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 Kimball County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday morning to hear from department heads on the workings of the county government. Heads of the roads, buildings and grounds, veterans office and KCTS gave the commissioners updates and reports. Veterans Service Officer Program Coordinator Darcee Wheeland reported on new veterans numbers, military records and medical record requests for December 2023 and January 2024. County veterans receive more than $80,000 in benefits from the Veterans Administration each month. Newly appointed... Full story
From the smallest to the largest, all counties in Nebraska elect a sheriff. The county sheriffs throughout Nebraska have several duties and responsibilities, with their number one responsibility law enforcement. State statutes requires the sheriff to serve, execute and return writs or other legal process issued by a lawful authority. The sheriff shall prepare and file an annual inventory statement of county personal property in his or her custody. The sheriff has charge and custody of the jail...
The Banner County School Speech Team earned second place at the Minuteman Activities Conference competition on Saturday, Feb. 24, in South Platte. "These kids have a lot of talent," said Rick Caudillo, Banner County School speech coach. "Not only do they participate in speech, many of them are also involved in basketball, FFA and other activities," he said. "This shows their commitment to working hard to achieve their goals."...
The Kimball Police Department received approval on two items at the Kimball City Council meeting on Feb. 20. A CargoGlide for a department pickup received approval for this budget season, and the council approved the purchase of a drug dog for the 2024-25 budget year. The CargoGlide, priced at $5,657.99, will provide storage for traffic cones, spikes, pepperballs, evidence collection kits, ballistic shields and instructor gear. Chief Jose Ruiz also received approval for a canine program to be started; this would include a female yellow lab....
Several ribbon cuttings were conducted for different folks associated with the new Kimball Health Services hospital. This one involved the hospital present and past leading figures. From left are board Chairman Jim Cederburg, past CEO Ken Hunter and new CEO Cassie Gasseling....
A high speed chase which began in Scotts Bluff County, went through Banner County and Kimball County occurred Wednesday (today) just after 1:00 p.m. The chase ended when the Kimball County Sheriff's department put spikes out north of the Kimball exit on Highway 71. The female suspect was taken back to Scotts Bluff County. Speeds were in excess of 100 m.p.h....
New housing is taking shape in Kimball to accommodate new hires needed for the major Clean Harbors expansion. In addition to other residential growth that Clean Harbors is backing locally, the environmental services giant has contracted with a company to bring mobile homes into Kimball. Stahla's Trailer Park, above, is the sight of 25 such new mobile homes that are being set up and prepared as rentals....
Gov. Pillen arrived in Kimball for the Kimball Health Services hospital ribbon cutting on Monday, Feb 26, but he also tended to other business. The governor and his entourage landed on the newly resurfaced Kimball Municipal Airport runway 10/28 and found the landing was incredible. The resurfacing project recently received a 2023 Project of the Year award from the state. Before the ribbon cutting, Pillen met with KCTS staff and toured Kimball Public Schools. Pillen and members of his Department...
The Kimball community came out en masse for Kimball Health Services new hospital ribbon cutting on Monday, Feb. 26. On a windy day, an estimated 200 or more people crammed into the entryway and clinic waiting area while officials were recognized and spoke of the process to develop the facility. Gov. Jim Pillen started off the ceremony with a message of congratulations. "This is a big, big deal for rural Nebraska, for Kimball, for your community," he said. Pillen spoke about what a fantastic...
The annual Kimball Public Schools spelling bee was held Wednesday, Jan. 31. Twenty-four students ranging from fourth through eighth grade filled the chairs on the stage of Harry E. McNees Auditorium in anticipation of their turn to spell their way to victory. Fourth grade spellers participating in the event included Meera Chaudhari in first place in her grade, Ay'sel Gusman, Adie Weinbender, Laural Norberg, and Barry Baber, Jr. Fifth grade contestants were Barrett Brown in first place, Chloe...
The wildfire that began 8.6 miles northeast of North Platte on Monday morning continued to burn as of Tuesday afternoon. The Betty’s Way Fire has consumed 71,022 acres, according to a press release from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, with the hopes of some containment later on Tuesday. With winds over 40 mph the fire continues to spread east, and evacuations have been issued. According to Emergency Management Region 22 (Scottsbluff and Banner counties), local departments have responded to the mutual aid request by taking firemen a...
Next up for the new – and now open – Kimball Health Services hospital is next week's ribbon cutting celebration with Gov. Jim Pillen in attendance. Patient services shifted to the facility from the old hospital at 7 a.m. Monday. The 505 S. Burg St. location, home to the hospital since 1950, is out. The new address, 255 W. 4th St., is in. "We're very pleased with how the move has gone so far, with only a few small items to be moved yet between buildings," Kerry Ferguson, KHS community rel...
Kimball County Transit Service Administrator Christy Warner informed the Kimball County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting that Gov. Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Department of Transportation Director Vicki Kramer will visit the transit service Feb. 26 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Statistics for KCTS also were presented by Warner. Of 33,943 rides for the calendar year 2023, 61% were from Kimball County. Other numbers showed that 8,843 rides were educational and preschool, school or college; 3,690 rides were for employment; 2,086 were deliveries f...
Bobby "Shorty" Wilson disappeared without a trace from the streets of Kimball on October 30, 1956, and the family struggled with his disappearance and searched for years for clues or his remains. In 1958, the family had a marker erected in the Kimball Cemetery that read: Robert G. "Shorty" Wilson. His birth date was May 28, 1925, and he was born in Kimball, Nebraska. The simple headstone says, "Disappeared on October 30, 1956." A description of Shorty Wilson was provided in a reward posted in...
Among the special touches at the new Kimball Health Services hospital are plaques next to rooms that recognize donors for helping make possible healthcare services in those rooms. In this case, Ryan and Stephanie McElroy of Kimball are recognized for their contributions to mammography services. They posed for this image during a tour of the new facility...
A high-drama scene unfolded on Thursday, Feb. 8, when the Kimball Police Department answered a disturbance call at 311 Cedar St. and followed up with an attempted arrest. The situation led to a standoff between law enforcement and a suspect in his home from morning until late evening. The next day, the suspect called the Kimball County Sheriff's Office and talked with Sheriff Dave Hottell. They worked out a method for the suspect to be taken into custody. Later, Hottell showed up at the...
The rehabilitation of primary runway 10/28 at the Kimball Municipal Airport/Robert E. Arraj Field received the 2023 Project of the Year at the Nebraska Department of Transportation Aeronautic Division yearly awards night on Jan. 23. Chair of the airport board Ryan McElroy also received an Award of Merit. The new runway project provides a safe landing and takeoff surface for all users of the airport. Runway 10/28 is 6,200 feet long and 75 feet wide. The rehabilitation included 6 inch concrete whi...
First Of Two Parts Almost 70 years ago before social media, cells phones, and cable TV, when oil was king, local children suffered from polio, and a washing machine at Montgomery Ward would cost you $159.95, Kimball's Bobby Wilson, 4 foot 6 inch in stature, disappeared from a local service station in broad daylight and was never heard from again. No body was ever discovered that matched his size, and no crime scene was ever found. Bobby Wilson just disappeared into thin air, never heard from...
Kimball Jr/Sr High School received the Circle of Excellence award from Cognia on Monday evening at the Kimball School Board meeting. Cognia is the largest accreditation organization in the world and does on-site reviews for educational institutions. Cognia did the accreditation for Kimball Public Schools last year. The presentation included comments from the regional accreditation evaluator, Dr. Dan Leikvold, "Kimball Jr/Sr High School has a robust continuous school improvement process and an...
Kimball has been added to the list of areas that have suffered thefts of thousands of gallons of fuel at fuel stations. Other communities hit by the theft rings include Chappell, Benkelman, Haigler, Sidney and Dalton. Video shows that on Jan. 26, a white straight box truck with two subjects pulled up to a fuel station at Frenchman Valley Coop in Kimball and absconded with over 1,000 gallons of fuel. With the theft occurring in the city of Kimball, the Kimball Police Department is investigating....
At the Feb. 6 Kimball County Commissioners meeting, an update on the sale of the High Point Welcome Center was provided. After completing its due diligence, Big D Oil Company of Rapid City, S.D., will complete the purchase of the High Point Welcome Center and surrounding acres on Feb. 12. The county will lease the welcome center back for $500 a month until Big D is ready to start construction. The center and additional eight acres were sold to Big D for $500,000. The company plans on developing the area as a truck stop. Other business in front...
"It is a joy, a blessing," Lela Carpenter said. "It is large enough for our family to go places and be together. It's great." Lela and her family purchased the "blessing bus" when it was declared surplus property for the county. The commissioners requested that the County Clerk's Office handle the bid process, and it went out for bid two different times. The first time there was no bid. The second time, the Carpenters bid $500 and they were the only bid, so they received the "blessing bus."...
On the May 14 primary ballot Banner County voters will be electing one commissioner and three school board members. Newly appointed Banner County commissioner Republican Don Lease has filed as an incumbent. Lease was appointed commissioner in December to complete the term of long-time commissioner Robert Gifford, who resigned. Lease’s current term expires January 5, 2025. Banner County School Board has three open non-partisan seats with incumbent Laura Baker filing to retain her seat, and John-Robert Faden and Jacob Knaub also filed for the o...
Little Bushnell is getting some big attention. Big Rig attention. The Kimball County village, population 115, has been a place of interest on three Big Rig Travels/YouTube videos that about 54,800 viewers watched from last Thursday through Tuesday. BigRigSteve (real name Stephen Michaels), the trucker star of Big Rig Travels for 16 years, even spent a night outside Bushnell. He had little choice. A tire on BigRigSteve's semi-trailer truck blew out heading westbound on I-80 out of Kimball that...
Officials for Kimball Health Services anticipate that the new building will be fully operational and ready for patients on Feb. 19. An open house and ribbon cutting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 26 with Gov. Jim Pillen in attendance, along with other politicians, officials and the public. The hospital, clinic and emergency room will open on Feb. 19 at 255 West 4th St. if all goes according to plan. CEO and CFO Cassie Gasseling said that employees from the portable trailers at the old hospital...