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 Banner County! Blue skies and spring in the air, every few days anyway. Hopefully melting some of this snow. This past week ended with the Super Bowl – yeah Chiefs! – and the potluck and annual meeting at the Harrisburg Community Church. Both local events were well attended with a lot of great food and conversation. This week hopefully the Ignite youth group will meet on Wednesday, at 6 p.m., weather permitting. The school week will be a short one, but still active. Today, February 16th school will be dismissed at 1 p.m. to all... Full story
Central Banner 4-H Club members Isaac Olsen, 15, and Luke Olsen, 12, medaled at the State 4-H Indoor Archery Shoot held in Columbus from Jan. 27-29. Isaac placed first in the Young Adult Freestyle Limited Recurve division, and Luke placed third in the Cub Basic Bow division. Both Olsen brothers shoot recurve bows.... Full story
Superintendent Trevor Anderson’s annual report released at the school board meeting on Monday, Feb. 13, revealed successful NSCAS Performance Data for the 2021-22 school year. Based on proficiency percentages, the English scores for Kimball students in grades 3-8 and 11 were significantly better than the Nebraska state average in five out of the seven grades. Meanwhile, Kimball students’ percentage scores were better than the Nebraska state average in mathematics in four out of the seven grades. Science testing was recorded in 8th grade and 11g...
The Kimball County Commissioners voted on Feb. 7 to sell the High Point Welcome Center of Western Nebraska and adjacent lots. Sealed bids will be accepted until March 17 at 4 p.m. Bids for the property will be opened at 10 a.m. on March 21. The board reserves the right to accept or reject any bid. An appraisal of the property came back with a value of $243,000 for the center and lots, but the assessed value is $384,000. The commissioners determined that the fair-market value considering the pote...
The best advice to prevent scams can be found on the Protect the Good Life website: “Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The Federal Trade Commission has issued a brochure with four signs that it is a scam: • Using an organization you know, scammers pretend to be contacting you representing the government. Examples include Social Security, IRS, Medicare, or a well-known business. Never give personal information to unsolicited calls. • There is a problem or a prize. Scammers claim you owe money to the government or a fa...
Kimball's wrestling supporters and local community came together last week to watch and cheer on four Kimball high school wrestlers who dominated wrestlers from Burns/Pine Bluffs. It was a special night when the Longhorns wrestling room was named after Joe Culek, a Kimball legend in the sport. After the four high school matches, the Longhorn senior wrestlers were honored. Each of the three seniors have been two-time state qualifiers. They are, at 106 pounds, Matthew Johnson, son of Kyle and...
Joe Mejia State Farm Agency opened its doors last week at 229 S. Chestnut in Kimball. Mejia has 32 years of insurance experience with agencies in Scottsbluff and Longmont, Colo., and now Kimball. Dawn Hinton and Hannah Biesecker will cover the Kimball office and are studying and testing for their auto, casualty, life and health insurance license. Mejia said his decision to open an office in Kimball stems from knowing that Kimball had previously had a State Farm agency, Elsie Sims State Farm... Full story
Good morning ! With sky high snow drifts in many areas and thankfully some melting snow and ice we have ... mud. Yep, we do. However I would rather have mud than drought, so I am trying to remember that. We just need to be careful and not get stuck or slide into the ditch, I know of several who have those issues just getting out of their yards. Well, the ole groundhog has predicted six more weeks of winter and that doesn’t surprise me, how about you? Through it all we will carry on. On Saturday night, February 11th, the Golden Halo Foundation w...
The Kimball Robotics 4-H Club competed in the Panhandle Qualifier of the Nebraska FIRST Lego League on Jan. 28. Twelve teams competed in the event, which took place at Gering High School. The Kimball team placed 7th in the regional Robot Games competition. The seven team members representing Kimball's 4-H program at the competition were 7th graders Andrew Hawthorne, Connor Markum, and Harley O'Rourke; 6th grader Mackenzie Miller; 5th graders Katie Hawthorne and Ragen Markum; and 4th grader... Full story
Say hello to Antelope Ridge. This conceptual development on the south side of Interstate 80 would include 252 acres, 580 homes and retail and commercial businesses, including a truck stop....
About 150 area people attended the Sentinel Real Estate Town Hall meeting at the Sagebrush in Kimball last week. The Air Force will upgrade the Minuteman III missile system in four to five years. The system comprises 150 launch facilities, 15 missile alert facilities, existing utility corridors, and new lines for communications, including communication towers. The U.S. Air Force and Army Corps of Engineers met with local landowners to further explain the Sentinel project and the acquisition of...
As Kimballites struggle through the winter weather, there is no escaping the snow and ice. The winter weather conditions make getting out of the house difficult. Patches of ice hide beneath the snowfalls, and then warmer conditions melt the snow, and it re-freezes overnight. For another month or two, ice will continue to be an issue as it builds up on streets, sidewalks, and pathways. Fortunately, according to the Emergency Department, ambulance personnel and paramedics from Kimball Health Services, there has been no increase in falls during th...
After 50 years in the manufactured home business, Dar Gardener of Kimball will be inducted into the RV/Manufactured Home Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana. After the first of the year, Dar received confirmation of her induction. The induction ceremony will be on August 21, when Dar will receive a a traditional Green Jacket. Elkhart, Indiana, is the home of the RV Manufactured Home Museum. Their stated “mission is to recognize, preserve, and honor the history, pioneers, and individuals who have been instrumental in making the Recreational V...
On Saturday, Jan. 21, James Eatmon Masonic Lodge #294 in Kimball conducted its installation of officers for 2023. Bottom row, from left, are John Rahl (senior warden), Tommy Yung (master), Josh Gillming (junior warden) and Dustin Kasserloer. Top row: John Ferguson, Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of A. F. and A. M., Dillion Hatfield, Kevin Wynne, Kevin Sherman and Blake Bourdreaux.... Full story
The music program at Banner County School brings our entire community together twice a year for the Christmas and Spring concerts. Our band and choir students also enrich programs such as our Veterans Day program, Commencement, Homecoming, and Pep Rallies! With the return of our varsity sports, our Pep Band helped warm the chilly night air at our home football games! Sandy Wounded Arrow has directed the Banner County School Band and Chorus since 2005. In addition to the regular music classes in...
Good morning and man do we have the snow. And the COLD, and hopefully some moisture! It is February in Nebraska after all. With two years of really nice winters the cold and snow are welcome reminders for the most part, the snow anyway! This evening, February 2nd, the third season episodes 7 and 8 of the series “Chosen” will be shown at the Midwest Theater at 7 p.m. and again the following day at 1 p.m. Also on February 2nd, there will be an open house at the Western Nebraska Arts Center for the new showing titled “Images 2023 Photo Exhib...
Bob Pinkerton, a giant in the world of community newspapering and a pillar of his own community in Kimball, has died. The former Western Nebraska Observer editor and publisher died at the age of 90 in Anthem, Ariz., where he lived in retirement. Mr. Pinkerton owned the Observer from 1962 to 1993, when he sold the Kimball paper to his daughter, Sherry. Under his direction, the Observer was a force in the glory days of print journalism, winning seven national newspaper awards and 71 state... Full story
In late October, a petition was filed in the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court against Kimball County Sheriff’s Office and NIRMA II (Its Workers’ Compensation Self Insurance Pool). The petition by sheriff’s deputy Marla Knigge alleged that an “injury was caused to the plaintiff by accident or occupational disease, occurred or manifested on or about June 1, 2022, in Kimball County, Nebraska, arising out of and in the course of the plaintiff’s employment by the defendant, Kimball County Sheriff’s Office, and for which injury the plaintiff is...
The Sagebrush in Kimball was the site Tuesday for the Sentinel real estate town hall meeting related to the Sentinel missile system project. The Air Force set up stations to explain the real estate acquisitions as well as the timeline and the method of acquisition. Experts in the field were available for questions from landowners. Information was available to public and landowners about real estate for temporary construction and new permanent easements for utility corridors and tower sites. Groundbreaking is supposed to occur in the fall of...
In 1966, according to the Western Nebraska Observer's Feb. 24 edition, senior Joe Culek, at 145 pounds "took a state wrestling crown in Class B at Lincoln, leading the Kimball team to sixth in the state with a total of 31 points, collected by seven grapplers qualifying for the meet." After an illustrious career wrestling in high school, Culek went on to wrestle at Chadron State College. Then he coached youth freestyle and high school wrestling in Kimball. His coaching career has spanned 30... Full story
With great honor, the proud family of Stan A. McKnight, would like to officially announce his retirement after serving 47 years as a lawman. His bittersweet, last day in office was January 5th, 2023. McKnight was born and raised in Osceola, Iowa to the parents of Eldon and Mary McKnight. He later met his wife of 58 years, Sherry Johnson, in the same community in which he retired. McKnight's career began in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, as a patrolman in 1968. It was there that he was fortunate enough t... Full story
Hello everyone, I hope that you are having a great week. We are quickly approaching the last few days of January. I flat do not know where the time goes, I am definitely not having that much fun! There is not a whole lot going on in the Valley or surrounding areas but here at home we have sports and the Spelling Bee, which is today, Thursday the 26th at 12:30 p.m. Sports wise there is high school wrestling at Mitchell the 27th at 8:30 a.m. and a home high school boys basketball game at 4 p..m. The opponent will be the Guernsey junior varsity....
Two public hearing will be held on Feb. 7, 2023, at the next Kimball County Commissioners meeting. At 9:30 a.m., a public hearing is scheduled for comment on the adoption of Ordinance 2023-1 concerning Snow Emergency and Abandoned Vehicles on county roads. This appears to be a problem because when the interstate and state roads are shut down due to the weather conditions, then GPS will take travelers on the county roads, and those roads have not been cleared. Hence abandoned and stuck vehicles end up blocking the county roads, making them... Full story
Th Observer is presenting free, full version of all stories posted on its website Jan. 19 due to severe winter weather that closed roadways and delayed delivery of the Jan. 19 print edition. We hope you enjoy these stories, we appreciate all of you readers, and we thank you for understanding.... Full story
The Kimball County Commissioners on Tuesday approved an agreement between Kimball County and Kimball County Transit Service to lease six new transit vehicles. All six vehicles are 2022 Ford 350 EL vans, ranging in price from $190,991.52 to $205,225.92. The total lease payments will amount to $1,185,804 over a period of three years for the six 10-passenger transit vans. While KCTS will lease the vehicles from Kimball County, according to the projected income, the county will reap $343,422.61 over the period of three years. This would be the... Full story