Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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Wow, I went in to pay our city bill the other day, Mrs. Baker pulls up our account and looks across the counter at me and says there’s no balance due. “There’s no balance due?” “Nope it’s been paid, there is actually a credit of $26.” I told her thank you and walked out the door but in my mind I was tearing up. How generous, I need to write a thank you to...? I drove around the block and walked back in to ask who had made the payment. The payment was anonymous. Could be anyone, I could walk right past them at the supermarket and not even know i...
After several weeks of searching, the Western Nebraska Observer staff is full once again. Our previous advertising representative, Stefanie Bartels, took a position with the local post office. We are thrilled for Stef, and though we miss her dearly, we are excited for the changes in our office. Our own Aleta Pearson took the marketing specialist position, and she is doing great. Aleta has many years of design experience and it shows. We encourage all of our readers and advertisers to contact Aleta for any advertising and marketing needs. Since...
We all have choices that we make everyday, truly every moment of everyday. Many are minor choices, what to eat, which street to drive down or what movie to watch but some are bigger choices that will impact the rest of our existence. Whether our choices are conscious or unconscious, we often miss the meanings behind the choices we make because of the busy lives we lead. It is a wise person who recognizes the subtle meanings hidden within our everyday life. For many years, and during the time I lived and worked in Sedona, AZ, I was one of those...
Once a man could travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, find a piece of land suitable (or not) to his needs, lay claim and call it his. Those days are long gone. But in the more recent past, a person (because by this time a woman could own land) could do what they deemed appropriate with their private property. Those days too, are long gone. There are few areas that go unregulated by various agencies in all levels of government, and that list grows smaller each day. Now, we have committees regulating how we use our personal property. In...
There is a mountain lion on the loose in the Bushnell area, or so the rumors say. According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website, mountain lions have been making a comeback in Nebraska since the 1990’s. Many of you may remember the one that was found in a tree across from Gotte Park about ten years ago and what happened to it. If you want to learn more about mountain lions in Nebraska, go to http://outdoornebraska.gov/mountain lions. There, you will find an excellent interactive map of where they have been sighted (pretty much a...
Once again for the record, this article is my opinion.This means that whatever I write here is written from my own perspective and not the opinion of the Western Nebraska Observer. If you would like to share your own opinions, you may submit a letter to the editor for publication. Please refer to the bottom right corner of this page, “Letter to the editor policy,” for more information. I want to clarify that my opinion piece from last week entitled, “Shame on us,” was not about the ambulance service. It was in reference to a lesser known i...
Positivity is a word that is not recognized by my spell check. Weird, right?! It is, however, in the dictionary, and it means exactly what we would think: 1.the practice of being or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude The tendency to be positive, or optimistic in attitude. Well, that suggests that it is almost innate, really. A tendency is something one leans towards or tends to be. That makes it easy! It is easy to be positive when surrounded by people behaving in a generally positive way. It isn’t hard at all to be positive w...
Hello All – I am delighted to announce that this year marks the 91st Kimball Farmer’s Day, which will take place on Saturday, September 23. In addition to the main Farmers Day Events in September, the committee will host a Fun Night sometime this summer to raise funds for all the activities. If you are interested in learning more, or volunteering, please contact any committee member or look for updates on our Facebook page, facebook.com/kimballfarmersday. While planning is just starting for this years events, we are seeking the communities inp...
For those of you who do not know, I will put on record that I enjoy my job and one of my greatest joys is writing a weekly opinion piece. Buckle up readers, this week is a doozie. As I said, I truly enjoy my job, I feel that I’m somewhat good at it and no one has threatened to fire me as of yet, although I have ruffled a few feathers (something I will continue to do as long as the powers that be will allow me). However, I do not love my job, this is not my soul work nor do I believe it is what I’ve been put on this earth to do. I have a clo...
In a recent KNEB news item I was quoted as saying, “the commissioners felt it was time to hand the ambulance service over to qualified people in the medical field.” That quote is accurate but unfortunately it seems to have been misinterpreted. The ‘qualified people in the medical field’ was in reference to the establishment of an EMS Board of Directors as recommended by the EMS assessment completed in November of 2016. The assessment was conducted by The Paramedic Foundation and funded by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Service...
Some recent illegal activity, namely car theft and burglary, has the town talking. While most are sharing the reports via Facebook posts, some are reacting with little surprised or angry emoticons and some are commenting as well. One posting party asked what the Sheriff’s office is doing while these events are happening – after all, “it isn’t like you have a metropolis to patrol.” My response is that, while this area is far from a metropolis (something for which I am eternally grateful), it is still unrealistic to expect a law enforceme...
This letter is in response to the recent articles covering immigration. My grandfather Albert Joseph Bialek came to the United States from Poland in 1910. Per the Ellis Island website, he boarded the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in Bremen, Germany. He had just completed his service in the Austrian Army. Poland at that time was divided into three spheres of influence by Austria, Prussia and Russia. Upon being discharged he returned to his father’s farm. Officers from the Austrian Army made an attempt to reenlist him but tradition dictated t...
I found myself writing this weeks editorial on Monday, President’s Day. When I first realized this fact I became frustrated with the sudden realization that our government offices were closed for the holiday. As it is my responsibility to compile the weekly court house news, I was disappointed that I would not be able to perform my normal Monday duty as planned. Of course, I could do it on Tuesday, but that also happened to be the morning of the bi-monthly County Commissioner’s meeting and the day we put the paper together, therefore adding one...
I awoke at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, remarkably aware of every detail of the seemingly quite long dream I had just had. The possible reasons for why I had dreamed what I had kept me awake several hours, or as is the way it goes, until a half hour before my alarm was to go off, so that when it did ring, I was shocked that I had fallen back to sleep. They say that dreams are a window into our subconscious and yet there are just as many theories of why we dream as there are doctors, psychiatrists, scientists and new age gurus. It’s an i...
Just a few mornings ago I woke up still tired and groggy, sure that it was at least an hour before my usual wake up time. As I sat up in bed the tell-tale ache in my head and the stiffness in my neck screamed that my night was anything but restful. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and began slowly stretching my neck – touching chin to chest and circling it first one way, then the other. Then I saw it. My alarm clock. 6 a.m. I’m late! Understand, as an early riser, 6 a.m. is late for me, and it meant that I could not enjoy a cup of cof...
Next Tuesday is Valentine’s Day, a day that is honored not just in America, but in several places across the world. Many people often exchange flowers, candy, cards and gifts with friends and loved ones on this day to show their affection. It has become commonplace in elementary schools today that children are obligated to hand out “Valentines” to everyone in their class, whether they like them or not, so as not to hurt another child’s feelings and all children are treated equally. When I was in elementary school, there was no such requirement....
Every February 2nd, for longer than anyone can remember, has been a day of foretelling the weather. Although history can be clouded (pun intended), it’s believed that Groundhog Day may have originated in the Celtic lands of Europe where it was first known as the pagan holiday of Imbolic. As the traditions of Imbolic include not only foretelling of the coming seasons, just as Groundhog day, but also the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. Originally it was a pagan tradition to light candles in reverence of the coming of s...
There is so much I want to say about last Friday’s Inauguration of Donald J. Trump as our 45th President of the United States, and yet so much has already been said that I find it might be easier to attempt a lengthy commentary on the less tumultuous concepts of time and space. The whole thing has me in quite a conundrum actually. I am a female supporter of Trump, and yet, as many of you who truly know me know, that being a reporter is only my day job and that there is a lot more to me than meets the eye, or the page, I should say. Because o...
An old man, going a lone highway came at the evening cold and gray, to a chasm, vast and deep and wide, through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; the sullen stream held no fears for him, but he turned when safe on the other side, and built a bridge to span the tide. “Old man,” said the fellow pilgrim near, “You are wasting strength, building here. Your journey will end with the ending day, you never again must come this way. You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide, why build the bridge this event...
Edgar Allen Poe was born on this day, January 19, 1809 in Boston, MA. I don’t remember how old I was, whether I was in high school or college, but I do remember the first time I read, “The Raven.” I can equate the experience to being forced to attend what I expected to be a boring pot luck dinner, instead discovering that they were serving a devilishly dark chocolate truffle with raspberry sauce that no one else wanted, so I was happily allowed to devour it slowly, one bite at a time, savoring each delicious morsel at my leisure. Even now,...
My grandma used to watch us when my mom worked and we were too young for school. Our time together was short, usually just a few hours. Still, we often had lunch with her and then she would rest in her chair and watch her stories. I would get a big Children’s Bible out, a pencil and paper, and begin copying the symbols on each page, one after the other in long lines – just like I saw them in the book. I couldn’t read, and I didn’t know that those symbols were letters which, when strung together in certain patterns became words. I had no idea th...
According to the government website, stopbullying.gov, nearly half of children in grades 4-12 reported that they had been bullied at least once a month. Not many people would be terribly surprised by this information. Anti-bullying campaigns are not new and are often showcased in schools all over America. Not only are teachers and parents supporting awareness but now even the kids themselves are invested in educating, protecting and supporting other children from being bullied and preventing others from becoming bullies. The measures we take...
With the dawning of a new year many of us are cleaning out closets, cleaning out friends lists and just preparing in general for the new year. I have started a new year with lofty ideals and intentions for more years than I care to count. There is the lose weight/eat healthy resolution and the read more or stress less goals. I have lost, and regained, several times. I have enjoyed new books and found creative ways to diminish stress due to these goals. In years past I have cleared my closets and cupboards of unused and unloved items, donating...
The evolution of Christmas is a natural progression for millions across the world, and I find that I am no exception. Though Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, has the reason I enjoy this season progressed as I age or has it remained steadily always the same? When I was young, of course, it was the magic of Santa Claus’ annual visit. As a curious youngster I had so many questions! How did he know just what I wanted? How could he possibly monitor the behavior of all the children in the world? How did he travel to every home in every...
This time of year has always been incredibly magical for me. It’s not just Christmas that makes me feel this way, as it is also the month of my birthday, as well as, the month my first child was born. Even if you were to take away all of those momentous occasions, there is still something about this time of year that just mystifies me. It starts off with the ba-zillions of individual snowflakes falling from the sky, twinkling and glistening with their unique happiness despite the cold temperatures that accompany them. Who can be a grinch w...