Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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In November 2019, when Jessica Rocha, the new tourism director, took over, she provided some background information on the Highpoint Visitor Center in her Observer column. She wrote, "The county purchased this property (the old Burger King on the hill) about seven years ago, and we opened in July of 2013 as an information/welcome center. Since that time, we have had almost 83,000 visitors!" The county purchased the old Burger King building and parking areas, which include 4.9 acres, as well as...
The heart of summer travel season for drivers ended Labor Day weekend with gas prices quite lower than as recently as July 4 but still way higher than a year ago. In Kimball, the Observer found that prices at the pump for regular unleaded averaged $3.70 on Sunday. That was 7 cents higher than the Nebraska average and 9 cents lower than the national average, according to the GasBuddy, which monitors gas prices and offers the data to motorists. At Conoco, near I-80 Exit 20 in Kimball, staff told the Observer on Sunday that business from...
Readers will notice a change in this week’s Observer. It’s bigger. Physically bigger. We’ve changed printers, moving to the press operation in Douglas, Wyo., in an effort to improve service – which includes getting the paper to you on time whether you get it at home or buy it over the counter. As a side benefit, the press in Douglas uses a larger size of paper for printing newspapers that you will notice. The news and advertising area is about 1.5 inches wider and 2 inches taller than before. That space really ads up and gives us more space f...
Beer and Loathing owners Heather and Nate Entingh, above, collected 102 large, heavy bags of shoes for their fundraiser, Positive Spaces, which benefits Kimball parks and provides shoes for those who need them. Each bag has 25 pairs of shoes in it – 2,550 pairs total – and they collected enough to have a truck pick them up. Volunteers helped load the truck, but Heather and Nate collected and stored the shoes....
Hello, here is hoping you a a great Labor Day weekend. As warm as our weather is this was probably not your last chance to barbecue, hit the lake, camp, or have other summer type of fun. We diffenately need some rain, but other than that I am good for awhile yet. The town of Morrill still has two Farmers Markets for you to catch – September 8th, Today! – and the 13th, both from 3-6 p.m. at the FOMO Park, west edge of town. Chimney Rock Pioneer Days will be celebrated in Bayard the 9th to 11th with a parade, class reunions, and much more. You ar...
With the general election two months away, Banner County has a full ballot for the local offices. The 540 registered voters will be looking to find the right people to fill the positions. Citizens can register to vote up until Oct. 21. Election day is Nov. 8. For the Banner County Clerk, Lisa Cross is vying for her first elected term. Katie West will not be on the ballot, but has submitted the write-in forms. The resignation of county Treasurer Monty Stoddard opened up the treasurer position....
Leading the pack of Kimball cross country runners at the Gering Invite on Sept. 2 was Xavier Thomas-Lewis in 19th place with a time of 21:32.80. Tiffany Johnson’s crew participated in the 5000 meter small school division at Five Rocks Amphitheater. Braylon Miller and Braxton Miller placed 23rd and 24th and clocked in at 22:18.39 and 22:27.72. Wyatt Cords came in 26 place in a tough field with a time of just under 23 minutes. Shannen Acheson placed 32nd in the 5K JV run with a time of 32:50.30. The JV boys 5K event saw Joseph Bremer land in f...
After a second motion to review the bond for manslaughter suspect William Shane Serrano on Friday, Aug. 19, District Court Judge Derek Weimer ruling said, “The court has considered the defendant's most recent motion for bond review. The bond continues as previously set.” Serrano appeared in person in Kimball District Court on Aug. 19 for the review bond hearing. Serrano stands accused of five felony counts, including manslaughter, attempted first degree murder, and attempted terroristic threats. He is accused in the shooting death of his girlfr...
Kimball County Commissioners, along with County Clerk Cathy Sibal and County Budget Officer Josi Morgan, began last week working, reviewing and cutting the budget for the 2022-23 year. Early in the week, it was determined that just under $1.2 million was the amount needed to cut in order to retain the same mill levy, which was the ultimate goal, according to officials. As of Monday evening this week, nothing has been finalized, but thousands of dollars have been cut from the budget. Officials said they have gone through line by line and...
Kimball electric departent workers were quite visible moving around downtown in late August, replacing brackets for the strings of lights that illuminate the tops of businesses in the commercial district. In the photo above, the electric department's Bobbie Muench, Brock Nollette and Luke Hessler work Monday on light brackets lining the Observer building on East 2nd Street....
Good morning, goodbye August and hello September! Man has the summer flown by and our first taste of fall finds many of our surrounding neighbors celebrating their own special communities. Today, September 1st, the 14th annual Light of Hope benefit for CAPstone and CASA will be held at the Gering Civic Center from 5-7 p.m. Guest speaker will be Sasha Neulinger, director of the movie "Rewind." Free admission and everyone is invited. You still can join one of the park rangers at the Scotts Bluff...
Seventy-five Banner County Republicans met Wednesday, Aug. 24, to hold their inaugural meeting. Officers were elected and Kathy Natale was nominated to fill the vacancy of the County Treasurer. Theresa Thibodeau assisted in the procedure and made remarks to the crowd about how all voters working together can make a difference in the direction of their county and the country. Congressman Adrian Smith sent a congratulatory letter to the group. The group’s emergence comes during a time when Banner County government and residents are dealing w...
Kimball Public Schools started the 2022-23 school year on Friday, Aug. 19. Mary Lynch students were treated to a fun-filled day that included a water slide, slip-n-slide, a bounce house, games and treats to get the year started off right. The 68-degree temperature did not deter the fun for the Pre-K through sixth-graders. Kimball H.E.L.P.S. sponsored the activities and worked the event. Superintendent Trevor Anderson said the enrollment for Pre-K to 12 is 396, seven more than at the end of last...
The Kimball City Council discussed yet tabled a .5% increase in city sales tax at the Aug. 16 meeting. The discussion centered on the use of the added sales tax – either infrastructure such as streets or curbs or swimming pool and whether to place it on the Nov. 8 ballot or have a special election. The sales tax issue may be addressed again at the budget session on Aug. 30, as of Tuesday, Aug. 23, the item had not been placed on the agenda, but it could be added. A sales tax increase must be placed on the ballot for the voters to approve or r...
Pastor Lorri Kentner's first career was not in the ministry, but when the opportunity and vision presented itself, she took the giant leap and became a United Methodist minister. After 22 years in the ministry, she is now the Pastor of Bushnell United Methodist Church and Kimball United Methodist Church. Having served in many towns in Nebraska, Pastor Lorri said she "loves small churches." "I hadn't really realized that God was calling me to ministry until ... someone said having Lorri at our ch...
Good morning, here we are in the last week of August. Boy has the summer flown by. We still have some great weather in store for us, but school and schedules sometimes are a bummer. Besides regular school, Flowerfield will be beginning in a few short weeks. However, here is a little bit of what is happening in our neighborhood. This afternoon, Thursday, August 25th. at 1:30 p.m., the Lied Library in Scottsbluff is hosting a book signing and discussion over Nebraska author Jonis Agee’s award winning book “The Bones of Paradise.” This is about...
The Kimball Concert Association has announced the kickoff of its membership campaign for the 2022-23 concert season. The association has also released names of concert appearances for the season. In a bold move, the Kimball Concert Association has decided to make student memberships free for the 2022-23 concert 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...
After a week of long, hot days and lots of activities, the 2022 Kimball-Banner County Fair was brought to a close with the livestock sale on Monday morning. With a few days rest, the 4-H youth will head back to school. The Kimball and Banner County 4-H and FFA youth entered everything from photography, food and sewing to fair animals and more. The Dead Eye Shooters, comprised of BB and air rifle, compete in the fall and winter, while the summer is reserved for national matches. According to...
County Weed Superintendent Rick Wrangler explained at the Kimball County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday that it has not been a “good year for weed spraying.” He fought the wind, 90-degree plus weather and the wreck, which put one of the vehicles out of commission while the spray motor locked up on the other vehicle. Repairs on the spray motor will be upwards of $700. Wrangler also felt that the weeds are becoming resistant to Roundup and 2-4-D because it is taking two different actions to kill the weeds. About a year ago a lengthy dis...
Kimball County Transit Service hosted its second annual event Aug. 11 to hand out school supplies. Area students were eligible to pick up a draw string backpack, along with notebooks, markers, folders, and colored pencils and crayons. Last year, the transit planned for 100 students at this back-to-school event but, ran out of supplies after just a half an hour. Many people were in town due to the 4014 steam engine stopping in Kimball around noon time. This year they planned to give school suppli...
Yard of the Week goes to Keith and Nancy Prunty at 602 E. 5th St. Keith confessed that he didn't like to mow the hill in the front of their yard, so they had a retaining wall built, but it didn't disturb their tribute to football. The Big N with red flowers and the G for the Packers with yellow flowers were installed about seven years ago. In addition, an alligator adorns the front area – the large concrete alligator that Nancy's dad, Lance, made over 60 years ago. The Pruntys have a b...
Good morning, Banner County. With a little rain over the weekend, Monday morning started out cloudy and cool. Kimball received over an inch and since it was fair time that came as no surprise to me. Seemed to happen on schedule when our kids were all involved. Speaking of kids, school starts here – Today, Thursday, August 18th! Grades K-12 will be loading up and some will be walking, so be aware. Bands on Bordeaux will still take place that evening in Chardon from 6-9 p.m. at Railroad Park, but I think Bands on Broadway is finished for the seas...
Welcome to “The Banner County News!” This page, at least the upper portion of it, is meant to look like a newspaper’s front page. There’s a story behind this that I’d like to share with you. During my time as editor at the Harvey County Independent in Kansas, that paper actually featured three “front pages” on inside pages. To me, this was – and is – one of the greatest features I’ve ever seen in a newspaper for both how the pages look and what they contain. You see, the Independent was the product of three papers that merged – the Halste...
Last year, the Kimball Longhorns football team had to forfeit all of its games due to lack of players. Now the team is back and ready for a full schedule of games for the 2022 season. Under the direction of new activities director and head football coach Darrell Howitt, the Longhorns look to bring the community together with home games at Keith Staehr Field. Before that comes a 7 p.m. scrimmage this Friday, Aug. 19, followed by a parents meeting at 8:30 p.m. Howitt is a native of Kimball and...
4-H members present themselves before the judges after competing at the Kimball-Banner County Fair....