Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen declared a disaster declaration for Kimball, Banner, Cheyenne, Garden, Morrill and Scotts Bluff counties after the April 6-7 high winds and blizzard conditions. The damage to the affected counties is expected to exceed $5.4 million. Region 22 Emergency Management Director Tim Newman said that Scotts Bluff and Banner counties experienced "some minor cosmetic damages like roofing materials." According to Newman, "This declaration will only be for public agencies such as...
Senior Braylon Miller, a standout among Kimball's art students, showcased his exceptional works and creativity at the recent Kimball Art Show. The event was proof to the artistic abilities of students from kindergarten to high school. Art teacher Mr. Mark Jefferis explained, "The art show provides us with the opportunity to show students that we are proud of their work and to share with the community the artistic abilities of students at Kimball Public Schools." Braylon's artwork from this year...
Austin Garner and Jamie Murdoch, the two unopposed candidates to succeed Gabe Ingram and Christy Warner on Kimball City Council, both replied to questions from Observer reporter Daria Anderson-Faden for this report preceding the May 14 primary election. Their answers follow, with the candidates listed in alphabetical order of their last names. AUSTIN GARNER Please provide brief background info on yourself: I grew up in Kimball and graduated in 2004, attended college and then joined the Army as a flight paramedic. I was stationed in Germany and...
In a unanimous vote, the Kimball School Board amended teacher Christine Lewis’s employment contract from full- to quarter-time employment in a hearing conducted after the regular board meeting on Monday evening, April 8. The board deliberated during in executive session and returned from the executive session to approve the contract amendment. Superintendent Trevor Anderson presented the administration’s case to amend the contract due to the loss of distance learning students in Spanish 1 and...
Ken, left, and Bob Vincent soak up the partial solar eclipse in Kimball on Monday about midday. The duo, equipped with solar glasses, throughly enjoyed the experience. Both had experience as solar eclipse watchers as they also took in the 2017 eclipse near Scottsbluff. The image of the sun partially eclipsed by the moon, at right, was taken near the Kimball County Courthouse....
Thirty-year-old Stevn Graupensperger was confined to the Kimball County Jail in December of last year. He was twice arrested for possession of methamphetamine in four weeks. His life was out of control, and he knew it. Using meth was his excuse to cope with losses, heartbreaks and difficulties. Graupensperger mentality was "pity-poor me," or "I just wanted to escape because I didn't feel comfortable in my skin." He was "fair-warned before any ingestion" of the power of meth, "but I thought I...
The weekend storm that hit the Kimball area shut down I-80 and Highway 71, forcing double lines of trucks to wait for the roads to reopen. Winds in the area topped out at 70 mph, and then the snow created blizzard conditions. Hundreds of power poles went down. Especially hard hit were the Kimball, Banner County and Potter areas. By Monday most snow had melted in Kimball, but some people remained snowed in around the Harrisburg area. Banner County and Potter-Dix schools were closed Monday, while...
The Tuesday, April 2, the Kimball City Council meeting began with Kim Baliman providing an update on the 2025 Kimball High School All-Class Reunion. The last All-Class Reunion was held in 2015. The 2025 event is scheduled for July 4, 5 and 6. The organizers’ goal is to have 500 people in attendance for a parade, wine tasting, a craft and car show in the park, and various other events. The 2025 reunion is in honor of Karen Robinson and Harry McNees. In other business, the UNL traffic follow-up study was again on the agenda. The street d...
Sheriff Dave Hottell met with the Kimball County Commissioners to report on the first quarter 2024. He reported that 911 calls have decreased from 442 to 284 this quarter, although service calls for the sheriff’s office have increased from 370 in the first quarter of 2023 to 504 this quarter. Arrests increased from 38 in the first quarter of last year to 44 in the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, VIN inspections have almost tripled from 450 in the first quarter of last year to 1,230 in the first quarter of this year. Hottell introduced his s...
For the past two years the Kimball FFA Food Science team has been disappointed, but the disappointment disappeared this year as they brought home the state championship. The team consists of seniors Grace Anderson, Carlee Murdoch, Hayden Sours and Julia Winstrom. Julia expressed their two-year disappointment with, "The past two years, we have come up short on this championship. We worked hard and gave it our all last year, and unfortunately, we came up short by 7 points. It was heartbreaking."...
Leota Kant, 86, was arraigned in Kimball District Court on Tuesday morning on the offense of attempt of a class 1/1A/1/B/1/C/1/D felony and use of a firearm to commit a felony. Both Kant and her attorney, Stuart Dornan, appeared by Zoom for the proceedings. Kant’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity for her, stating that she was evaluated on Nov 29, 2023, and it was determined that she suffers from dementia. Due to her vulnerability, Ms. Kant is safely housed in an assisted living facility at this time. Special p...
Former Kimball Chief of Police Andrew Bremer faces a May 7 arraignment. It stems from a citation issued to him on Jan. 31 from the Nebraska State Patrol citing four counts of official misconduct. Each of the charges has a maximum of six months imprisonment or a $1,000 fine or both, and there is no minimum. The complaint from Kimball County special prosecuting attorney Mirah J. Nickel cites that the incidents happened between September 16, 2022, and April 24, 2023. The charges center on “directing, encouraging, or instructing a trainee to act a...
More than 20 area kids hunted for the 30 dozen hard boiled colored eggs at the Bushnell park on Saturday. The Bushnell Lions Club and the Bushnell Volunteer Fire Department sponsored the hunt. The 30 dozen eggs were dyed with the help of the Kimball County Manor residents....
An estimated 300 children hunted eggs in Gotte Park on Saturday. The New Hope Assembly of God Church organized the annual event and it was hosted by the church's youth group. The excitement continued after the hunt; more than 60 prizes were given away, including bikes and baby toys....
On April 1, the Kimball Police were dispatched to a residence on the 500 block of Walnut Street in Kimball for a disturbance call. The investigation led to evidence of child abuse, and an arrest was made. Garret Goodwin, 25, was arrested and taken into custody and charged with one count of felony child abuse and one county of misdemeanor child abuse. In other Kimball police matters, Chief Jose Ruiz discussed some upcoming plans for the department. He said the plans reflect his goals of maintaining professionalism, building relationships within...
Some of the new apartments for Clean Harbors Environmental Services employees have arrived and are waiting on the east side of Kimball for ground work to be completed at their final destination by Paul Reed Construction. These apartments will be located across the street from Kimball County Manor. Clean Harbors is involved with multiple developments in Kimball to accommodate employees being hired to meet its expansion needs....
Mountain lion sightings have recently been reported in parts of Banner County and the northern part of the town of Sidney. With calving season in full bloom, the mountain lions are a concern for area ranchers. Sidney Police Chief Joe Aikens confirmed the mountain lion sighting in Sidney and cautioned people to be aware and keep an eye on small pets. Sam Wilson, a carnivore biologist for Nebraska Game and Parks said that mountain lion sightings increased gradually over the past 30 years as...
At the special Kimball City Council meeting on March 19, county resident Roger Kaczmarek spoke to the council about the city billing the monthly landfill fee to county residents. According to state statutes, county residents are charged a monthly landfill fee because dumping and burning is illegal. The Kimball Landfill is a city facility, but previously Kimball County had billed and collected the landfill fees from residents and then remitted a check to the city for those fees. In an...
On Tuesday morning, word came from KCTS Administrator Christy Warner that $212,000 of reimbursements had come through from the state to help KTCS meet its financial obligations. At the most recent Kimball County Commissioners meeting, Warner requested a loan of $210,000 to continue operating KCTS because reimbursements from the Nebraska Department of Transportation had been delayed. As of Tuesday, Warner said that KCTS will still receive a $15,000 transfer from the county to continue operating. In an effort to obtain more information about the...
A great crowd of more than 200 people enjoyed the 35th annual Mile High Pheasants Forever banquet and additional activities March 23. According to organizers, they auctioned off multiple guns and prints, along with two fishing trips, and a youth shotgun that came with a youth turkey hunt. They also auctioned off a youth lifetime hunting permit. The Auto-Lok Industries gun of the year was hidden in one of 10 coolers that were raffled off. A gun or jewelry was the prize for the women's basket....
Now here are some good eggs – the people and the plastic eggs. Volunteers, above, stuff candy in 4,000 eggs for the Easter Egg hunt planned for 11 a.m. to noon this Saturday, March 30, at Gotte Park. The New Hope Assembly of God Youth Group is hosting the annual event. If you're still in the mood for more egg hunting after this, the Bushnell Fire Department and Lions Club will get their annual Easter egg hunt going at 2 p.m. March 30 in the village's Hammond Park....
The Kimball High civics class and Potter-Dix senior class, at right, gathered in the Kimball district courtroom for County Government Day on March 26. After introductions, welcoming and folding of the flag, Jasmine Gawith played taps. The full day of learning about the county covered the following offices: county attorney, county court clerk, clerk of district court, county sheriff, assessor, clerk and treasurer. Later in the day, the students learned about KCTS....
After a two-day trial in Kimball County district court, a California man was found guilty on four felony charges. His bond continues, and he will be sentenced on May 7 at 2:30 p.m. In just under two hours, the jury of five women and seven men found Andrew Mendoza guilty of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, no drug tax stamp, and carrying a concealed weapon. The charges stemmed from a speeding incident on I-80 on Nov. 2, 2021, a case that didn’t reach t...
The Kimball Longhorns track teams head to the Bayard meet on March 28 after getting the 2024 season off to a good start with multiple strong efforts March 16 at the UNK B/C indoor meet and March 23 at the Morrill Early Bird meet. It's a busy week coming up for the Horns. After Bayard, they're off to meets at Creek Valley on April 2 and Mitchell on April 4. Kimball's junior high team also is in action, hosting a triangular with Pine Bluffs and Burns at 2:30 p.m. March 28 and heading to the...
On Saturday evening the Kimball FFA hosted its annual labor auction along with the FFA Alumni sponsoring the meal and other events. According to FFA instructor Emily Sowards, more than 250 people took advantage of the event. Thirty-two students were auctioned off for eight hours of work each. The top selling students were Dakota Vrbas for $1,500 and Julia Winstrom reeling in $1,300. All the money remains in the FFA chapter. The students receive the benefits in the form of scholarships, contest...