2013 Year in Review: July through December

July

Kimball-Banner Chamber of Commerce Director, Jeanette Rabender, resigned. When asked why she said the reasons were personal. The resignation does come at a time when Kimball is at a critical juncture in it's economic future and development. However, Rabender and her knowledge of what's going on will be missed.

Kimball celebrated the Fourth of July with an old-fashioned cookout and fireworks. The fire department provided lunch and there was a water fight at the park. The day was wrapped up with a fireworks display in honor of the United States' 237th birthday.

Several local residents were outraged by what they are seeing as a lack of care being given on the part of the cemetery staff. While City Administrator states that the cemetery staff is only enforcing cemetery rules that they had been lax about in the past, residents believed that the look that the grave sites have had as of late have been undignified. A meeting was held to address the issue on July 30.

AmeriCorps volunteer team helped at the High Point Welcome Center to help keep Kimball beautiful. They worked on cleaning up the property that the Welcome Center inhabits in order to attract more tourists. Unfortunately the corps members do not always get to stay long enough to see the positive effects their volunteer work has on a community. However, the members are still more than happy to be helping.

August

The Kimball Cemetery Board Meeting was held on July 30. Several residents attended in order to voice their opinions on the matter. What it boiled down to was the city trying to enforce regulations and follow rules. The residents said it wasn't the enforcing of the rules that bothered them so, it was the lack of respect for the graves while carrying out the regulations. The Council passed a motion to undo the regulations until the regulations could be revisited and reinvisioned.

A call reported that there was a woman with a slashed throat and a fire at a residence in Bushnell. However upon the arrival of the Sheriff and the ambulance it was discovered that the reports were false. Apparently the woman, who was reported to have a slashed throat, was merely afraid of the man on the premises. She asked the officers to take him back to his residence in Scottsbluff and they did. They do not know where the report for the fire came from, but no fire was seen. Sheriff Gillway said that sometimes that happens.

A heated discussion took place concerning the amended rules surrounding the cemetery. First it was questioned whether or not the rules should be suspended until the City Council meets to determine the new rules. The rules were suspended until a decision is passed by City Council on August 22.

Brain cancer survivor, Jodie Shaske, shared her story with the crowd gathered at Gotte Park for Relay for Life. She shares how she was afraid, how her family was afraid, but how they made it through the trying times.

The City Council approved the new regulations proposed by the Cemetery Board. Police Chief Huff brought up the possibility for vandalism and other criminal activity given the cemetery being approved for being open all hours. The Council brought up that the Cemetery Board can choose to change the hours of operation if they see being open 24 hours is becoming an issue. The new regulations were approved unanimously.

September

There have been several reports of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier using his issued pepper spray. Several outraged members of the community posted about the incidents on social media sites. The incidents are now under investigation by Sgt. Trout.

Mayor Schnell states that the rail spur project may have to be started by scratch at this point. The cost alone has put the project in set back, the cost for engineering and acquiring the land for the project is running on the rather expensive side. Right now the project moving forward requires discovering different ways to accrue revenue.

Nine were injured in a rollover school bus crash. The injuries recorded include a broken pelvis, fractured ribs and severe head lacerations. A pickup truck was traveling west on County Road 40 and the and it struck a Potter School District bus that was traveling north on County Road 83. The collision caused the bus to roll. The fire department and ambulance respond on scene following the accident. The accident is still under investigation.

Overcrowding in Nebraska state prisons becomes a real issue. The prisons are at 151 percent capacity. State officials are trying to find ways to fix the problem. Overcrowding in the state prisons is starting to trickle down to the counties and they are even finding it difficult to house all their inmates. Kimball in particular is struggling to make the necessary accommodations for its inmates. Repairs must be made in order to continue having an environment safe to house inmates.

October

Local resident Jessica Williams earns the title of 3rd top Girl Scout Cookie seller in the entire State of Nebraska. The 14 year-old has been a girl scout since she was in the fourth grade. It is said that she truly aspires to live up to the girl scout mission statement. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world.

A major snow storm was expected to hit the Nebraska Panhandle, with heavy winds and an estimated six inches of snow. However even though Rapid City received record amounts of snow, some 21 1/2 inches, Kimball received 2 inches.

According to test scores, Kimball public schools are ranking at about 226th out of 249 Nebraska schools. This is of great concern although it is mentioned that the district has not fallen below the expected growth. The school is implementing different programs and strategies that will help with behavioral problems and with increasing test scores. This includes introducing a homeroom program that has the students watching CNN and reading. They also have students from the high school going to the elementary school to help the younger children. They hope that things like this will help boost the children's learning abilities and testing scores.

More talk surrounds the poor test scores of the Kimball Public School system. Lack of meeting the federal standards has pushed Mary Lynch Elementary into being identified as a School in Need of Assistance (SINA). Mary Lynch recently absorbed West Elementary students and so this means that they have been given time to fix current issues. Superintendent, Marshall Lewis, explains that they have encouraged the teachers and principal to take a step back to try to see what it is they are currently focusing on education wise and what they could focus on in the future. They are currently trying to improve and fix things as much as possible to get the students up to speed.

Kimball Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Marla Knigge recently returned to Kimball County after graduating from the FBI National Academy Program at Quantico, Virginia on September 20, 2013. She was able to select the classes she attended. The classes she chose being ones that would help her more effectively tackle issues in her local area. She was selected out of several other candidates for the state of Nebraska and got this opportunity over the rest of them. This was a privilege and came at no expense to the Sheriff's department. The officer is said to come back well trained and better prepared than ever.

November

Lots of problems are arising concerning the website HealthCare.gov. It's becoming very difficult for County Hospitals to be effective in helping people to receive affordable healthcare coverage. CEO of Kimball Health Services Ken Hunter, spoke about the effects of the Affordable Healthcare Act to date.

"We feel like to date we don't see anything that would hurt us from the Affordable Care Act from this portion of it. It won't change anything. Today will be just like yesterday, but today should have been better than yesterday for small hospitals," Hunter said.

It's an ongoing struggle with County Hospitals. Once the website is straightened out they hope to be able to help more people.

The Goodhand Theater is transferred over to Forward Kimball Industries. FKI is at this point better suited to find a buyer for the old theater. There are a lot of maintenance repairs that need to be made concerning the building and the sooner they sell it the sooner those repair costs won't effect the city. The buildings awning and other aspects are currently of great concern, they may give in a snowstorm and become a hazard. FKI just seems better equipped to handle the selling of the old theater.

The Kimball Police Department prepares for the school resource officer's arrival. Ryan Smith, who is currently deployed with the Navy in Tennessee, which will conclude on December 1, will make his way to Kimball after. He will be in Kimball December 30, to start his duties as school resource officer. He will arrange assemblies and be implementing Project Fun, that will utilize a mascot named Giga Bite, who will make his debut at Shop With a Cop.

Local "pay it forward" event was a success. Several members of the community chipped in to raise money to purchase a care for Caroljo Nagel. Several turned out to witness Nagel receive her car and she broke down in tears at the sight of her 2009 Buick LaSabre. The pay it forward event was so successful that Blain Schilreff has decided to try to make it an annual event.

December

The Parade of Lights was a success this year. Out of the 14 floats entered into the parade, The Rodeo float took 1st place. During the final cycle of floats the fire truck stopped and let Santa down so that he could greet various children. The parade wasn't just a spectacle from the streets but it also afforded foot traffic to various businesses. A flash mob was also a high point at the parade of lights.

The High Point Welcome Center is being recognized by the Nebraska Tourism Commission as one of the fifteen official Interstate 80 Visitor's Centers. It is one of the two representing the Panhandle. Jo Caskey is very excited and this means the posbility of more visitor traffic for Kimball.

Shop with a Cop was a wonderful event that brought some joy into the hearts of some less fortunate children. The kids got to shop for their loved ones and meet Santa. They were also fed a pancake breakfast before shopping and had some when they got back while they were wrapping gifts as well. The officers involved were also excited to see what an impact this program had on the selfless children of Kimball.

Tascosa Land Resources has shown an interest in leasing 8 mineral acres from Kimball County. The County Commissioners are following Statutes currently and other procedures in order to get to the point where they would be able to lease the land.