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 Lady Longhorns basketball team battled to win its fourth game of the season Tuesday night at Mitchell, 44-41. Now it’s on to today’s Jan. 25 matchup at 5:30 p.m. with visiting Sutherland and a rematch 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at North Platte St. Pat’s. Then comes the WTC. Kimball is seeded No. 7 and opens tourney play Feb. 1 at No. 2 Bayard. The winner will advance to face the winner of the No. 3 Gordon-Rushville and No. 6 Hemingford game in a 3:30 p.m. contest Feb. 2 at WNCC. Kimball Coach Jaclyn Burks commented on her team’s 51-28 los...
Korean, Vietnam and Desert Storm war veterans will be traveling through Kimball on Thursday, Sept. 7, en route to Washington to see their War Memorials. The 14th Honor Flight Mission delegation will be stopping by the High Point Visitors Center, a place that has welcomed the Honor Flight in the past. Steve Thomlison, Patriot Guard Riders senior ride captain, released a mission statement telling of their estimated time of arrival through Kimball. Five or six vans carrying the veterans are being escorted into town from Chadron via Alliance, Minat...
The Kimball Longhorns football team hosts Leyton at 7 p.m. Friday in their home opener after losing their first game of the season Aug. 25 at Hyannis, 58-20. Kimball and Leyton are both 0-1 going into the matchup. Leyton opened with a 58-18 non-conference loss to Hemingford. Longhorns coach Darrell Howitt sees growth in his rebuilding football program. "We are definitely a different team than a year ago," he told the Observer. "I kind of knew that Hyannis was physical pretty solid football team. Every year, they are physical and that is...
It's on to Gering on Friday, Sept. 1, for Kimball XC following its 2023 opening meet last week at Scottbluff. Start time is 11 a.m. for the high school and 1 p.m. for junior high. "What a great way to start the season," coach Tiffany Johnson said. "The cross country team ... all ran with determination and drive! We are excited to see what all unfolds this season." Kimball earned two medals at Scottsbluff with Braxton Miller finishing 10th with a new personal best, running under 20, and Braylon...
The Lincoln Highway has a special place in Kimball history. Now two crosswalks have been painted on Chestnut Street at the corner with 2nd Street to commemorate the highway's original route through town. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway across the United States. It officially opened in 1913, even though it wasn't completely paved until years later. Initially, it went through the downtown area of most of the towns it intersected, but it has since changed course slightly...
The Kimball varsity track and field team was able to compete in the 2023 Morrill Early Bird meet Saturday before winter made another visit to the area. "It was a great day to kick off the track season," coach Tiffany Johnson said. "The kids had great attitudes and we finished with quite a few Prs." Here are some of the highlights: • Julia Winstrom placed 4th in the 100. • Addisyn Olson placed 5th in the Triple Jump. • Girls 4x100 – Winstrom, Olson, Jade O'Rourke and Emma Novotny ran well. ...
It's on to the C12 Subdistrict final Thursday in Gordon, weather permitting, for the Kimball Longhorns boys basketball team after its 53-45 win over Bayard on Monday in the first round. The Horns went into Subdistricts after holding on for a 53-52 victory last Friday at Mitchell. They go into the final looking for their fourth straight win. Here's Kimball head coach Chad Miller's take on the Mitchell game and how his team is looking as the season winds down – and heats up. "Mitchell's game this...
This is the second of two installments of the Observer’s Q&A with local candidates in contested races. This week we present the candidated for Kimball Kimball County commissioner, Kimball School Board and Banner County commissioner. For each race featured in this report, candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Larry Engsrom Kimball County Commissioner Candidate Briefly describe your background and professional and political experience. I’m a farmer, rancher. Married we have two sons and a granddaughter. I am active in the First Eng...
A large wildfire south of Gering destroyed three homes as August began on Monday and damaged several others as it continued to spread through the dry vegetation in Nebraska’s Wildcat Hills. As of Monday afternoon, aerial surveillance showed the Carter Canyon Fire to be at 15,591 acres, an increase from 13,051 acres yesterday due to significant wind-driven runs. The fire remains at 30 percent contained, not because of lost containment line, but increases in acreage. “Fire managers are exp...
With the turn of 10 ceremonial golden shovels, Kimball Health Services officials broke ground May 11 on a new $43.6 million hospital, kicking off a long-awaited 18-month construction project to replace its 70-year-old facility. Completion of the new 61,200 square foot hospital on the playground of the former West Elementary School, located two blocks from the current facility in Kimball, is expected in the fall of 2023. A pair of 40-year USDA loans totaling $34.2 million, $6.4 million in... Full story
Freshman Kyler Lusche placed third at the Bayard Invite and Western Trails Conference golf meet on Tuesday, May 10. Lusche shot 42-41 for 83. In team standings, Kimball tied with Bayard for eighth place at 424. Rounding out the team for Kimball were Connor Deboodt shooting a 109, followed by Bransyn Kiefer with a 115 and Landon Norberg completed the 18 holes with a 117. Mitchell won the Bayard Invite with a 356 and the top golfer was Cael Peters, who shot a 76. Kimball will have played on Wednesday at their home course and districts is...
The Kimball boys and girls track teams go into the district meet Thursday, May 12, at Mitchell after a competitive showing at last week's Cheyenne County meet in Leyton. Pole vaulters Trey Schindler and James McGinnis both cleared 11 feet to tag team for first and second, while Kaitlin Heeg took first in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles. Also enjoying a first place finish was Banner County's Riley Jones in the high jump. Here are the Kimball and Banner County top placers at the Cheyenne... Full story
The Kimball boys golf team was scheduled to return for some home cooking at its Four Winds Golf Course home Thursday this week after hosting the SPVA conference tournament last Friday. However, the annual local invite could be held next Wednesday at best, weather permitting. But if it’s canceled at that time, it won’t be held at all this year. Meanwhile, freshman Kyler Lusche shot a 78 on his home course to win the SPVA conference title. The Kimball team score was 402. The rest of the Kimball team played solid on the Four Winds course with Tre... Full story
The Kimball boys and girls track teams found tough competion at the Bayard CD Invite. The girls placed 13th with 25 points, while Bayard was first with 79. The boys placed 15th with 4 points, while Pine Bluffs was first with 86. They're now in a busy stretch of the season. The Longhorns returned to action on Tuesday, April 5, at Creek Valley and next compete Saturday, April 9 in Holyoke. At Bayard, senior Katie Heeg placed third in the triple jump finals (31 feet, 5 inches), fourth in the... Full story
Two Banner County officials and a Banner County employee have been charged with Class 2 and Class 4 misdemeanors stemming from an incident on Dec. 28, according to court records. The charges include public indecency and drinking on public property or a road. The individuals involved are County Treasurer Monty Stoddard, 58, County Assessor Bernice Huffman, 46, who were elected to their positions, and employee Caily Reece, 32. Their first court appearance was March 2 for arraignment, where each pleaded not guilty to the charges. A pre-trial for...
The 2021-22 basketball season goes down with three victories in the win column for the young Kimball Longhorns. The Longhorns, 3-19 overall, ended their year with a 71-32 loss Tuesday, Feb. 22, to eventual champion Leyton in the first round of the D1-12 Subdistrict Tournament. The previous Friday they lost a home nonconference game to Mitchell, 61-30. Here's a recap. Mitchell 61, Kimball 30 Sophomore Wyatt Cords shot 50 percent from the field (5-for-10) and led the Horns with 13 points while...
The Kimball boys basketball team enters the home stretch of their 2021-22 season with something they hadn’t possessed until last week. A win. The young, scrappy Longhorns opened the SPVA conference last week with a 0-11 record and exited it with a 1-13 record thanks to a 45-31 victory over another team looking for a better future, Sutherland. Next up for the Longhorns are Banner County on Jan. 27, Sutherland on Jan. 28 and a trip to North Platte St. Pats on Jan. 29 before heading to the WTC tournament Feb. 3-6. The seventh seed Horns open t... Full story
Potter-Dix High School is home to this year's D2 One Act State Runner-Up team and the NSAA D2 State Best Actor, Gunnar Oleson. This outstanding team of Coyote thespians also won Conference and District....
Teams from Sidney and Kimball took top honors at the 30th Annual Kimball Hospital Foundation Golf Classic at Four Winds Golf Course on Saturday. An impressive 16-under-par 56 earned the Shelter Insurance-Sidney team of Richard Estrada, Trevor Schuessler, Mike O'Connell and Andrew Stieb first place after a scorecard playoff over second-place finishers Zane Anthony, Brendan Walker, Brian Williams and Cole Bush of Kimball. Taking third with a 15-under-par 57 in the four-person scramble fundraiser... Full story
Plans for building a new hospital in Kimball took a big step forward this week. At its meeting Monday, the Kimball Health Services Board of Trustees announced receiving approval of a $23.4 million direct loan through the US Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Direct Loan Program, a crucial first stage in securing financing for the estimated $32 million facility. “We were thrilled to get that phone call from the USDA office in North Platte that the national office in Washington had approved.” said Ken Hunter, CEO at Kimball Healt...
Jesse Heide-Sieren tied for 39th in a field of 93 at the 2021 NSAA Class C Boys Golf Championship at Kearney Country Club on May 25 and 26. Heide-Sieren shot rounds of 93 and then 90 for a total of 183. The senior also carded the best two-day score among those in his Day 2 foursome. Heide-Sieren was the lone Longhorn to make the field at State. The individual champion was senior Rockney Peck of Wisner-Pilger, who shot rounds of 72 and 76 for a 6 over par total of 148 – 5 strokes ahead of r...
These members of the armed forces from Kimball and Banner Counties made the supreme sacrifice in wartime action for the United States. World War I Neeley, Chas. V. World War II Bickel, Robert K. Childers, Keith L. Dowd, Francis M. Flohr, Elmer Gettel. Everette Holm, Keith T. Johnson, Gilbert F. Reader, Penrod Siebenaler, Francis R. Skigezane, Masso Southard, Harry Terry, Milo E. Watson, Howard Tebrinke, Eugene R. Brown, Robert E. Burback, John Haack, Clifford H. Murray Wayne Maginnis, Robert E. Vietnam War Steele, Edward Operation Iraqi...
The Kimball Golf Invite was held May 6 at Four Winds Golf Course with 15 teams on hand. Mitchell won with a total score of 324 – and five golfers in the top 10 individually. Bridgeport was second at 360 and Sidney third with 372. Kimball didn’t qualify for the team standings. Throughout the season, Kimball has been unable to field a complete team and only three individuals have been playing: Jesse Heide-Sieren, Cole Henton, and Landon Norberg. In individual play, Mitchell’s Cael Peters won with a 75 and teammate Austin Thyne shot a 78 for s...
The Kimball Longhorns track and field teams started their week as expected at the Western Trails Conference Meet on May 3, but they ended it differently than planned on Friday, May 7. The Horns originally were scheduled to attend the Bayard BCD meet, but a change of plans took them to the Cheyenne County meet – and both the girls and boys showed well. In an eight-school field, the Kimball girls squad was runner-up to South Platte in what amounted to a two-team battle for the championship. The K...
The Kimball track team is preparing for the Kimball Track Invite on Saturday, March 27, after competing in the Chadron Indoor. Results for Kimball athletes at the March 20 Chadron Indoor include: • Raven Johnson won the pole vault. • Maddie Merryfield placed ninth in the 60-meter hurdles. • Chantel Malson ran ninth in the 60-meter dash, and Conner Cluff ran the 400 meters. • Tianna Stierwalk performed well in the high jump, and Isaak Rhode participated in the shot put. Golf & Junior High Track In other spring sports, the first competi...