Skunks Making County Comeback

One year ago, the Kimball County Commissioners purchased a new 2020 John Deere 770 G motor grader. Murphy Tractor and Equipment’s Max Miller, vice president, and Travis Fix, sales representative, met with the current board of commissioners to review the information about the grader.

The grader has 1,012 hours recorded on it with 9,107 miles; the machine has never had anything hot, including oil, hydraulics. The data indicates an idle time of 15% and 63% of the time that particular grader is in working gears.

According to Miller, reviewing the data provides the best return on expenditures. The data is received from the graders through JD Link.

Road Superintendent Randy Bymer reported that two GPS units would be installed on a pickup and a road grader. He continued that one skylight was missed and not repaired when a company re-roofed the Dix shop.

The county has hired a new employee for the road department, which is grading roads and hoping to return to the 1/6 Year project, which has been delayed due to weather. They are also planning on patching the oil road south of Dix.

USDA wildlife specialist Matt Anderson provided his yearly report to the commissioners. Coyotes and prairie dogs were the focus this past year, although skunks have made a comeback, and Anderson is also receiving calls about them. Reports indicate that Anderson spent 276 hours in Kimball County dealing with the coyotes, prairie dogs, skunks and a few other varmits.

The county has a two year contract with the USDA for management of coyotes, prairie dogs, badgers and skunks.

Chet Elsworth, from Chadron, has been in attendance the past two county board meetings, and at both meetings he has commented during the public comment session. His concern focuses on the Open Meetings Act, and he claims that some items on the agenda have circumvented the open meetings act.

Updates were provided by Tim Nolting, chairman of the Plains Historical Society board, and Harry Gillway, county sheriff.

Nolting described the work that AmeriCorps has been doing the past few weeks at the Plains Historical Society site at the old high school. He reported that new security is being installed, and an open house will be held Friday, 3-5:30 p.m., to celebrate the achievements of the AmeriCorps.

Gillway discussed employees and leave time as well as fees for a urine analysis testing.

The next Commissioner meeting is on June 15.