Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 259
The Banner County Wildcats gave the Potter-Dix Coyotes quite a run in their meeting January 25 at Potter-Dix’s home court. The Wildcats started the game strong with Ben Hostetler hitting a 3 pointer at the top of the key off a pass from Kadan Huber putting the Wildcats on the board 3-0 just five seconds into the first quarter. The Wildcats were able to get a five point lead before the Coyotes were able to get on the board with Bryant Knigge hitting a shot with 6:50 to go in the quarter l...
The Potter-Dix Coyotes were able to come out with a win in their match against the Banner County Wildcats January 25. The win comes off the heels of another loss to their rivals, the Leyton Warriors. “I feel pretty good. This was a good win,” Potter Dix player Taylor Juelfs said. The Coyotes pulled away from the Wildcats early in the first quarter with a seven point run before the Wildcats were able to get on the board with Amanda Harrison hitting a shot off a pass from Haleigh White with 2:54 left to go in the quarter putting the score at 7-2....
Mad Dog’s, the erstwhile downtown sports bar, re-opened its doors January 7, under the ownership of Bob Hinton, who also runs the Kimball Bakery. The establishment kicked off its new run participating in a pool tournament between the downtown bars January 12. Hinton says that the atmosphere has changed since the previous ownership. “You go in there and there’s a football game in there now,” Hinton said. Under his ownership of Mad Dog’s, Hinton plans on offering specials throughout the year. The first will fall on Super Bowl Sunday, and there...
Kimball Public Schools will be holding a public forum January 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Kimball High School Auditorium on the subject of the potential closing of West Elementary School. The purpose of the forum is to hear public comments and explain the benefits and reasoning behind consideration of the closure, according to Kimball Superintended of Schools Troy Unzicker. “We’ll present plans on what we would do if the board was to close West Elementary, and what we feel are the pros and cons of closing the building. We’ll try to boil down what...
The City Council approved a request by the local police department to add reserve officers to their roster at their meeting January 15. According to Police Captain Darren Huff, the reserve officers would be used as a support to active officers in the department in times of need. “They would be used specifically for Farmer’s Day parades and things like that where we have a limited staff on hand. They would provide us with a little more coverage,” Huff said. As the reserve officers would not be fully active, fully certified and only worki...
The Kimball Junior High School is currently trying out a new program to help out junior high students with their studies throughout the third quarter of the school year. The Extended Learning Time program was brought to the attention of the school by Kimball junior high teacher Carolyn Montgomery. “I actually got the idea from Sterling Junior High School. I found it when there were concerns that students were struggling. I just brought the program to the attention of the principal and our teachers,” Montgomery said. According to Mon...
A former resident of Kimball, Debra Kolste, was sworn in to the 101st legislative session of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 44th Assembly District Monday, January 7, 2013. Kolste has been assigned to the committees of Health, Transportation, Workforce Development and Small Business Development. Though Kolste, the former Debra Babl, has not been back to Kimball for about 15 years, she still keeps in touch with old classmates and still has fond memories of her time here. “I loved Kimball. I worked at the hospital there. It was amazing. I...
The Coyotes calmed the Creek Valley Storm, taking third place in the MAC Tournament in Sidney January 19. “It was a great win. We played about as best as we had all year. After that loss on Thursday, it felt good to come out and get a win,” Potter-Dix’s Jake Johnson, who scored 8 points for the Coyotes, said. Potter-Dix took the lead in the first half with Bryant Knigge hitting two 3 pointers near the end of the first quarter putting the Coyotes ahead 14-12. These were just two of the five...
The Potter-Dix Coyotes took third place in the MAC Tournament Saturday, January 19, with a win over the Garden County Eagles. “We didn’t want to feel the same as Thursday night. We knew we had to pick it up,” Potter-Dix’s Morgan Wolff said. The game started rough for the Coyotes with Garden County pulling away in the first quarter by nine leaving the score at 11-2. The Coyotes came out swinging in the 2nd quarter with Taylor Juelfs scoring off of a pass by Conner Wolff in their first play out of the gate. Potter Dix kept chipping away at the La...
Debate over a nuisance abatement property at 4152 E. Front Street turned slightly aggressive at the City Council meeting the night of January 15th. Kimball Chief of Police Mark Simpson reported his findings to the council which last discussed the property July 18, 2012. “In my opinion, very little has been done in this property. You instructed these folks to stay in contact with me and tell me what they’re progress is. There has been no movement in that property whatsoever,” Simpson said. Sallie Behnke, one of the residents of the prope...
Kimball Police Chief Simpson addressed the Board of Education about a proposal of a School Resource Officer for Kimball Public Schools at their meeting January 14. “What a School Resource Officer does for you is that it brings an officer to the school. We dress in regular clothes. We get to know the kids, and we get to know their situations,” Simpson said. According to Simpson, the job of a School Resource Officer is to serve as a support to students when they struggle with issues that may leave them feeling backed into a corner on their own...
Economic Development Director Larissa Binod gave a brief update on the rail spur project to the Community Development Agency at their meeting January 15. “I have worked with our new engineering firm CRS and a representative from Union Pacific on a new site plan. Those preliminary engineering plans are all ready to be submitted to Union Pacific Railroad’s system, but there are still a few things we need to decide internally,” Binod said. According to Binod, part of the new plan is increasing the size of the site of the industry park from 67 ac...
Maria Murnahan was sentenced to three years probation for one count of burglary, a class 3 felony, by Judge Derek C. Weimer Thursday, January 10. Murnahan’s attorney, Audrey Elliott, cited to Judge Weimer that Murnahan had had no other contact with law enforcement since the incident that took place May 16 and that she believed her client was a fit candidate for probation. According to Elliott, the crime occurred because of money concerns that Murnanhan had at the time, stating that it was purely an issue of taking money at the time with no v...
The newly founded Oral History Committee of Kimball is looking to revive the discontinued Prairie Rhythms Oral History Project that was started in the early 1990s under the new name of the Prairie Tales Oral History Project. “Several people were talking about getting this going again, and the Visitor’s Committee wants to do some of these things for tours. So amongst all the people, we decided to try to get it going again,” Jan Sears, Director of the Kimball Public Library, said. The committee consists of different members from various group...
The Kimball County Board Commissioners approved a request by Kimball County Ambulance Director Carla Goranson to join the National Emergency Medical Services Association (NEMSA). The request came from a need for coverage by EMTs as they work in the field, and a policy that would cover them if they should get injured, according to Goranson. “The main thing that I like is the insurance policy which covers accidental death, accidental dismemberment. Should we be injured while working as an EMT, we would have a $10,000 insurance policy for each m...
The Banner County Wildcats were able to walk away with their first win of the season in their game against the Minatare Indians Saturday, January 12. “It’s such a relief,” Haleigh White of the Wildcats said of the win which comes on the heels of nine consecutive losses. The Wildcats took the lead early in the game cutting the Minatare press with a succession of passes leading to a layup by Haleigh White putting the Wildcats on the board 2-0 with 6:21 to go in the first quarter. The Wildcats held the lead through the first half pulling away...
The Banner County boys just weren’t able to hold off the Indians’ pressure in their game Friday, January 12. “We played three and half quarters, and we just got tired. We were there. We just made mental mistakes,” Wildcats’ Head Coach Jim Wyatt said. The Wildcats struggled offensively at the beginning of the game, unable to get on the board until 4:18 left to go in the first quarter with a drive by Kadan Huber off a pass from Brenton Soule. However, their defense was strong, keeping the Indians from penetrating into the paint for easy scor...
There was still some concern at the County Commissioners meeting January 3 over where the money for the Visitors Committee budget and means to pay the salary of the new Tourism Director comes from--existing funds or taxes levied on local residents. According to Carinda McConnell, the Visitor’s Committee budget to pay the new Tourism Director, Jo Caskey, comes primarily from lodging tax which Kimball County collects as a result of the Nebraska Visitors Development Act, which became law in 1980. “There is some confusion, and people think that it...
The Rail Spur project, which has been in the works for eight to ten years, may have new life according to Economic Development Director Larissa Binod. “I’m working on a strategic marketing strategy. I’m working with CRS Advance. They are the engineering firm that we are working with now. They have a marketing component and recruitment component to their profession. Before, we were just working with an engineer,” Binod said. According to Binod, CRS Advance could be crucial to getting the rail spur project and industry park off the ground....
New Kimball City Administrator Daniel Ortiz started work Monday January 7. Ortiz comes from Casa Grande, Arizona where he served in the City Manager’s office for the the past three and a half years. He also served as a research assistant for the Alliance Renovation. “It’s an organization of local governments. Their goal is to be innovators and be able to promote the best practices and come up with new practices in the local government. “ Ortiz said. Though Ortiz has spent the past few years in smaller communities, he spent the early years of hi...
The Board of County Commissioners voted to go with the bid from the CAT representative to purchase a CAT motor grader in their January 3 meeting. The motion to accept the bid came from Commissioner Larry Brower. “As far as graders, I can’t say that any grader is better than the other. They’re both very equal. CAT’s a little bit higher, but they’re benefit package is a little better. The trade in value seems to be better. We haven’t tried CAT for a while, but I would like to try the new CAT,” Brower said. Commissioner Nolting seconded the...
The new Tourism Director for Kimball, Jo Caskey, came to town this week to look at homes and meet members of the town. Caskey comes from Lake Havasu City, Arizona where she has lived for the past 20 months. However, this isn’t the first time Caskey has lived in the state. “I’ve lived in Nebraska before. I love the Midwest. I grew up all over the Midwest, and I’ve lived in the high plains. I’m very familiar with the area. For me, it’s coming home. It’s not going elsewhere. To me, it’s a good fit,” Caskey said. Before coming to Kimball, Caskey h...