Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 4505
On April 1, the Kimball Police were dispatched to a residence on the 500 block of Walnut Street in Kimball for a disturbance call. The investigation led to evidence of child abuse, and an arrest was made. Garret Goodwin, 25, was arrested and taken into custody and charged with one count of felony child abuse and one county of misdemeanor child abuse. In other Kimball police matters, Chief Jose Ruiz discussed some upcoming plans for the department. He said the plans reflect his goals of maintaining professionalism, building relationships within...
Some of the new apartments for Clean Harbors Environmental Services employees have arrived and are waiting on the east side of Kimball for ground work to be completed at their final destination by Paul Reed Construction. These apartments will be located across the street from Kimball County Manor. Clean Harbors is involved with multiple developments in Kimball to accommodate employees being hired to meet its expansion needs....
Mountain lion sightings have recently been reported in parts of Banner County and the northern part of the town of Sidney. With calving season in full bloom, the mountain lions are a concern for area ranchers. Sidney Police Chief Joe Aikens confirmed the mountain lion sighting in Sidney and cautioned people to be aware and keep an eye on small pets. Sam Wilson, a carnivore biologist for Nebraska Game and Parks said that mountain lion sightings increased gradually over the past 30 years as...
At the special Kimball City Council meeting on March 19, county resident Roger Kaczmarek spoke to the council about the city billing the monthly landfill fee to county residents. According to state statutes, county residents are charged a monthly landfill fee because dumping and burning is illegal. The Kimball Landfill is a city facility, but previously Kimball County had billed and collected the landfill fees from residents and then remitted a check to the city for those fees. In an...
On Tuesday morning, word came from KCTS Administrator Christy Warner that $212,000 of reimbursements had come through from the state to help KTCS meet its financial obligations. At the most recent Kimball County Commissioners meeting, Warner requested a loan of $210,000 to continue operating KCTS because reimbursements from the Nebraska Department of Transportation had been delayed. As of Tuesday, Warner said that KCTS will still receive a $15,000 transfer from the county to continue operating. In an effort to obtain more information about the...
A great crowd of more than 200 people enjoyed the 35th annual Mile High Pheasants Forever banquet and additional activities March 23. According to organizers, they auctioned off multiple guns and prints, along with two fishing trips, and a youth shotgun that came with a youth turkey hunt. They also auctioned off a youth lifetime hunting permit. The Auto-Lok Industries gun of the year was hidden in one of 10 coolers that were raffled off. A gun or jewelry was the prize for the women's basket....
Now here are some good eggs – the people and the plastic eggs. Volunteers, above, stuff candy in 4,000 eggs for the Easter Egg hunt planned for 11 a.m. to noon this Saturday, March 30, at Gotte Park. The New Hope Assembly of God Youth Group is hosting the annual event. If you're still in the mood for more egg hunting after this, the Bushnell Fire Department and Lions Club will get their annual Easter egg hunt going at 2 p.m. March 30 in the village's Hammond Park....
The Kimball High civics class and Potter-Dix senior class, at right, gathered in the Kimball district courtroom for County Government Day on March 26. After introductions, welcoming and folding of the flag, Jasmine Gawith played taps. The full day of learning about the county covered the following offices: county attorney, county court clerk, clerk of district court, county sheriff, assessor, clerk and treasurer. Later in the day, the students learned about KCTS....
After a two-day trial in Kimball County district court, a California man was found guilty on four felony charges. His bond continues, and he will be sentenced on May 7 at 2:30 p.m. In just under two hours, the jury of five women and seven men found Andrew Mendoza guilty of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, no drug tax stamp, and carrying a concealed weapon. The charges stemmed from a speeding incident on I-80 on Nov. 2, 2021, a case that didn’t reach t...
The Kimball Longhorns track teams head to the Bayard meet on March 28 after getting the 2024 season off to a good start with multiple strong efforts March 16 at the UNK B/C indoor meet and March 23 at the Morrill Early Bird meet. It's a busy week coming up for the Horns. After Bayard, they're off to meets at Creek Valley on April 2 and Mitchell on April 4. Kimball's junior high team also is in action, hosting a triangular with Pine Bluffs and Burns at 2:30 p.m. March 28 and heading to the...
On Saturday evening the Kimball FFA hosted its annual labor auction along with the FFA Alumni sponsoring the meal and other events. According to FFA instructor Emily Sowards, more than 250 people took advantage of the event. Thirty-two students were auctioned off for eight hours of work each. The top selling students were Dakota Vrbas for $1,500 and Julia Winstrom reeling in $1,300. All the money remains in the FFA chapter. The students receive the benefits in the form of scholarships, contest...
Inmate Jordan Crews has a new set of charges to contend with from an incident on March 13 in the Kimball County Jail. The new charges include a 3A felony assault by a confined person-no weapon and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Crews was transferred to the Lincoln County Detention Center and is being held on a bond of $25,000. He is scheduled to appear March 27 for a Kimball County Court status of waiver of preliminary hearing. Crews is represented by Stacy Bach. Crews, 27, was arrested on March 9 during a Kimball drug bust and charged with pos...
Kimball County commissioners Rich Flores, and Carl Stander voted to approve, if necessary, on Tuesday, March 19, the transfer of $210,000 from the inheritance fund to the general fund to pay KCTS payroll and bills due to a holdup in state funding. The discussion prior to the vote focused on cutting transit services, such as shutting routes down. Administrator Christy Warner said, “Everything is connected,” and a public hearing must be held in order to shut services down. The financial operation of the KCTS has been crippled because rei...
The Kimball High School senior civics class was assigned a project by teacher Jeri Ferguson to create a presentation about a community recreational center, an idea that has been discussed for years in the Kimball area. This project was divided into different groups. Each group was responsible for researching a specific aspect of the recreation center, such as the programs offered, funding sources or potential locations. The students worked collaboratively to compile their findings and create a...
Organizer Donna Linn said more than 25 people donated blood and platelets during the blood drive from 1-6 p.m. Monday, March 11, at The Sagebrush in Kimball. One of them was local veterinarian Dr. Mimi Shaw, above left, shown finishing up her blood draw....
Last week’s Observer article “A Look At Kimball Land Swap Plan” stirred some discussion among residents on the practicality of the land swap. Under the Kimball Rec land swap plan, four ballfields on 44 acres at the Rec Center would be exchanged for 4.5 acres that include the former Windbreak Restaurant and two golf sheds. The Windbreak Restaurant would be remodeled into a Four Winds Golf Course pro shop with a possible bar. The entity in charge of the land swap or conversion is the Park and Rec Executive Board. Residents have expressed inter...
See something. Say something. That was the message. The Kimball County Transit Service building was packed with local and state law enforcement, politicians, city and county employees, a group from Sidney, and citizens interested in learning about threat assessments and the need to report suspicious activity. Nebraskans are of the mindset to mind your own business, but speaker Lt. Monty Lovelace, director of the Nebraska Fusion Center, said those days are over. He said people need to be vigilant...
Keep Kimball Beautiful scored big again in the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy financial awards. In response to being awarded the money, Director Spud Rowley said, "The totes are coming to the alleyways." He said the totes are in high demand, and he is constantly being asked for alley totes for residents to place recyclables to be collected The Kimball facility, operational for 42 years and functioning out of the city building for the past 30 years, received three different grants...
Preparations are being made for the construction of apartments across the street from Kimball County Manor, top center, for employees of expanding Clean Harbors Environmental Services. The lots were leveled and infrastructure has been installed. The premanufactured units should be arriving soon, and expectations are that the 16 units will be ready for occupancy sometime in May. There are eight one-bedroom rentals, four two-bedroom units, and 4-three bedroom units planned....
Nate Entingh of Kimball adds a bag of shoes to the many shoes that local folks donated to help the needy. The annual shoe drive organized by Heather and Nate Entingh netted 103 bags of shoes. Volunteers of all ages hauled bags up stairs and loaded them on a truck. Bags had 25 pairs of shoes and weighed 50 to 60 pounds. In addition to helping those who need shoes, the 103 bags will bring back $1,000 to the Positive Spaces effort and be earmarked for Kimball parks. The Entinghs continue to take...
Banner County FFA adviser Bill Gifford reported that 200 people were in attendance at the recent 2nd ever FFA auction. The FFA Boosters served the meal and feedback has been very positive on the event. Gifford said, "I think we collected nearly $20,000 in donations this year, and we were overwhelmed with that number. "We really are grateful to our community and the surrounding communities that supported us. It is very humbling to think that so many can be so generous in so many ways to support...
A presentation from the Kimball FFA Parliamentary Procedure team topped the agenda Monday at the Kimball School Board meeting. Using Robert's Rules of Order, they conducted a mock meeting in preparation for the state FFA contest. The presentation was done by team members Nolan Cook, Landon Norberg, Grace Anderson, Aubrey Culek and Hayden Sours. Meanwhile, Superintendent Trevor Anderson reported two more donations of locally raised beef in February, making the total beef donations five for the...
A search warrant resulting in multiple Kimball arrests was executed on March 9 at separate residences by the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s department was assisted by the Kimball police and the Nebraska State Patrol. A traffic stop in the 600 block of Burg Street produced stolen items as well as a white powdery substance on the person of Jordan Crews. Crews, 27 was arrested and charged for possession of a controlled substance (meth) and possession of stolen property with a bon...
The "land swap" at the Rec Area should be a topic of interest to taxpayers, baseball/softball players and golfers. It is not actually called a land swap by the Nebraska Game and Parks, but it is called a conversion – outdoor recreation land is being converted to other outdoor recreation land. Hannah Jones from Nebraska Game and Parks said that the Kimball Rec Area conversion is in the "early stages" and "it is not a short process." The lengthy process is meant to safeguard outdoor recreation l...
The Kimball County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday morning to hear from department heads on the workings of the county government. Heads of the roads, buildings and grounds, veterans office and KCTS gave the commissioners updates and reports. Veterans Service Officer Program Coordinator Darcee Wheeland reported on new veterans numbers, military records and medical record requests for December 2023 and January 2024. County veterans receive more than $80,000 in benefits from the Veterans Administration each month. Newly appointed...