Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Sorted by date Results 51 - 70 of 70
After two years, the Kimball Banner County Chamber of Commerce has hired a new chamber director. Larissa Binod is the newly hired chamber director, and will be in the chamber office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. "We've been without a director for about two years. It's really tough. A director needs to be someone who is professional and business minded so that they can help us accomplish our goals. We need them to be passionate about the community," said Josh Enevoldsen, the new...
Betty Elliott, right, stands next to her husband, Rich, last Wednesday as she was honored during her retirement open house. Elliott retired from the Kimball/Banner County Chamber of Commerce, where she had worked since 2006. Prior to that, she served as a chamber volunteer....
Portraying Santa Claus has been a longtime tradition for Richard "Rich" Elliott of Kimball. The 79-year old began his time as Santa in the mid-1960s and has portrayed him ever since. This year, he was Santa for Shop with a Cop and also at the Main Street Market open house. "I enjoyed it," Elliott said. "I love kids, and I never lied to any of them. I never told them I would give them such and such, and this and that. Now, sometimes a mother would come up to me before the kids and say something...
Kimball is a town that really enjoys doing things well in the Christmas cheer arena. The hard work begins with the Kimball Banner County Chamber of Commerce, which promotes shopping locally plus other contests to keep up the Christmas spirit. There is also the "Parade of Lights" committee that puts many hours to kick off the season each year. Then there is the efforts of all the businesses around town that try to boost that Christmas cheer. Each year, many businesses all over Kimball decorate...
The Kimball city council received an update on the event center roof at its Nov. 18 meeting. After the meeting was called to order the current business included Keno grant applications from both the chamber of commerce as well as Shop with a Cop. Chamber director Jennifer Provance was present to request funds for the Kimball Banner County Chamber of Commerce. “The funding we are requesting will go toward promoting the holiday season in Kimball. So the parade of lights, prizes for different contests and promotions, ads in the paper, that kind o...
Congressman Adrian Smith stopped by the Kimball/Banner County Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, January 21, to update local residents on the issues being discussed in Washington. Among the issues discussed was the current tax code which Smith believes is too convoluted and needs to be reformed to better serve the country. "Our current tax code is 10,000 pages in length. And it costs our economy about $160 billion a year just to calculate our taxes. That doesn't include paying your taxes. Roughly...
July Kimball-Banner Chamber of Commerce Director, Jeanette Rabender, resigned. When asked why she said the reasons were personal. The resignation does come at a time when Kimball is at a critical juncture in it's economic future and development. However, Rabender and her knowledge of what's going on will be missed. Kimball celebrated the Fourth of July with an old-fashioned cookout and fireworks. The fire department provided lunch and there was a water fight at the park. The day was wrapped up...
Since the resignation of Jeanette Rabender from the post of Executive Director of the Kimball/Banner County Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, many have wondered what will become of the chamber and how it will move forward. According to Chamber of Commerce Board President Jennifer Provance, the chamber board has been taking time to reevaluate and reorganize the chamber. "We still are not ready to hire a director. Where we're at is trying to refocus on what our mission is. We did have a...
Don’t expect the storied underpass in Kimball to be renovated any time soon. According to officials from the City of Kimball, the project, which has been an ongoing debate for over a decade, is caught up in regulations that come with the designation of funds from the federal government. “As I understand it, funds came mostly from the feds,” said Daniel Ortiz, Kimball City Administrator. “When you’re dealing with federal funds, there’s all sorts of hoops we have to jump through to get them to...
Senator Deb Fischer stopped by Kimball May 28, to give residents an update on what she has been working on for the people of Nebraska. Fischer walked into the Plains Historical Museum around 1:30 p.m. where she was greeted by a modest crowd of Kimball residents eager to hear what she had to say. Senator Fischer touched on topics such as the recent scandals that have rocked Washington, the Farm Bill, and took time to comment on the perception that everything in Washington is gridlocked and that...
Surrounded by her family, local resident Jeanette Rabender watched news coverage of a severe tornado that ravaged suburbs of Oklahoma City, with countless thoughts and emotions flooding into her mind. “It went right over my oldest son’s area,” said Rabender. “When I saw the devastation on the tv, I immediately panicked. Being with my parents, I tried to constrain myself, to try and not scare them.” Her son, Rick Kitchens, his wife Jennifer and their three sons - Gabriel, Elijah and Noah - all li...
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer will be meeting with the Kimball Banner County Chamber of Commerce next Tuesday at the Plains Historical Society Downtown Museum from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. “This doesn’t happen very often, said Jeanette Rabender, Executive Director of the Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce. “I’m hoping the community realizes that it’s a great thing that she’s coming here to listen to us.” According to an email sent out by the Chamber of Commerce, Senator Fischer will be updating local residents and officials on her time in the S...
Boy oh boy, has this month been a busy one! It seems like when school is in session we are all in perpetual motion, and believe me sometimes my personal motion is pretty s-l-o-w! The nicer weather has sure helped my attitude although I would dearly love some rain! Birthday folks this week include: Travis Cochran, Nathan Rogers, Reta Pahl, Camy Anderson, Larry Malm, Toria McGowan, Owen Gifford, Nathaniel McGowan, Corwin Bunny-Moore, Marie Parker, Louise Person, and Ronald Kennedy. Happy Birthday and congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Royce Ammon...
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...
On the surface, Kimball appears little different now than a year ago. The farms and ranches still bear the scars of a long and drought-parched season, but the buildings, homes and roads are almost unchanged. Patches of blackened grass will recover from the summer’s wildfires. The controversial fence around Kimball’s old high school is still just a row of skeletal posts. A clean up promised for the former Corner Bar lot has yet to be fulfilled. Although Pamida left, Shopko filled the void sea...
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...
December 20 is the deadline to register your home in the Residential Lighting Contest. There are many beautifully decorated homes around and the Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce appreciates all who enter the contest or even just share their spirit with the community. On December 16 at the Fraternal Hall, (corner of 2nd and Chestnut) the chamber will host the final “Winner’s Wrap-Up” Celebration. There will be local entertainment as well as All the winners of Christmas contests will be named and prizes awarded. They will also draw...
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...
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...