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 preliminary hearing Monday on the perjury charges against Lylia J. Childs started a minute early in Kimball County Court, with Judge Kris Mickey appearing by video. Due to a conflict of interest, Judge Mickey from Scotts Bluff County and the Cheyenne County clerk conducted the preliminary hearing. David Wilson, Kimball County attorney, represented the state, and Childs sat at the opposing table with no counsel. Childs was arraigned on August 9, and the court had received no affidavit for appointment of counsel. The state’s first witness w...
The brother/sister duo of Aubrey and Britton Culek captured the overall Grand Champion market beef and Reserve Champion market beef at the Kimball-Banner County Fair on Friday, but their fair days aren't over yet as they will continue into September at the Nebraska State Fair. Throughout the summer, the Culek kids have traveled to and participated in eight progress shows from Kearney to Denver and anywhere between. Aubrey will take Tritt, weighing 1,341 pounds, and 131-pound Whiskey to Grand...
The Kimball County Commissioners on Aug. 15 met with a representative of the Nebraska Association of County Officials to discuss and consider a cost savings option concerning health insurance coverage. More than 50 counties in the state offer this incentive to not have people double covered, and it could save the county around $100,000 in insurance premiums. Individuals must be on a group insurance plan, but if they are covered by another plan they could opt out of the county plan and receive a stipend. In other business, Deputy Treasurer...
The youth pie eating contest at the Antelope Stampede Bicycle Race party Saturday in Gotte Park was won by Damien Van Dewater (white shirt). Also competing were Braden Fuss (front left), Jax Anderson (back left) and Kalli Shoup. The winner of the pie eating contest received a homemade pie made and donated by Steve Pinkerton. See story, Page B1....
Good morning! Boy, oh boy, has the summer flown by! Although it is the middle of August, I am going to push it for as long as I can. A few cooler days at the beginning of this week felt good but also gave us a little taste of what is to come. School has started this past week for most of us and that always changes the tempo for a lot of things. Somewhat of a less play and down to serious business attitude, maybe. Flowerfield School will begin before long, yeah! The folks in Alliance are gearing up for a Rubber Duck Draw with a 2024 Chevrolet Tr... Full story
The Indian Plate will replace the restaurant formerly known as The Diner. Amandeep Basra recently purchased the old Diner and the First Interstate Inn from LGK Inc. The new restaurant will be known as the Indian Plate and serve both Indian and American food. The start date for the restaurant opening is Aug. 15. Basra said his goal is to "have good food for everyone." He said his five star cook from California will be here Aug. 14. He said he has cooks and employees on staff, and he will remain...
A public hearing was opened at 5:03 p.m. during the Kimball City Council meeting Aug. 1 for public comment on Ordinance 823, which authorizes the city to borrow not more than $2.5 million for the purposes of financing improvements and expansion of the city’s electric system and other improvements to the city’s combined utilities system. Scott Keene from Piper Sandler, a bonding company for this project, told the council members that the city had “plenty of capacity to take on new debt.” Ordinance 823 was approved by a 4-0 vote. In other b...
The Kimball-Banner County Fair is in full swing, with some events already completed. Archery was held last Wednesday evening, followed by clothing exhibits, a fashion revue and table setting on Thursday. Receiving a variety of Grand Champions in archery were Jace Reich, Luke Olsen, Isaac Olsen, Jalanna Krakow and Giacomo Varra. The dog show and static exhibits were on the agenda for Monday, and the results are in the books. With a change of the schedule from previous years, animals began... Full story
The Potter-Dix FFA served harvest meals to busy farmers last week, about 100 lunches in all. In the top photo, Alex Engstrom picked the right time to bring a load of wheat to the FVC elevator in Kimball and received lunches from Potter-Dix FFA member Micayla McConnell. Engstrom went back to the field with lunches for the whole crew. In the lower photo, the harvest helpers pose as a group. In the front row, from left, are Peyton Rasmussen, Sabrynn Bogert, Micayla McConnell and Sawyer Knoll. Back...
Good morning, nice to have a few cooler days this week. The combines are still all over the place, some fields are finished and some have not started. Be careful out there, the roads are narrow and the harvest equipment is wide! I know of one fellow that went under a header because there was no where for either of the vehicles to go, so up and under! Fairs are coming to a close and boy have the rubber check races seen some bad luck this year. In Bridgeport a few weekends ago an accident with a horse, rider and hay bale was not good. The rider e...
At the July 18 Kimball City Council meeting, a discussion was held on possible improvements to Gotte Park. Improvement topics ranged from the drainage ditch to various park improvements to the removal of the Titan I missile displayed on park grounds. Only the bottom part of the missile remains standing today, and pictures taken by the City of Kimball electric department show areas of the missile that are rotted through. Mayor John Morrison said, "It is actually becoming a hazard to the public."...
After months of negotiations and executive sessions, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, the Kimball County Commissioners voted to sell the High Point Welcome Center of Western Nebraska property located at 204 South Kimball Boulevard and the adjacent land to Big D Oil Co. of Rapid City, S.D. The selling price was $500,000. Big D Oil’s possible plan is to operate a truck stop at the site. It is a family owned business with 39 retail stores in western South Dakota, eastern Wyoming and northern Colorado. As for the welcome center’s future, it was not dis...
Kimball City Administrator Annette Brower has distributed information about the next STAR Roundtable session to help small businesses make the most of working with the federal govvernment and large contractors during the Sentinel missile project. The idea is to strategize. STAR is an acronym for Strategic Team Alliance Roundtable. The roundtable – a webinar being hosted by the Wyoming SBDC – will hegin 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10. Small business representatives will be able to connect with panelists successfully performing as prime and sub... Full story
Holy Cow, August is here! The summer is sure flying for someone who is not having that much fun. Wheat harvest here in Banner County has looked pretty good, and in Scotts Bluff County, and Kimball, it has looked good at least in places. I recently road on a combine for a while and it sure was different than the last time I climbed those steps. There was no buddy seat and you had to drive. The cutting continues. Here at home, school starts soon, and the staff is due to be back on the 14th. So soon. There is a school board meeting on Monday, the...
The small village of Bushnell celebrates this year’s “Bushnell Day” with exciting events, presentations, entertainment, and food and craft vendors. Saturday, August 19th, kicks off with a parade at 10:00 a.m. followed by events in the park, including cow tongue football at 11:00 a.m. and a cornhole tournament at 2:00 p.m. Events at the Fire Hall include a hog roast at 5:00 p.m. and a dance featuring the Martin Gilmore Band at 7:00 p.m. There are plenty of things to keep both adults and kids busy throughout the day. The park will be fille...
Members of the Central Banner 4-H Club, at left, tied fleece blankets to donate to Kimball Health Services this year. The club makes blankets to donate each spring to an area hospital as a community service project. Now it's on to the Kimball Banner County Fair, which will keep many area 4-H Club and FFA members plenty busy through Aug. 13....
Wheat harvest has begun in and around the Kimball area. The recent days of 90-plus degree weather "gets things dried out," according to Frenchman Valley Coop's Hope Hinton. On Monday, cutting is happening "all over" north of Potter, north and south of Kimball, and south of Dix, she said. Hinton predicted that they will be in the harvest mode until the middle of August because of the large area that FVC covers. On Monday in the FVC office, the harvest crew was training for the long days of... Full story
At the Kimball City Council meeting on July 18, City Administrator Annette Brower addressed key issues regarding the missile project. Brower said the Pioneer Camp will be in place in 2024 and the Housing Hub for hundreds of project workers at a time will be built and operational in 2025. The Pioneer Camp will house workers who will construct the hub. In another matter, Mayor John Morrison commented on a story on July 13 front page of the Observer about Hometown Hardware. Referring to a water main break that affected the business, Morrison said...
Chief Jose Ruiz of the Kimball Police Department reported at the Kimball City Council on meeting a lengthy list of happenings. During the council meeting, the department also added two more officers to the ranks. New Kimball policemen include Sgt. Jose Barboza and Officer Colton McKenzie. Meanwhile, the department is in the process of nine abatements regarding residential maintence, while 16 have been completed, and three abatements are with the city attorney. In response to the semi-parking... Full story
Good morning! Harvest is getting underway, so please no more rain for just a little while. Although we all are so thankful for the rain, it sure would be nice to get a few of those crops in! More to follow soon, right? Combines and the crews with them have been putting in many long hours trying to beat the weather. Beginning this week, Thursday, July 27th three bands out of Colorado will play at the 18th Street Plaza between 6 - 9 p.m. Cory Pearman and Loop Story are both soft rock bands, and Float Like A Buffalo is a funk horn band. Not sure a... Full story
While Mike's Greenhouse in Kimball has hit the end of the season for selling tomatoes, peppers and other starter plants, Mike Schepker looks forward to his real adventure, his true love, mining for gold. Wyoming Game and Fish has set July 1 to Sept. 10 as the Wyoming mining season. The season was set up as a window between the spawning seasons of trout in the spring and fall. Mike packs up his RV and heads west to Snowy Range to mine for gold and other precious gems. "It is a lot of hard work,...
The Kimball County Commissioners went into executive session Tuesday to discuss and consider approval of an agreement for the sale of the High Point Welcome Center of Western Nebraska property and adjacent land. When the commissioners returned to open session, no action was taken as following previous executive sessions regarding the matter, although they did state that a decision would be made on Aug 1. In a public comment period, Jack Shaw of Kimball addressed the commissioners concerning the planned relocation of the courthouse handicap...
Kimball County Transit Service celebrated its expanded service on July 12 with an open house and ribbon cutting. Officials from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and Mobility Management were on hand to celebrate, along with local and regional officials. The new extended service was launched July 11 between Kimball and Scottsbluff, known as the Sky Line. Also, operation began on the Sun Line route from Kimball to Sidney and Chappell. KCTS also runs the Red Line from Scottsbluff to... Full story
Teresa Gonzalez of Kimball is facing three felony charges – including domestic first degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, and terroristic threats – and two misdemeanor charges from an incident on July 8 at the First Interstate Inn. Gonzalez is being held in North Platte on $50,000 bond. On July 8, Gonzalez took her partner, who had a stab wound in his abdomen, to Kimball Health Services. Kimball County Sheriff Dave Hottell interviewed the victim July 13 at Regional West Medical Center, where he stated that “Teresa had stabb...
Good morning! Well summer is definitely here and isn’t it grand? Hot weather, weeds and all, I sure would rather have the heat to complain about instead of the cold! One of my very best friends would not agree with me at all and I understand, but for now I am happy with the heat, maybe in a month or so I will not be so much! Before we get into all of the things going on this next week I would like to congratulate Isaac Olsen on his recent experience with the Nebraska Ambassadors of Music Band and Choir. This group of 185 band members and 150 c... Full story