kimball Business Boosters Club will be putting on a hayride downtown December 19, at 5:30 p.m., according to member Carol Brown. “We’ll start in front of the Chamber of Commerce building. The hayride will go around town and end up back at the Chamber. It’s open to the public, and there’s no charge,” Brown said. “It’s a holiday thing. We’re just trying to recreate some of the events of past years,” Brown added. There is no set time for the end of the event in order to accommodate more...
The DOVES program, which sits next to the city office, offers the emotional and mental support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault that might not be found elsewhere, according to the coordinator for the program Vicky Isaacs. “We’re grant funded. It’s a domestic violence/ sexual assault program. We help survivors and their families, victims. We’re here to help. We do counseling, and we help them get into a safe place if they need to. Counseling, we help provide that for them. W...
There is always a need for those who think big. Several of Kimball’s prominent, vocal residents and a few of its civic leaders, however, have made a point of the little things people can do to improve the community’s outlook. From clean up events fueled by volunteer labor to city grants to help with signage or beautification, small steps eventually work to ensure that shops and families thrive. So we believe a nod of thanks is due to Ken Smith, activities director at Kimball Junior-Senior High School. Smith spent months over the last sch...
Recently a photojournalist came under fire for snapping pictures. R. Umar Abbasi happened to be in a New York subway station when one man pushed another onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train following a brief argument. In the wake of the event, to quell hostility directed at him for failing to jump in and help, Abbasi claimed he clicked the shutter repeatedly hoping the flash would alert the train’s driver. More likely, his journalistic instincts kicked in. News photographers cover their share of tragedies. Someone must document d...
All too often in Washington, partisan gridlock seems to be the name of the game. But last week, in a reassuring display of will, the Senate put aside its differences to pass important legislation for our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our national security. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes Department of Defense operations, passed in the Senate by a vote of 98-0. The NDAA included some important provisions for Nebraska as well as some bipartisan amendments I offered to help our veterans. One of these...
I am writing on behalf of the no-brainers. They are the people that voted to destroy the rest areas--those nice, well built buildings that were paid for by the taxpayers of Nebraska and used by everone that traveled the Interstate. There are some no-brainers that build new guard rails. Years ago, a semi went off the road between the the two lanes and landed down on the county road two miles west of Bushnell. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. The state came out and put up the safest guard rails money could buy, from one lane of the...
Traffic: TR12-463 Cora Lee, Kimball, NE. Failure to Signal TR12-464 Stephen F. Laws, Gering, NE. Speeding TR12-465 Tamera Blome, Sterling, CO. Speeding TR12-466 Jonathan Vaughan, Ft. Collins, CO. Speeding TR12-467 Trevor Eirich, Bayard, NE. Speeding TR12-468 Renee D. Galvin, Alliance, NE. Speeding Criminal: CR12-251 Cassandra Coyle, Forgery, 2nd degree, Theft CR12-252 Peter S. Leslie, Strangulation, Terroristic Threats CR12-253 Austin C. Klussman, Hunt/Fish/Trap w/o Permission CR12-254 Nathan Klussman, Hunt/Fish/Trap w/o Permission CR12-255...
Often during the holiday season, we take time to reconnect with family and friends over a meal. We’re able to do so because hardworking folks in rural America deliver the most abundant and affordable food supply on earth. It’s also the safest food supply--an achievement made possible by a wide range of skilled, dedicated people. It all starts with our growers and processors, who are always asking how they can produce a safer product. They have the support of USDA staff at more than 6,000 plants around the country and at U.S. ports of entry. The...
Of the 804,245 people who voted in Nebraska during the November 6 general election, nearly 26 percent voted early. It’s a number that continues to grow with each election cycle, says Secretary of State John Gale. “While most Nebraskans still like the tradition of voting on Election Day, there is no question that early in-person or mail-in balloting is gaining favor. It’s a convenience that busy people appreciate.” The Nebraska State Board of Canvassers met recently to certify the results of the election with the exception of three races current...
Beginning Friday, December 14 and continuing through January 1, 2013, the Nebraska State Patrol will take part in a nationwide effort to remove impaired drivers from our roadways. The “You Drink & Drive You Lose” campaign utilizes education and enforcement to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. “Our message is really very simple,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “We want you, to be home for the holidays. Help us keep your travels safe by never driving impaired. That extra holiday c...
This past week has been pretty busy and aren’t they all this time of year? Students ended the week, some of them anyway by holding a 4-H meeting right after school in the cafeteria. Seven girls went over sewing machine mechanism recognition and then were introduced to a new sewing project by Lisa Brenner. They had a great time for a couple of hours and plan on meeting again next year to continue! The newly formed Banner County Booster Club also met that night and helped prepare the gym for the Banner County Wrestling Invite which took place S...
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 or from any board member. The drawing will be held this Saturday, December 15. The village board meeting is at 6 p.m. this Thursday, December 13. Family Night is Saturday, December 15–please join your neighbors at 6 p.m. in the community center for the annual Chris...
He was the only son born to his Hunkpapa Sioux parents and the source of considerable pride for them. It was an honor for his parents to have been blessed by the birth of a son and he would continue to bring honor to his parents and himself in later years as well. He would become a mighty hunter, a great warrior, respected holy man and a revered leader of his people. It was the year 1831, the Winter-when-Yellow-Eyes-Played-in-the Snow, in March, the Moon-of-the-Popping-Trees, that the boy came quietly into this world. The lodge, where he was...
The movie at the library on Saturday afternoon was a success. We enjoyed having about 30 children attend and the movie was very good. Vacuuming up the popcorn...well it got done. The Sentimental Production DVDs are on the shelf and waiting for your enjoyment. These special DVDs take you back in time by visiting venues and activities of the past such as Vintage Base Ball, Old-Piano Contests and Early TV Commercials. The DVDs also take you around the country visiting sites you may not be able to see in your travels. Please consider checking...
Police Meet And Greet The Kimball Police Department will be hosting a “meet and greet” Friday, December 14, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Kimball Public Library meeting room. Join them for refreshments and meet all the new officers. E-Waste Collection The Kimball Recycle Center will again hold their Electronic Collection event, collecting old computers, clock radios and other gadgets for disposal. Last year the facility was able to prevent almost 17,000 pounds of e-waste from going to the landfill. The collection date is scheduled for Dec...
Henry David Thoreau wrote a whole book about a pond and never got wet. He simply took the time to ponder. I, too, find myself pondering life’s mystery; like what is the purpose of a dewclaw? To measure the dew? Why do horses have canine teeth? Were they once carnivores? How do sheep tell each other apart? Why do ants think they can drag a kibble of dog food back to the hill? Do they lack depth perception? But last night I lay awake pondering why cows make pies instead of pellets. If they did, make pellets I mean, would they be like an elk which...
It was Herb who discovered it. He went into the Read Me Now bookstore to ask Sarah if she had the latest Farmer’s Almanac (he always plants vegetables in the bowels of something) and found she had hired a Santa’s helper to talk to the children. “Well, that’s good,” Doc said. “Maybe those little nippers will enjoy having a Santa to talk to.” “But Doc,” Herb said, “she hired Windy Wilson!” The Mule Barn truck stop right then and there lost at least fifteen bucks’ worth of breakfast, because we paid for our initial infestation of coffee a...
My trip to Pierre, South Dakota went well considering the wintery conditions I drove through on my way there. We had a couple of inches of snow here in Alliance and as I drove north through the Hay Springs and Rushville area they had significant snow on the ground, six to eight inches. Fortunately the wind wasn’t blowing so the roads were in good shape. The band of snow lasted until just north of Martin, S.D. It was good to see some old friends at the Ag Horizons conference. I hadn’t attended this conference for a few years and after vis...
Average retail gasoline prices in Nebraska have fallen 2.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.30 per gallon Monday. This compares with the national average that has fallen 4.8 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.34 gallon, according to gasoline price website NebraskaGasPrices.com. Including the change in gas prices in Nebraska during the past week, prices Monday were 1.1 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 6.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 12.2 cents per...
Social media has become an exciting way to enhance a farm or food business’s marketing activities, allowing the owner, or manager, to connect directly with customers in new and meaningful ways. Often, it’s these connections, or relationships, that make a business successful over the long run. University of Nebraska Extension is partnering with Ohio State Extension and Penn State Extension to offer the Social Media & Mobile Technology for Ag Businesses webinar series to help small business owners understand how to integrate social media and mobi...
The beat goes on. The Kimball High School Future Farmers of American chapter won top honors in Senior Parliamentary Procedure for the 11th year in a row at the District 12 Leadership Contests on Wednesday. The competition was hosted by Chadron State College. Members of the winning team were Brian Evertson, Kayla Lukkassean, Dalton Luppen, Emily Poss, Tessa Shaw and Colton Schneider. Alan Held is the chapter’s advisor. The Kimball Junior Parliamentary Procedure team also earned a purple r...