Year In Review

On the surface, Kimball appears little different now than a year ago. The farms and ranches still bear the scars of a long and drought-parched season, but the buildings, homes and roads are almost unchanged.

Patches of blackened grass will recover from the summer’s wildfires. The controversial fence around Kimball’s old high school is still just a row of skeletal posts. A clean up promised for the former Corner Bar lot has yet to be fulfilled. Although Pamida left, Shopko filled the void seamlessly in a merger deal.

So what stands out from 12 months that left little visible reference behind?

The appearance of a mountain lion across from Gotte Park drew large crowds of onlookers, and many remember the day Fairways Exploration & Production out of Houston, Texas, began drilling for oil along the Kimball-Banner County border. One seat changed on the county’s board of commissioners and two from the City Council. And a integral part of Kimball’s day to day operations, City Administrator Harold Farrar, stepped down from his post.

And it was a busy year in other regards.

In January an issue dormant for a decade reared up and bared razor sharp fangs. The state Department of Roads announced that Kimball would have to finally make a decision on renovations of the Chestnut Street underpass or refund more than $70,000 in federal and state funding given to the city through the Transportation Enhancement program.

The city had variously discussed and tabled the project since 2000. At an early February meeting of the City Council, debate began anew, with plans drawn up by an engineering firm pitted against demands that any construction remain true to the original look and feel of the cutting.

Two weeks later Mayor James Schnell warned council members that “we need to get something going, make a decision tonight on which direction we want to go.”

But the fangs of a state threat and the urgency in the mayor’s message sent barely a ripple through the staid body. In early July, newly appointed Kimball-Banner County Chamber of Commerce Director Jeanette Rabender requested an update on the project. How long, she asked, had renovation been under discussion.

“Twelve years, maybe,” responded councilwoman Kim Baliman.

“Twelve years?” Rabender shot back, apparently astounded. “It just seems a little ridiculous to me.”

In late September, City Administrator Harold Farrar assured council members the project was not dead. Over $200,000 in taxpayer and other funds had been earmarked toward the already decade old plans.

“We need to get something going,” Schnell again reminded the body. “We need to move forward because we are running out of time.”

Kimball’s voters, however, proved more decisive when confronted with a contentious issue. On January 17 the county’s board of commissioners approved a special election on the matter of  taxpayer funding for a hobbyist drag strip, ending many months of vitriolic noise from those for and against—and setting off a new round of vocal back and forth.

Those in support of the High Point Motor Speedway had lobbied hard for the opportunity to put the issue to a vote. They immediately launched a series of presentations aimed at winning over a skeptical populace concerned about the impact of a multi million dollar bond issue on their taxes. At a late February commissioner’s meeting, Shortie Kiefer mentioned that the programs had not been well attended.

That would change as the March special election drew closer.

A series of negative letters and advertisements prompted HPMS supporters to publicly challenge those opposed to a debate. They even set a date for the event, without first securing agreement from dissenters.

Perhaps this was a tactical error. Those who crowded into the final meetings began questioning presenter Dick Cutshaw’s assurance of 250 cars per race weekend, especially when tracks at Julesburg, Colorado, and Douglas, Wyoming, barely attracted 80 or 90, according to organizers at those facilities.

The seven figure annual financial benefits promised by Cutshaw compared to the cupboard-bare figure of less than $30,000 Julesburg’s city manager claimed the town realized in spillover from its historic track.

“If it does everything they say, Kimball could be a destination point—but that’s a big ‘if,’” Tim Nolting of Bushnell said at the time.

As it turned out, the “ifs” mattered.

In raw numbers, 1,285 residents voted against the proposal compared to a mere 200 in favor. Turnout for the special election exceeded that of the 2010 general election by a large margin.

In a sad coda, Cutshaw and his wife, who had been active in the community, sold their home and moved to Colorado in the wake of the election. The “plan B” he hinted at if Kimball County voters failed to back the facility never materialized.

As all this was going on, Kimball’s Economic Development Director, Larissa Binod, began campaigning for the establishment of a visitor’s center that might steer tourists through town toward sites throughout the panhandle. In March she chaired a meeting involving representatives from other communities, asking them to sign a letter of intent to assist or partner with Kimball in the project.

As push back began, Jim Merryfield stood and issued a caution. “We’re going to have to put together a plan,” he informed the director. “There are certain financial responsibilities that we are going to have, whether we are partners or not.”

Still, a general agreement seems to exist that such a facility belongs in the panhandle and would benefit the various towns.

In May Binod sought a commitment from the county toward the fulfillment of this plan. As those involved in the discussion volleyed on the cost, location and other issues, Farrar reminded them “before the regional people get involved we need to have a strong local commitment.”

A month later two members of the Visitor’s Committee--Tammy Land and Aaron Berger--stepped down. Corrinda McConnell replaced Berger. Later two more positions would be added.

Still, debate swirled around the issue, especially as the idea of hiring a tourism director in order to help attract a state-funded center floated.

“Kimball is not a destination center of any kind for tourism,” Shortie Kiefer wrote in a late September letter to the County Commissioners. “We need to focus on the growth and sustainability of the few existing retail businesses that we still have in Kimball.”

The Visitor’s Committee pressed on, however, considering the stakes important enough to invest in a director. During an October meeting, McConnell asked for $1,000 a month from both the city and county to help fund the director’s position.

Although the county slashed that amount in half, agreeing to the sum of $500, Kimball’s City Council approved the measure by a vote of two to one.

“I’m going to have a hard time on this, you guys,” Kim Baliman told the other council members. “The public doesn’t see much return on investment on this at this time.”

Yet enough people did consider the investment worthwhile that, just before Christmas, the Visitor’s Committee selected Jo Caskey from Arizona as director and presented their choice to the county.

Some of the key players in these debates were part of the year’s general election. In November Nolting won out over Baliman for the county seat of outgoing commissioner Dave Bashaw. Meanwhile Merryfield and John Morrison received the nod from voters to fill spots on the City Council.

Morrison had already been seated on the council to finish out Scott Haun’s term.

In 2011, Haun was charged with the sexual assault of a teenage Scotts Bluff county boy. On March 23, 2012, he appeared in court for a hearing to consider evidence in the case. A request made by Haun’s attorney to keep information regarding additional sexual activity between Haun and the boy’s parents out of the trial was denied.

Eventually, the Kimball City Council member would agree to a lesser charge and plead no contest.

In June, Haun appeared before the court for sentencing. He asked for leniency, telling the court “I need to work; I need to be with my family. My income is needed for the hours. I want to be living in Kimball--and living in Kimball, I’m sure I will be watched carefully.”

The court was unmoved. Judge Randall Lippstreau responded that “this was not just a child, but a child with mild retardation. I take this very seriously.

He sentenced Haun to 14 to 20 years in prison.

As Haun’s case approached its conclusion, a state patrol officer escorted Haun’s wife, Angie, from her office at the County Courthouse. She had been suspended with pay pending an ethics violation investigation.

Papers released in June revealed that Scott Haun withdrew $9,750 from two estates he represented on separate occasions, without permission. Angie Haun’s association with the two incidents, if any, was not spelled out in court documents. However, in her role as the court’s Clerk Magistrate, she had appointed her husband to handle one of the accounts.

Angie Haun resigned from her post.

The year also featured the courtroom drama of Vencil Ash III, charged in the 2003 murder of a Colorado man. When the jury issued a guilty verdict in early July, Ash launched into a tirade directed toward local police and the family of the victim, Ryan Guitron.

Judge Derek C. Weimar sentenced Ash to life “with no possibility of parole.”

Toward the end of June, authorities slapped an unsafe property tag on a downtown Kimball institution, the Longhorn Restaurant. Owners Arnie Jay and Louise Perry-Jay disputed this claim before the City Council. They received time to mend broken windows and structural issues, and the mayor mentioned a matching grant fund.

“Just because it’s Kimball doesn’t mean that we have to look like an abandoned property,” Morrison told the Jay’s attorney. “I want to see them fix it up. I don’t want to see them close, I like the building.”

Yet at the end of October, the Jays abruptly shut down, to the dismay of regulars who arrived at the restaurant’s door one Monday morning.

“I was on my way there when some of the other coffee drinkers drove by and hollered at me that is was closed,” said Ron Evelyn, owner of LoRon Department Store.

But on Monday, November 5--just a week later--the place reopened under new management.

While this was going on, Peyton’s Island Time opened to strong reviews. Meanwhile, another restaurant saga captured public attention.

It began when Mad Dog’s Sports Bar applied for an addition to their liquor license, hoping to construct a beer garden behind the location. The application was signed and paid for by Greg Reinninger, owner of the former Greg’s Grub.

A copy of the lease or deed proving ownership was to have been included with the submission. When the City received the application, however, no such information had been added.

As a result, there was a moment of confusion when the city council began discussion of Mad Dog’s application. Reinninger was not present at the time the council first addressed the issue. Kristy Cook, who works at Mad Dog’s as a manager, was present and representing the facility, but did not have all of the information requested by the council.

“In this letter dated April 16th from Mad Dog’s it says Greg Reinninger, owner,” questioned councilwoman Kim Baliman. “I thought the Williams’ owned this.”

The building was once owned by Reinninger then sold to MorMax Mortgage, LLC, on October 20, 2011. According to Cook, Reinninger is now leasing the bar from MorMax under his liquor license.

“So, Greg has the license,” started councilwoman Kim Christensen, before Baliman completed the thought with “and he [Max] owns the business?”

“Yeah,” clarified the manager.

“That’s a little different,” stated Baliman.

“What concerns me more,” expressed Christensen, “is that Greg is not active in the business.”

“No, he is,” responded the manager, “he just has another job at the manor. We just filed an LLC and put him on as a manager on there.”

Reinninger then appeared at the meeting, claiming to be the sole owner of the business from the beginning. The council approved the beer garden expansion. But a document from the state board responsible for licensing alcohol sales put a temporary stop to proceedings.

The state threatened to revoke the bar’s license, held by Greg Reinninger, on July 1. Mad Dog’s presented new documentation to the liquor control board a month ahead of deadline.

But in late August, Mad Dog’s shut down, with many questions unsettled.

Reinninger signed a document on May 15 selling Gregory S. Reinninger, dba, Mad Dog’s Sports Bar to Mad Dog’s Sports Bar LLC. In April he had filed for the limited liability company certificate after issues arose with the liquor license.

“Greg never notified the liquor commission that he was closing and reopening under a different name,” Cook asserted.

Reinninger was in the process of renewing the paperwork when Mad Dog’s closed.

To further complicate matters, the Mor-Max lease gave Williams the right to ban or eject customers from the bar. So during meeting of the city council over the bar and its license issues, Kimball police chief Mark Simpson said “Tom is running this, in my opinion.”

Williams claims otherwise, pointing out that “we were just the landlord.”

Yet in a flurry of text messages between manager Cook and someone she alleges to be Williams on August 6, the issue again seems murky.

In one, “Tom” warned “There is not much money in the bank. Without the Keno money we cannot pay the city.” In another, the same person identified as Tom added “Do not write any checks, they will bounce.”

When Cook asked what happened to the money--Mad Dog’s had over $1,000 in the bank on August 1, according to documents presented to the paper--the reply was short: “Bills.”

One of the following texts read “Mor-Max has notified Greg that the lease is being terminated.”

“He [Williams] said he was going to pay the bills--and he didn’t,” Reinninger claimed. “I’m still paying off the payroll.

Cook said the wait staff had been paid, eventually.

Reinninger signed a termination of lease document with Mor-Max, expecting to receive money for loss of revenue for breaking the agreement.

“But because I signed this my lawyer said he’s [Williams] going to get away with everything.”

In December, Kimball Bakery owner Bob Hinton received city approval for a liquor license application. He apparently intends to open in the Mad Dog’s space.

And that’s a snapshot of a year that left Kimball amused, riled, entertained, engaged, bothered and--ultimately--unscathed.