Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Good morning and Happy October! Halloween and Christmas decorations are on sale everywhere. Are you ready? I myself am trying to get into the spirit of fall, my most favorite time of the year. However, this year it seems like summer got such a late start that it is ending much too soon. But as we all know, time marches on. So, did you head to Kimball for Farmers Day this past weekend? I was there for awhile, but not as much as I have been over the years. Hope you made it to at least some of the...
The Kimball Volunteer Fire Department invites the public to its annual open house celebration from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the fire hall, 200 W. 2nd St. KVFD members will provide a light supper and refreshments to show appreciation for the community's support. The event also is in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week from Oct. 8 to 14. Free will donations will be accepted during the open house. They also can be sent to Kimball Volunteer Fire Department, c/o Jordan...
Farmers Day honors all farmers, but this year the Scott Lockwood Family received the award of Farmer of the Year. Five generations of Lockwoods have farmed in Kimball County. The Lockwood operation began in 1917, and today the Lockwoods are predominately organic wheat and millet farmers. Receiving the award are Susan and Scott Lockwood....
The KCHS Class of 1973 will gather Farmers Day weekend for its 50-year high school reunion. The 1973 graduating class had 92 members, with 45 set to attend the reunion, according to Sue Maxted. Fourteen graduates are deceased, and those buried in the Kimball Cemetery will be adorned with Class of 1973 grave markers. Seven classmates were not able to be located. Locals heading up the celebration have been working on the events since last fall. Committee members include Sue Maxted. Dennis Deboodt, Mike and Mary Moehr, Dave Lukassen, Leo...
Gov. Jim Pillen addressed a group of Kimball County residents on Monday afternoon during a town hall meeting at KCTS headquarters. Pillen said he wants to be the governor of everyone in Nebraska, all Nebraskans. He stressed that Nebraskans all have to live within their means, and a high priority for the state is to be more financially responsible. Pillen explained that four things are what he has focused on throughout his life and continues to focus on as governor: kids, taxes, agriculture and...
The Kimball County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to adopt the 2023-24 Kimball County Budget. In addition, the final 2023-24 Property Tax Request for $3,786,671 was approved and adopted. No members of the public other than county employees were in attendance Tuesday, but a large crowd packed the KCTS meeting room for the Joint Public Hearing on Sept. 19. The Joint Public Hearing was required because the county proposed to increase its annual property tax revenue by more than 2%. Property owners had received a...
Folks visiting for Farmers Day weekend will see a dramatically changed landscape on the old West Elementary School grounds. Construction of Kimball's new $43.6 million hospital there is on track for completion by Dec. 22, Kimball Health Services community relations director Kerry Ferguson told the Observer. Jeff Van Es, project manager with Haselden Construction, said last week that the project is 85 percent complete. The facility is 61,200 square feet in size. Finish work has begun, Ferguson...
Banner County students were among the highest ranking when students and instructors from 18 high schools met in Kimball County for the Area 1 (Panhandle) Range Judging on Sept. 19. Approximately 150 participants judged various grasses, plants, and shrubs in a pasture on the southside of Oliver Reservoir Recreation Area. In the Senior Division, Banner County placed third as a team. Chadron was first and Scottsbluff second. Banner ranked higher than many other teams, including those from Gordon-Rushville, Sidney, Creek Valley, Ogallala, Leyton,...
Good morning! At least one more beautiful week without a freeze, although it sure is getting cooler. Homecoming last weekend at Banner County High voted in Andie West as Queen and Nathan Clements as King, congratulations! And there is more sports this week starting tomorrow, September 28, with cross country at Bayard and an early out for the rest of the student body because . . . it is time for parent-teacher conferences! Those will take place between 2-5 p.m. and then again between 6-8 p.m. Child care is provided for those who need it during...
The Remote Control Airshow on Sunday of Farmers Day weekend is set to happen, according to organizer Rick Kirby. The Kimball Kamakzee Club Flyers R/C Airshow is at the Kimball Airport at 10 a.m. The airshow was "up in the air" for some time because the FAA had instituted a new rule that required drones and RC aircraft to have a remote ID number. Each craft needed to have its own digital license plate. The deadline for obtaining the remote ID was 12:01 a.m. Sept. 16. With only four manufacturers...
Pine Bluffs Gravel and Excavating is doing a resurfacing project for the Minuteman Missile access roads. Heavy truck traffic is expected to continue south of Kimball, although the work will only take place during daylight hours. More than 40 gravel trucks are hauling gravel from the gravel pits just west of Kimball to the missile base roads in Laramie County, Wyoming, at the present time. Sites in Weld County have been completed, and they will start on the missile roads in Kimball County by the...
The Kimball County Commissioners went into two executive sessions Tuesday, Sept. 19, regarding deployment of security personnel and devices and the purpose of discussing confidential employee and personnel matters. On Tuesday evening, the commissioners held a joint public hearing regarding the increase in the tax request, and on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 9:15 a.m. the commissioners will hold the 2023-24 county budget hearing. For more information about the county’s proposed budget and its notice of budget hearing and budget summary, see the public...
A full Farmers Day is in store for the Kimball area on the weekend of Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. Highlighting the events will be the parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the first-ever “Pie A City Guy” event at 2 p.m. at the downtown stage in Kimball. Tickets for “Pie A City Guy” can be purchased at the Kimball Public Library. Various city officials have volunteered to be the pie target, including Mayor John Morrison, City Administrator Annette Brower, library Director Amber Sweetland and many more. The Friends of the Kimball Library are sponsor...
Banner County's Andie West participated in the Area 1 Range Judging Contest on Tuesday, when more than 150 FFA students from 14 different Panhandle schools visited Kimball County to participate in the event. Site 1, shown above, was at Oliver Reservoir. The students had to identify 24 range plants, provide information about them and determine if they were grasses, forbs or shrubs. Students scored three ecological sites, looking at what kind of conditions they were in and what soils they were...
The Kimball Concert Association has announced the kickoff of its membership campaign for the 2023-24 concert season. The association has also released schedule of concerts for the season. Last year for the first time, the association made student memberships free, and they will continue this for the 2023-24 season. The action encourages youth to attend the four concerts and be exposed to various music and performances. Concert tickets can be purchased at the Kimball Public Library as well as from individuals. To purchase tickets, contact Donna...
Good morning this beautiful fall morning in Nebraska! Hope we have this kind of weather for the next 90 days, and then spring! Everyone is still pretty busy and farmers are still trying to get wheat planted while beans, corn and beet harvest is still ahead. Whew! For this upcoming week, Thursday, September 21st, there will be a home volleyball game at 1 p.m. verses Community Christian. Football on tap for this week is here at home as the Wildcats celebrate Homecoming. Game time Friday is 5 p.m. for volleyball and 7 p.m. for the football game....
The Kimball Longhorns look to rebound this Friday in a homecoming matchup with the visiting Morrill Lions in a D1 District 11 contest. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Horns are working this week to make it a happy homecoming. The Leyton Warriors could be a good indicator of how this game might turn out. The Longhorns dominated Leyton, 40-10, in their lone victory so far this season, while Morrill lost, 60-8, to that same rebuilding Warriors team. Kimball is 1-3 this season after a 55-0 loss at Perkins...
Some of more than 150 visiting FFA members wind through Oliver Reservoir land Tuesday during the FFA Area 1 Range Judging Contest. A report on their visit is on Page A1....
Kimball's Titan II missile in Gotte Park is being removed. According to Annette Brower, city administrator, "The missile has deteriorated to the point that it is no longer considered being safe in a public environment." On Monday, military and city officials met to look at the missile in Gotte Park, and Brower explained, "The decision has been made to remove the missile from the public park. All parts of the missile will be returned to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, where they will...
Kimball City Council approved a $ 1,000 Keno request on Tuesday evening, Sept. 5, to help fund the Farmers Day celebration. Josh Enevoldsen, Farmers Day treasurer, said it usually requires about $10,000 to put on Farmers Day. The request stated that Farmers Day brings people into town, and the community is showcased by the activities. “We have a food fair, parade, hamburger feed, and other events throughout the day that other local organizations put on,” the request said. The council meeting continued with a lengthy discussion on past cha...
Thirty Panhandle veterans – one from World War II, four from the Korean War, and the rest from the Vietnam War – stopped in Kimball on their way to fly into Baltimore and then tour the monuments in Washington, D.C. This was the Lone Eagle Honor Flight. John Oliver, 90, was one of the Honor Flight veterans. John was accompanied by his daughter, Rene Keller. Not mincing words, John said about being picked for the trip to Washington, D.C., "Surprised the hell out of me." After serving in Korea in t...
Kimball Public Schools Superintendent Trevor Anderson presented the 2023-24 budget information on Monday at the budget hearing. According to the presentation, the valuations in Kimball County are up 9.3% from last year but the Kimball Public Schools property tax rate will decrease by 13%. The property tax rate last year was 0.951276, in 2022 the tax rate was 1.04, and for 2023-24 the proposed tax rate is .0900000. This is due in part to the increase in Kimball Public Schools state aid. State aid for Kimball will be $615,620 up from 2022 figure...
Good morning! lots of rain and somewhat cooler. Kind of a mix of spring and fall. Nice football weather for the most part. This week – today Thursday, September 14th – there will be another pre-school program at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center hosted by the Nebraska Game & Parks and Wildcat Hills SRA. “Feathered Friend” will begin at 10 a.m. and is Free, however, a park permit is required. Beginning the next day through the 17th, there will be a display of quilts at the Torrington fairgrounds Rendezvous Center. This is part of the “Quilts Along...
Local beef was on the menu last Wednesday for Kimball Jr/Sr. High School. Ninety hamburgers were grilled for students by Alvin Koski, and Superintendent Trevor Anderson also handled grilling duties. Next week the entire student body K-12 will enjoy grilled burgers on Wednesday. Donations for beef have been received from JMKJ Reich, T & B Cook Farms, and KW Cattle....
Lincoln Highway painters Jessica Rocha, left, and Jaime Bright were back at it on Labor Day, laboring to highlight the historic old roadway that runs throught these parts with a fresh coat of red, white and blue. Last week, their painting posse gave Kimball's corner of Chestnut and 2nd the Lincoln Highway makeover. This week, they painted the bridge, shown above, on the west end of Bushnell and north side of the tunnels. It was part of the original Lincoln Highway route – and now it's a t...