Observer editorial: Waiting for Superman

The May 8, 1885 issue of the Observer described Kimball, then Antellopeville, with words of such promise.

“Antelopeville, the future home of the ‘Observer’, is finely located in Western Cheyenne County, Nebraska. A live western town is a marvel of growth, and all who know the history of Nebraska towns cannot but take a lively interest in the growth and prosperity of Antelopeville from this point on,” the article read.

However, that sentiment is rarely found among the people of the city now. Anywhere one seems to go in town, it seems as though the phrases “It’s becoming a ghost town” and “businesses rotting into the ground” will surely be heard. Meanwhile, city and county officials such as Wilson Bowling, Daniel Ortiz, and Jo Caskey are dedicating immense amounts of their time to bring Kimball to thrive again, to become what it used to be.

Martin Luther once said, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” The lack of hope that has now settled over the city of Kimball and its residents has become dead weight, holding back those trying to salvage the city with the shackles of doubt and lack of support.

It is understandable to lose faith after so long without seeing progress. However, it is also possible that those that have lost interest in the search for progress have simply been looking in all the wrong places.

For instance, two restaurants have opened in the past week, Big Mamou and Kanalihoppers, and the High Point Welcome Center has been approved with people working hard to get it up and running in the next month.

Many people have scoffed at the idea of Kimball getting a Welcome Center, saying that it is a waste of money and time and that it will not make much difference for the city.

However, isn’t there a chance? Isn’t it a little brash to dismiss something all together because one does not believe, based on past experiences, that something new can thrive?

What is absolutely certain for the future of Kimball is that if sentiment does not change and if people do not support the new developments that are coming, the negative thoughts of residents will become a reality and the hopeless words

become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is no secret from walking through the downtown area and looking at the empty buildings, that what Kimball needs is something new. Let it come. Support it. Give it time to grow.

That’s what residents can do for the city that they have been heard speaking so passionately about. The city where some have lived all their lives, raised their children, and settled into retirement.

Kimball, this is your “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” moment, because what happens to this city and what it becomes in the future is not in the hands of any official you can point to and blame.

It is in your hands, residents of Kimball. It is you alone that will have to deal with the consequences of the lack of hope and lack of action.

In the end, it’s rather simple: start supporting the new developments and the people trying their hardest to change this city for the better or sit back and watch the city fade away.

It’s your choice.