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 Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation Political Action Committee officially declared their endorsement of Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts at the Diner in Kimball on Monday June 23. Ricketts, who edged ahead of Attorney General Jon Bruning during the primary election in May to win the Republican nomination, greeted members of the Kimball/Banner County Farm Bureau and the public as they filed in to the back room of the Diner around noon as Steve Nelson, President of the Nebraska Far...
Kimball County Manor, a county owned building, recently had a bond approved by the county in order to make renovations. "There are no property taxes involved. The Manor has sufficient funds for the renovations. It's just that since we're a county owned building there are some things we have to do in order to just follow procedure," Bev Schnell said. The Manor was built in 1968 making it roughly 46 years old. When it was built, the normal thing was for the assisted living to have semi-private...
There are few things more terrifying than a small child or a loved one going missing. The moment of realization that a child is not in the house and the ensuing panic are enough to send even the calmest person into a tailspin of anxiety and terror as all the worst case scenarios play out in the head of a parent or a loved one coupled with the desire to just get that person back home. In these moments, residents depend on the skill sets of local law enforcement, emergency services and volunteers...
Independent candidate Todd Watson hopes to bring a grounded, transparent approach to the U.S. Senate if elected in November. Watson, a small businessman from Lincoln, is running a "faith-based" campaign stating that he believes that the country as a whole needs to get back to its spiritual heritage. "For me, I think we've gone too far the other way when we have freedom of expression, freedom of exercise, and to me, these are being quelled every day. Openly being, you know, who we are in our...
Jim Jenkins, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate, wants the American people to embrace the "sensible center" of politics so the country can move forward on the important issues. Jenkins, a self proclaimed small businessman residing in Custer County, decided to run for the senate, because he believes that both the republic and democratic party are simply not serving their constituents in an effective manner. "I've just decided that neither party is really governing, the system is broken....
For the first time ever the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska will be holding its annual event in the Panhandle. The ball, which was started in 1997 by a group of beef industry leaders, is held every year throughout different parts of the state serving as a way to raise funds for cancer research at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. According to the organization's website, the donations for the 2013 event hosted in Paxton reached $2.12 million...
Smoke came pouring through the downtown area Monday night as firefighters arrived to combat a blaze on Oak Street. The fire department was alerted to the fire at approximately 9:00 p.m. and rushed to the scene to quell the flames. Smoke bellowed from the roof of the vacant building and flames were visible in the front door as the lights of the firetrucks descended on the scene, according to eyewitness reports. Soon after the call went out, Officer Sterling Hitch of the Kimball Police Department...
A lawsuit filed against Kimball County Commissioner Tim Nolting requesting $50,000 in damages will be heard in Kimball County District Court June 3. Emerson “Fal” Calvert, who owns lots 8, 9 and 10 of Block 9, Orkney Addition to the village of Bushnell, commonly known as the old lumberyard, filed the suit alleging that Nolting, who also serves as Chairman of the Village of Bushnell Board of Trustees, had “abused his authority with continuous harassment and threats that have escalated beyond reasonable and beyond the scope of Mr. Nolti...
Kimball public schools have experienced low test scores in the past. School officials have seen the importance of getting those scores up higher, and over the most recent school year have been working hard to do so. The tests that students take through the years are the Dibels test which helps determine where students are in their learning and is primarily taken in the elementary school. The Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA), is a test taken by both the elementary and the high school...
Republican Senate candidate Ben Sasse will be facing off against Dave Domina, the Democratic nominee, for the open U.S. Senate seat left behind in the wake of Senator Mike Johanns' retirement. Sasse, the president of Midland University, took a commanding lead early on Tuesday night gaining 44 percent of the vote with 16 percent of precincts reporting, easily jumping ahead of Sid Dinsdale with 25 percent of the vote and leaving Shane Osborn trailing with 23 percent of the vote. Sasse eventually...
When shopping for groceries, some residents may decide to go for more healthy fare, comparing calories, sodium levels and differing nutritional values. In past years, this has entailed picking up different boxes and different products and comparing them side by side, which some times can be a tedious process. In the end, residents may have still been left to wonder whether or not they made the most healthy choice. However, recently Main Street Market and the Panhandle Coop System has introduced...
Doug Peterson believes that in order to be a successful attorney general one must divorce themselves from political aspirations and focus wholeheartedly on the tasks at hand. Peterson, who was born in Columbus and raised in Lincoln, has served as an attorney for over 28 years during which time he has served as Deputy County Attorney in North Platte and served as Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Bob Spire. It is because of his years in the courtroom and serving the people of...
When one thinks about sports, the mind may drift to basketball, football or baseball given the attention they're paid and how they are seemingly commonplace in American society. However, there is often one sport that often gets overlooked entirely: shooting. The local Dead Eye Shooters, which are coached by Nicole and Larry Snyder, prove that shooting is just as valid and important as more commonplace pastimes and also teaches local kids important skill sets that they can use throughout their li...
The roof of the old St. Joseph's Catholic School, where the Head Start program is now housed located on 6th Street, was in tatters and strewn across the lawn Tuesday morning. Captain Justin Trout of the Kimball Police Department and Deputy Dwain Murdoch of the Kimball County Sheriff's Office arrived on the scene making sure that parents were able to easily find their children and get them to the safety of their homes as 35 to 45 miles per hour winds with gusts of 60 miles per hour gushed...
A new cell tower was discussed by the City of Kimball Planning Commission at their meeting Monday, April 21, where the proposal became a subject of, at times, heated debate. The proposal for a 75 foot cell tower that would sit at 3948 Road 34 North in Kimball was submitted to the commission via an application for a conditional use permit by Henry Jacobsen of Northeast Colorado Cellular speaking on behalf of Viaero Wireless. According to Jacobsen, the need for the cell tower on the west side of Kimball would be to accommodate the growing demand...
A late night call to the Kimball Police Department ended in a broken patrol car window and charges for a suspect at the Days Inn located off of Highway 30 April 16. A little before 1:25 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, the silence surrounding the Days Inn hotel was disturbed as owner Wesley Meitus was woken up by his wife alerting him that someone was waiting at the front desk. From the beginning of the interaction, the man, Santos Michael Munoz Jr., 34, appeared hostile and combative, according to...
The three banks of Kimball partnered this past week for MoneySmart week which entails presentations given in front of elementary and high school students for the purpose of educating them about the importance of saving money.......
A new phone scam that has spread throughout the state of Nebraska and has caused some elderly residents to give up over $10,000 to scam artists has recently surfaced in Kimball. The scam, which revolves around Walgreens Green Dot MoneyPak cards, often starts with receiving a call originating from either Jamaica or another foreign country stating that the person has won a large sum of money. However, the call quickly starts to weave a sinister scheme by telling the person that in order for them to receive their winnings they must first send a...
The Kimball County Courthouse held a training exercise for a new security measure Monday, April 14, in hopes of informing employees of how to calmly deal with hostile situations.......
A recent report has declared Kimball County to be the least healthy in the state of Nebraska. The report, conducted annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, ranks the overall health of Nebraska’s counties based on several factors including adult smoking, adult obesity, birth weight, college attendance, physical activity, and access to physicians. Out of the 93 counties in the state, 79 were ranked in the report with the remainder, including Banner County, being too small in popu...
When one thinks about the armed forces, their thoughts more often than not go out to the men and women of our country over seas who put their lives on the line every day to insure that our freedoms along with the lives of their fellow service men and women remain intact. However, it is important to remember the forces that are working for us at home, forces such as the Civil Air Patrol. "Civil Air Patrol is the Air Force Auxiliary. They're responsible for over 90 percent of all inland search...
Nebraska State Senator Pete Pirsch, an Omaha Republican, hopes to bring both his experience and passion for the work at hand to the Nebraska Attorney General's Office in 2014. "I'm running for Nebraska Attorney General, and I think that my unique experience, my background, my passion for that, for the position will enable me to do great things for the people of Nebraska," Pirsch said. Pirsch, who has served eight years on the senate, was originally slated to run for state auditor. However,...
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, has thrown his hat in the ring in a late bid in the Republican race to become the next governor of the state of Nebraska. Bruning, who has served as the attorney general for the last 12 years, spent time last week campaigning throughout the panhandle, stopping in Kimball, Sidney, Scottsbluff and various other cities to sit down with small crowds and discuss the current issues facing Nebraskans and how he can serve to offer solutions. One of the key issues a...
Kimball County was filled with surging waters as a flood left many local residents unable to leave their homes on county roads this past week. According to a U.S. Geological stream gauge on Lodgepole Creek at Bushnell, which feeds into the Oliver Reservoir, a peak flow volume of 960 cubit feet per second (cfs) was measured on the evening of Wednesday, March 5. Higher peak flows haven't been measured since 1981, when the peak reached about 9,390 cfs during a major flooding event that filled...
A burst water pipe on the north side of Kimball left residents without water through Wednesday night, March 5, as Water Department employees worked to get the gushing water under control. According to David Ford, City of Kimball Water Superintendent, the problems started the afternoon of Tuesday, March 3, when employees went to inspect what appeared to be a service line leak. However, the situation quickly escalated early Wednesday morning. "During the night, it really broke loose so then we...