Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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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...
From the smallest to the largest, all counties in Nebraska elect a sheriff. The county sheriffs throughout Nebraska have several duties and responsibilities, with their number one responsibility law enforcement. State statutes requires the sheriff to serve, execute and return writs or other legal process issued by a lawful authority. The sheriff shall prepare and file an annual inventory statement of county personal property in his or her custody. The sheriff has charge and custody of the jail...
The Kimball Police Department received approval on two items at the Kimball City Council meeting on Feb. 20. A CargoGlide for a department pickup received approval for this budget season, and the council approved the purchase of a drug dog for the 2024-25 budget year. The CargoGlide, priced at $5,657.99, will provide storage for traffic cones, spikes, pepperballs, evidence collection kits, ballistic shields and instructor gear. Chief Jose Ruiz also received approval for a canine program to be started; this would include a female yellow lab....
Gov. Pillen arrived in Kimball for the Kimball Health Services hospital ribbon cutting on Monday, Feb 26, but he also tended to other business. The governor and his entourage landed on the newly resurfaced Kimball Municipal Airport runway 10/28 and found the landing was incredible. The resurfacing project recently received a 2023 Project of the Year award from the state. Before the ribbon cutting, Pillen met with KCTS staff and toured Kimball Public Schools. Pillen and members of his Department...
The Kimball community came out en masse for Kimball Health Services new hospital ribbon cutting on Monday, Feb. 26. On a windy day, an estimated 200 or more people crammed into the entryway and clinic waiting area while officials were recognized and spoke of the process to develop the facility. Gov. Jim Pillen started off the ceremony with a message of congratulations. "This is a big, big deal for rural Nebraska, for Kimball, for your community," he said. Pillen spoke about what a fantastic...
Kimball 51, Morrill 38 Tuesday’s subdistrict first round matchup with Morrill was a game that we took awhile to get things going, but a great finish to the 3rd quarter really opened things up. Knowing just how capable Morrill could be from the perimeter, our 7 point half time lead was not what we were hoping for after 2 quarters of play. Our shooting was not what we were used to, but our defense and rebounding was keeping us ahead in the game. We only allowed Morrill to score 11 points in the 1st half and that was definitely a positive. We alwa...
The wildfire that began 8.6 miles northeast of North Platte on Monday morning continued to burn as of Tuesday afternoon. The Betty’s Way Fire has consumed 71,022 acres, according to a press release from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, with the hopes of some containment later on Tuesday. With winds over 40 mph the fire continues to spread east, and evacuations have been issued. According to Emergency Management Region 22 (Scottsbluff and Banner counties), local departments have responded to the mutual aid request by taking firemen a...
Kimball County Transit Service Administrator Christy Warner informed the Kimball County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting that Gov. Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Department of Transportation Director Vicki Kramer will visit the transit service Feb. 26 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Statistics for KCTS also were presented by Warner. Of 33,943 rides for the calendar year 2023, 61% were from Kimball County. Other numbers showed that 8,843 rides were educational and preschool, school or college; 3,690 rides were for employment; 2,086 were deliveries f...
Bobby "Shorty" Wilson disappeared without a trace from the streets of Kimball on October 30, 1956, and the family struggled with his disappearance and searched for years for clues or his remains. In 1958, the family had a marker erected in the Kimball Cemetery that read: Robert G. "Shorty" Wilson. His birth date was May 28, 1925, and he was born in Kimball, Nebraska. The simple headstone says, "Disappeared on October 30, 1956." A description of Shorty Wilson was provided in a reward posted in...
The postseason is here. The Kimball boys basketball team – 14-7 with a .667 winning percentage on the season after a sweet win over Mitchell – opened subdisrict play Tuesday evening against a 14-10 Morrill squad at Bridgeport. Kimball was the No. 2 seed and Morrill No. 3. On Thursday, the winner faces the winnter of No. 1 seed Bridgeport and No. 4 Gordon Rushville game. Friday's rematch with Mitchell was a great game that saw our players execute and have their 3rd most efficient game of the sea...
A high-drama scene unfolded on Thursday, Feb. 8, when the Kimball Police Department answered a disturbance call at 311 Cedar St. and followed up with an attempted arrest. The situation led to a standoff between law enforcement and a suspect in his home from morning until late evening. The next day, the suspect called the Kimball County Sheriff's Office and talked with Sheriff Dave Hottell. They worked out a method for the suspect to be taken into custody. Later, Hottell showed up at the...
The rehabilitation of primary runway 10/28 at the Kimball Municipal Airport/Robert E. Arraj Field received the 2023 Project of the Year at the Nebraska Department of Transportation Aeronautic Division yearly awards night on Jan. 23. Chair of the airport board Ryan McElroy also received an Award of Merit. The new runway project provides a safe landing and takeoff surface for all users of the airport. Runway 10/28 is 6,200 feet long and 75 feet wide. The rehabilitation included 6 inch concrete whi...
First Of Two Parts Almost 70 years ago before social media, cells phones, and cable TV, when oil was king, local children suffered from polio, and a washing machine at Montgomery Ward would cost you $159.95, Kimball's Bobby Wilson, 4 foot 6 inch in stature, disappeared from a local service station in broad daylight and was never heard from again. No body was ever discovered that matched his size, and no crime scene was ever found. Bobby Wilson just disappeared into thin air, never heard from...
Kimball Jr/Sr High School received the Circle of Excellence award from Cognia on Monday evening at the Kimball School Board meeting. Cognia is the largest accreditation organization in the world and does on-site reviews for educational institutions. Cognia did the accreditation for Kimball Public Schools last year. The presentation included comments from the regional accreditation evaluator, Dr. Dan Leikvold, "Kimball Jr/Sr High School has a robust continuous school improvement process and an...
The Kimball Longhorns boys basketball team is nearing a late season rematch with Mitchell and the 2023-24 post season after improving to 13-7 with wins this past week at Pine Bluffs and over visiting Heminford. Kimball’s scheduled game Feb. 10 against Minatare was cancelled due to weather and will not be rescheduled. Mitchell rolls into The Arena this Friday, Feb. 16, when the Horns will look to avenge a one-point loss in the WTC tournament. Here’s a recap of the victories over Pine Bluffs and Hemingford. Kimball 61, Pine Bluffs 58 Feb. 6 In...
Kimball has been added to the list of areas that have suffered thefts of thousands of gallons of fuel at fuel stations. Other communities hit by the theft rings include Chappell, Benkelman, Haigler, Sidney and Dalton. Video shows that on Jan. 26, a white straight box truck with two subjects pulled up to a fuel station at Frenchman Valley Coop in Kimball and absconded with over 1,000 gallons of fuel. With the theft occurring in the city of Kimball, the Kimball Police Department is investigating....
At the Feb. 6 Kimball County Commissioners meeting, an update on the sale of the High Point Welcome Center was provided. After completing its due diligence, Big D Oil Company of Rapid City, S.D., will complete the purchase of the High Point Welcome Center and surrounding acres on Feb. 12. The county will lease the welcome center back for $500 a month until Big D is ready to start construction. The center and additional eight acres were sold to Big D for $500,000. The company plans on developing the area as a truck stop. Other business in front...
"It is a joy, a blessing," Lela Carpenter said. "It is large enough for our family to go places and be together. It's great." Lela and her family purchased the "blessing bus" when it was declared surplus property for the county. The commissioners requested that the County Clerk's Office handle the bid process, and it went out for bid two different times. The first time there was no bid. The second time, the Carpenters bid $500 and they were the only bid, so they received the "blessing bus."...
After their hard-fought third place showing in the WTC tournament and a Feb. 6 game at Pine Bluffs, the Kimball Longhorns enter a late-season stretch of home games at The Arena. Venturing to K-Town are Hemingford on Friday, Feb. 9, Minatare on Feb. 10 and Mitchell on Feb. 16. The Longhorns will have redemption on their minds in the Mitchell showdown. The Kimball boys went 2-1 in the WTC – easily handling Bayard in their opener, losing a nailbiter to the formidable Mitchell squad in the s...
Officials for Kimball Health Services anticipate that the new building will be fully operational and ready for patients on Feb. 19. An open house and ribbon cutting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 26 with Gov. Jim Pillen in attendance, along with other politicians, officials and the public. The hospital, clinic and emergency room will open on Feb. 19 at 255 West 4th St. if all goes according to plan. CEO and CFO Cassie Gasseling said that employees from the portable trailers at the old hospital...
Discussions continue in Washington, D.C., on the modernization of weapon systems for the United States. The Air Force Sentinel project is destined for F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne and bases in North Dakota and Montana. The Sentinel is the ICBM replacement package for the current outdated Minuteman III missiles, and the program is often discussed by Air Force officials and think tanks in Washington, D.C. The Sentinel is the land-based leg of the United States nuclear triad on air, land and sea. Recently, when the Sentinel project came...
Not many candidates have filed for open offices for Kimball County or the City of Kimball, County Clerk Cathy Sibal told the Observer. But as of early Tuesday, she said four individuals have filed for Kimball County commissioner on the Republican side. They are incumbent Carl Stander files and challengers Dave Hottell (former Kimball County highway superintendent), Matt Bright and Sarah Weisbrook. The winner of the primary election on May 14 will move forward to the general ballot. No Democrats have announced their intentions for the...
It's time for the WTC tourney – and some home cookin' – for the Kimball Longhorns boys basketball team. The Horns open the WTC tournament at home 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, as a No. 3 seed against No. 6 Bayard. The winner advances to a 6:30 p.m. Friday game at WNCC against the victor of the contest between No. 2 Mitchell and No. 7 Gordon-Rushville. The championship game is 6:30 p.m. Saturday at WNCC. The Horns go into the tournament after splitting with Sutherland on Thursday, Jan. 25, and Nor...
Officials from Kimball Health Services and Kimball County Commissioner Carl Stander met on Jan. 4 to make preparations for the transition of the old hospital building back to county control. Although the county always owned the property, a quit claim deed will "wipe the slate clean" and solidify the fact that Kimball Health Services has no interest or claim on the building, officials said. The hospital property was acquired on Dec. 29, 1948, for a sum of $1,200 from the Alfred Forsling estate....
Kimball City Council met for their January monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 16, and council President Don Muench conducted the meeting due to the absence of Mayor John Morrison. Others in attendance included Christy Warner and Gabe Ingram. City administrator Annette Brower was absent, as was Councilman Creg Pike. Council approved a $25,000 business grant for Patriot Carwash, LLC to be paid when the project is completed. In the big news at the meeting, the long awaited Road Safety Assessment...