Local News

Local News

Not so great video of a tornado trying to form just north of town on Friday, June 5, 2009.

Local News

Local News

Local News

 

Passing the mantle Don Sharp Observer Staff KIMBALL – Dan Kinnison is handing over the reins of Prestige Manufacturing at 105 S. Webster in Kimball. A new operator will take over in the very near future. Stephen Pinkerton, of Pinkerton Welding, Inc. is the new operator. Pinkerton came to the Kimball area about 1 1/2 years ago from Lincolnville, Pa. He has been inspecting drilling rigs and doing welding service in the area. He is married, has two children in the Kimball school system and lives several miles east and a little south of Kimball. Pinkerton is an energetic, well spoken fellow with a pleasant smile. He will be working to continue Prestige Mfg., a name respected in the area. Dan Kinnison has been around Kimball a good long while. He has satisfied customers all over the area. Kinnison said, “ The most meaningful part of the business has been contacts with my customers and my associates on the job.” He said, “I have had the best customers in the world.” He started business in Kimball in 1960 when he traded his Colorado ranch for Petsch Farm Equipment. He thought it best to get out of the ranching business because the price of cattle had dropped to dismal levels. And a horse fell on him, severely injuring his back and putting him in the hospital for most of the summer. At Petsch Farm equipment, he sold and serviced Oliver, Massey-Harris and New Holland farm equipment. After awhile, he switched the sales line to farm and industrial supplies. He added Diesel Service a few years later. Diesel service worked with precision diesel injection pumps, some generating up to 20,000 psi cylinder pressure. Kinnison opened Prestige Manufacturing in 1976. The firm manufactured an irrigation ditch cleaner, another device to clean concrete lined ditches, a hydraulic post-hole auger that could easily be operated by one man on a tractor, a sun shield cab to make tractor driving more comfortable and a hydraulicly powered fence cleaner to remove sage brush. In addition, Kinnison designed the hydraulic system still in use at Castronics and did specialty metal work for PolyPipe. Many of the metal railings seen around town are his work, including the Court House and St. Hilda’s Episcopal Church. He has done countless specialty and repair jobs for farmers and ranchers in a general 50 mile radius. His wife Shirley did much of the tax and book keeping for many years. Kinnison said, “Our business decisions were joint decisions.” Kinnision got some initial experience in the Army Air Corps in WWII. He learned to do the electircal wiring in B-17s while waiting to get into pilot training. He volunteered for a hazardous duty but wasn’t accepted. Good thing! The hazardous duty turned out to be troop detachments hunkering down in observation trenches to witness the first atomic explosion test. Once the war was over, Kinnison was rapidly discharged when Senator Ed Johnson (D-Colo.) introduced a bill giving rapid discharge to those Air Corps personnel promised but denied pilot training. Kinnison went on to get a pilot’s license in 1946. He was licensed for multi-engine aircraft and owned planes but hasn’t flown now in 20 years. With a twinkle in his eye, he told how he dropped gunny sacks of groceries to his father’s farmstead during the blizzard of 1949. Kinnison bemoans the state of the U. S. steel industry. “We’ve gone from 30 or more steel mills in the county down to three.” Steel prices have dropped by half in recent months as hard economic times slow industry. The price of scrap iron has fallen from 40 cents a pound down to about eight cents a pound. Kinnison knows that in this agriculture and oil area, good machinists and welders will always be in demand. There is every prospect that Stephen Pinkerton will carry on the high standard that has been set at Prestige Manufacturing.

Also In The News

Young sets new record for school board Don Sharp Observer Staff KIMBALL –Clint Cornils, Lynn Vogel and Jim Young were sworn in on Jan. 12 to begin four year terms on the Kimball Board of Education. Young submitted his resignation immediately after being sworn in. This was no surprise. He had made his intention to resign known in advance of the meeting. Young had served a previous stretch of 24 years as a member of the school board before declining to run for re-election in 2006. He was re-elected in last November’s general election after sitting out for two years. Young said, “I must have set some kind of record for serving the longest and shortest times on the Board of Education.” Young said he was also serving on the Board of Directors of Western Sugar Cooperative. His term there started in January 2008 and attendance at only four or five meetings a year was foreseen. So he believed his time schedule would permit the added responsibility when he declared his candidacy for the Board of Education for last spring’s primary election. Then things changed at Western Sugar Cooperative and many more meetings were required. With the Cooperative dealing with beet growers in four states, considerable travel became involved. Young said he could not devote the attention to both boards that was rightfully required. He was unable to find a replacement for himself on the Western Sugar Cooperative board but was able to find a replacement for himself on the Board of Education. Steve Diemoz is that replacement. Diemoz had been on the board 2004-2008 but ran fourth in the three seats open election in 2008. Diemoz was 30 votes behind Young in the 2008 election. Diemoz said he was willing to serve. Board Policy 203.8 states that “A vacancy on the board shall be filled by a vote of the remaining board members.” There are several ways this can be accomplished; next highest vote in the general election, former board member who has not re-filed, recommendations from the board, or taking applications. Or other means not specified. Diemoz was sworn in at the Jan. 12 meeting. His term will run till the next general election. In other matters, Charles Ferguson was recognized as Student of the Month and Linda Mihm was presented with the Outstanding Performance award for Second Quarter 2008-2009. Mihm teaches first grade. Superintendent Unzicker announced the new building is essentially complete and in use. Landscaping will be completed in the spring. A balance of about $100,000 remains to be paid. Unzicker will hold this payment until everything is satisfactory. Unzicker announced that a new agreement has been reached with Western Nebraska Distance Learning Consortium for Internet instruction. The new agreement will give Kimball High School improved Internet instruction at no significant additional cost. Unzicker also noted that no staff resignations had been received. Any staff member applying for early retirement must submit their resignation at the same time. School board officers remain as before: Danielle Reader president, Lynn Vogel vice president, Steve Diemoz treasurer and Rick Perry secretary. Other routine items of business were approved during the course of the evening. Next meeting will be held on February 9.

Local Sports News

Wildcat sports wrap up Laura Monsees Observer Contributor Over the past two weeks the Banner County Wildcats have won three out of four games. First, on January 9th, the Lady Wildcats faced off with the Hay Springs Hawks. Unfortunately, they suffered their third loss of the season. Coach Kenny Hessler said, “The girls came out strong and played a good first quarter, but didn’t shoot well in the second quarter. However, we out-scored them in the second half. There was a great defensive effort with all the girls.” Rebekah Knaub led the team that night with ten points, followed by Brittani Johnson, eight; Kinsey Knaub, seven; and Bethany Cooper, six. The game ended with a final score of 47-41. The same night, the Banner County boys also experienced their third loss of the season to the Hawks. Coach Jim Wyatt said, “We were in foul trouble early in the game, and Hay Springs came out strong in the second half.” Chase Wickard led the team in points with 17, and was closely followed by Brett Cross and Cole Wyatt, who also had 12 rebounds. Jordan Knaub and Brady Cross also added points to the board. 83-56 was the final score. Both the Banner County boys and the Lady Wildcats are anticipating playing Hay Springs again during sub-districts next month. The next night the Wildcats traveled to Big Springs to meet the Wallace Wildcats. The Lady Wildcats came out with a win, with a final score of 54-47. Kinsey Knaub and Bethany Cooper both led with 15 points, and were joined by Sarah Dvorak, nine; and Brittani Johnson, five. Kenny Hessler said, “The girls had another great defensive game. We shot the ball well for playing against a much taller team.” The Banner County boys also had a win that night. The final score was 60-51, with Banner County in the lead the entire game. Brett Cross had double doubles with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Cole Wyatt and Chase Wickard also had 15 points each, with Wyatt also having five blocked shots. Other scorers included Corwin Bunney, Jordan Knaub, and Brady Cross. On the 16th, the Wildcats went to compete against the Crawford Rams. The Banner County girls won again with a final score of 51-33, and stayed ahead the whole game. Bethany Cooper had 12 points; Kinsey Knaub, 10; Brittani Johnson, six; Jessica Bruce, six; Rebekah Knaub, four; and Sarah Dvorak, two. As a team, the Lady Wildcats shot 50% from the free-throw line. The Banner County boys also had another win that night in an intense game against the Rams. Brett Cross led with 14 points including six free throws. Cole Wyatt also had a good game with 10 rebound and three steals. At half-time, the score was tied 24-24. With 40 seconds left in the game the Wildcats were down by one point, and had possession of the ball, when Brett Cross was assisted by Chase Wickard to make a shot from under the basket, putting the Wildcats ahead by one point. The game ended with a final score of 47-46. The following night the Wildcats played Minatare at home. The Lady Wildcats had their third win in a row with a final score of 56-25. Sarah Dvorak led with 10 points, followed by Kinsey Knaub, eight; Bethany Cooper, eight; Kaylea Stoddard, six; Jessica Bruce, six; Brittani Johnson, two; Rebekah Knaub, two; and Brooke Wyatt, two. The Lady Wildcats hold a current record of 8-3, only losing to Hay Springs twice, and to Pine Bluffs.   The Wildcat boys also had another win against Minatare with 71-36 being the final score. Brett Cross had double doubles with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cole Wyatt had 14 points and eight rebounds. Following in points was Chase Wickard, 10; Corwin Bunney, two; Jordan Knaub, two; and Ed Montelongo, two. The Wildcats also shot 57% from the free-throw line. The Banner County Boys also hold a record of 8-3. This week the Banner County boys and girls will compete in the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament. The girls will start the tournament competing at home on Monday the 19th, and the boys at home on the 20th. Finals for the tournament will be held on the 22nd and 24th in Sidney. The Banner County Wildcats will go back into regular season games starting on January, 30th, when they will travel to Potter-Dix. Passing the mantle Don Sharp Observer Staff KIMBALL – Dan Kinnison is handing over the reins of Prestige Manufacturing at 105 S. Webster in Kimball. A new operator will take over in the very near future. Stephen Pinkerton, of Pinkerton Welding, Inc. is the new operator. Pinkerton came to the Kimball area about 1 1/2 years ago from Lincolnville, Pa. He has been inspecting drilling rigs and doing welding service in the area. He is married, has two children in the Kimball school system and lives several miles east and a little south of Kimball. Pinkerton is an energetic, well spoken fellow with a pleasant smile. He will be working to continue Prestige Mfg., a name respected in the area. Dan Kinnison has been around Kimball a good long while. He has satisfied customers all over the area. Kinnison said, “ The most meaningful part of the business has been contacts with my customers and my associates on the job.” He said, “I have had the best customers in the world.” He started business in Kimball in 1960 when he traded his Colorado ranch for Petsch Farm Equipment. He thought it best to get out of the ranching business because the price of cattle had dropped to dismal levels. And a horse fell on him, severely injuring his back and putting him in the hospital for most of the summer. At Petsch Farm equipment, he sold and serviced Oliver, Massey-Harris and New Holland farm equipment. After awhile, he switched the sales line to farm and industrial supplies. He added Diesel Service a few years later. Diesel service worked with precision diesel injection pumps, some generating up to 20,000 psi cylinder pressure. Kinnison opened Prestige Manufacturing in 1976. The firm manufactured an irrigation ditch cleaner, another device to clean concrete lined ditches, a hydraulic post-hole auger that could easily be operated by one man on a tractor, a sun shield cab to make tractor driving more comfortable and a hydraulicly powered fence cleaner to remove sage brush. In addition, Kinnison designed the hydraulic system still in use at Castronics and did specialty metal work for PolyPipe. Many of the metal railings seen around town are his work, including the Court House and St. Hilda’s Episcopal Church. He has done countless specialty and repair jobs for farmers and ranchers in a general 50 mile radius. His wife Shirley did much of the tax and book keeping for many years. Kinnison said, “Our business decisions were joint decisions.” Kinnision got some initial experience in the Army Air Corps in WWII. He learned to do the electircal wiring in B-17s while waiting to get into pilot training. He volunteered for a hazardous duty but wasn’t accepted. Good thing! The hazardous duty turned out to be troop detachments hunkering down in observation trenches to witness the first atomic explosion test. Once the war was over, Kinnison was rapidly discharged when Senator Ed Johnson (D-Colo.) introduced a bill giving rapid discharge to those Air Corps personnel promised but denied pilot training. Kinnison went on to get a pilot’s license in 1946. He was licensed for multi-engine aircraft and owned planes but hasn’t flown now in 20 years. With a twinkle in his eye, he told how he dropped gunny sacks of groceries to his father’s farmstead during the blizzard of 1949. Kinnison bemoans the state of the U. S. steel industry. “We’ve gone from 30 or more steel mills in the county down to three.” Steel prices have dropped by half in recent months as hard economic times slow industry. The price of scrap iron has fallen from 40 cents a pound down to about eight cents a pound. Kinnison knows that in this agriculture and oil area, good machinists and welders will always be in demand. There is every prospect that Stephen Pinkerton will carry on the high standard that has been set at Prestige Manufacturing. Also In The News Young sets new record for school board Don Sharp Observer Staff KIMBALL –Clint Cornils, Lynn Vogel and Jim Young were sworn in on Jan. 12 to begin four year terms on the Kimball Board of Education. Young submitted his resignation immediately after being sworn in. This was no surprise. He had made his intention to resign known in advance of the meeting. Young had served a previous stretch of 24 years as a member of the school board before declining to run for re-election in 2006. He was re-elected in last November’s general election after sitting out for two years. Young said, “I must have set some kind of record for serving the longest and shortest times on the Board of Education.” Young said he was also serving on the Board of Directors of Western Sugar Cooperative. His term there started in January 2008 and attendance at only four or five meetings a year was foreseen. So he believed his time schedule would permit the added responsibility when he declared his candidacy for the Board of Education for last spring’s primary election. Then things changed at Western Sugar Cooperative and many more meetings were required. With the Cooperative dealing with beet growers in four states, considerable travel became involved. Young said he could not devote the attention to both boards that was rightfully required. He was unable to find a replacement for himself on the Western Sugar Cooperative board but was able to find a replacement for himself on the Board of Education. Steve Diemoz is that replacement. Diemoz had been on the board 2004-2008 but ran fourth in the three seats open election in 2008. Diemoz was 30 votes behind Young in the 2008 election. Diemoz said he was willing to serve. Board Policy 203.8 states that “A vacancy on the board shall be filled by a vote of the remaining board members.” There are several ways this can be accomplished; next highest vote in the general election, former board member who has not re-filed, recommendations from the board, or taking applications. Or other means not specified. Diemoz was sworn in at the Jan. 12 meeting. His term will run till the next general election. In other matters, Charles Ferguson was recognized as Student of the Month and Linda Mihm was presented with the Outstanding Performance award for Second Quarter 2008-2009. Mihm teaches first grade. Superintendent Unzicker announced the new building is essentially complete and in use. Landscaping will be completed in the spring. A balance of about $100,000 remains to be paid. Unzicker will hold this payment until everything is satisfactory. Unzicker announced that a new agreement has been reached with Western Nebraska Distance Learning Consortium for Internet instruction. The new agreement will give Kimball High School improved Internet instruction at no significant additional cost. Unzicker also noted that no staff resignations had been received. Any staff member applying for early retirement must submit their resignation at the same time. School board officers remain as before: Danielle Reader president, Lynn Vogel vice president, Steve Diemoz treasurer and Rick Perry secretary. Other routine items of business were approved during the course of the evening. Next meeting will be held on February 9. Local Sports News Wildcat sports wrap up Laura Monsees Observer Contributor Over the past two weeks the Banner County Wildcats have won three out of four games. First, on January 9th, the Lady Wildcats faced off with the Hay Springs Hawks. Unfortunately, they suffered their third loss of the season. Coach Kenny Hessler said, “The girls came out strong and played a good first quarter, but didn’t shoot well in the second quarter. However, we out-scored them in the second half. There was a great defensive effort with all the girls.” Rebekah Knaub led the team that night with ten points, followed by Brittani Johnson, eight; Kinsey Knaub, seven; and Bethany Cooper, six. The game ended with a final score of 47-41. The same night, the Banner County boys also experienced their third loss of the season to the Hawks. Coach Jim Wyatt said, “We were in foul trouble early in the game, and Hay Springs came out strong in the second half.” Chase Wickard led the team in points with 17, and was closely followed by Brett Cross and Cole Wyatt, who also had 12 rebounds. Jordan Knaub and Brady Cross also added points to the board. 83-56 was the final score. Both the Banner County boys and the Lady Wildcats are anticipating playing Hay Springs again during sub-districts next month. The next night the Wildcats traveled to Big Springs to meet the Wallace Wildcats. The Lady Wildcats came out with a win, with a final score of 54-47. Kinsey Knaub and Bethany Cooper both led with 15 points, and were joined by Sarah Dvorak, nine; and Brittani Johnson, five. Kenny Hessler said, “The girls had another great defensive game. We shot the ball well for playing against a much taller team.” The Banner County boys also had a win that night. The final score was 60-51, with Banner County in the lead the entire game. Brett Cross had double doubles with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Cole Wyatt and Chase Wickard also had 15 points each, with Wyatt also having five blocked shots. Other scorers included Corwin Bunney, Jordan Knaub, and Brady Cross. On the 16th, the Wildcats went to compete against the Crawford Rams. The Banner County girls won again with a final score of 51-33, and stayed ahead the whole game. Bethany Cooper had 12 points; Kinsey Knaub, 10; Brittani Johnson, six; Jessica Bruce, six; Rebekah Knaub, four; and Sarah Dvorak, two. As a team, the Lady Wildcats shot 50% from the free-throw line. The Banner County boys also had another win that night in an intense game against the Rams. Brett Cross led with 14 points including six free throws. Cole Wyatt also had a good game with 10 rebound and three steals. At half-time, the score was tied 24-24. With 40 seconds left in the game the Wildcats were down by one point, and had possession of the ball, when Brett Cross was assisted by Chase Wickard to make a shot from under the basket, putting the Wildcats ahead by one point. The game ended with a final score of 47-46. The following night the Wildcats played Minatare at home. The Lady Wildcats had their third win in a row with a final score of 56-25. Sarah Dvorak led with 10 points, followed by Kinsey Knaub, eight; Bethany Cooper, eight; Kaylea Stoddard, six; Jessica Bruce, six; Brittani Johnson, two; Rebekah Knaub, two; and Brooke Wyatt, two. The Lady Wildcats hold a current record of 8-3, only losing to Hay Springs twice, and to Pine Bluffs.   The Wildcat boys also had another win against Minatare with 71-36 being the final score. Brett Cross had double doubles with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cole Wyatt had 14 points and eight rebounds. Following in points was Chase Wickard, 10; Corwin Bunney, two; Jordan Knaub, two; and Ed Montelongo, two. The Wildcats also shot 57% from the free-throw line. The Banner County Boys also hold a record of 8-3. This week the Banner County boys and girls will compete in the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament. The girls will start the tournament competing at home on Monday the 19th, and the boys at home on the 20th. Finals for the tournament will be held on the 22nd and 24th in Sidney. The Banner County Wildcats will go back into regular season games starting on January, 30th, when they will travel to Potter-Dix.

Farmer's Day Demolition Derby 2008 continued.

Farmer's Day Demolition Derby 2008

News on September 18th, 2008

 

Shooting In Kimball Takes The Life Of One Man Don Sharp and Patrick Cossel Observer Staff KIMBALL – Brandon Overlin, 28, 509 East Second Street, was shot and killed at approximately 4 a.m. Sunday Sept. 14, officials said. Overlin was allegedly shot and killed by Kimball law enforcement on his back porch at 509 E. Second Street. Investigating officers at the scene confirmed the shooting death, but gave no other details. According to the Kimball County Attorney’s Office, Overlin was armed when officers arrived to remove him from the property. “During the course of the contact, shots were fired resulting in the death of Mr. Overlin,” wrote David Wilson, Kimball County Attorney. Friends of the family who spoke with Stevenson Newspaper on the condition of anonymity say Overlin had been drinking earlier that night and that the officers were called to remove him from the property after an argument with a family member. Neighbors at the scene reported being wakened by sounds of gunfire around 4 a.m. It is unknown at this time if Overlin fired a shot. According to Wilson, once he has the autopsy results, his office will file the appropriate documents for the appointment of a special prosecutor to conduct a grand jury investigation as required by Nebraska Statutes. Wilson said the names of the officers were not given because he will not be the prosecutor for the grand jury. Information from the grand jury is not open to the public. An application can be made to the judge to open those files once the grand jury is complete. Overlin was a long-time resident of Kimball, where he was a cook at Pizza Hut. He worked the morning shift at the restaurant on Saturday. Overlin had three children, ages 8-, 6- and 2-years-old. Klark Byrd, Stevenson Newspapers contributed to this article.

West Nile Confirmed In Kimball County Don Sharp Observer Staff KIMBALL COUNTY  – One case of West Nile disease has been confirmed in Kimball County officials said. Becky Corman with the Panhandle Public Health District office in Bridgeport said the case was identified in late August and involved a person in the 26-to-50-years-age bracket. The symptoms of West Nile Disease are usually mild and flu-like. Fatigue, muscle weakness and nausea may occur. Corman said. “About one out of 150 people bitten by infected mosquitos will actually show any symptoms of West Nile disease.” The disease can appear in forms as serious as meningitis or encephalitis. It is spread by infected mosquitos which have had contact with diseased birds. The birds most commonly carrying the disease are blue jays, crows, hawks and owls. Kimball does not have alarming populations of these birds but does have a very large starling population this fall.   Corman said good ways to minimize the prospect of mosquito bites are to use a repellant containing DEET, wear long trousers and sleeves and stay indoors at dawn and dusk. Other prevention methods include eliminate standing water in the community, unclog roof gutters, empty unused swimming pools, change water in bird baths and get rid of old tires or other potential “water holders.” Panhandle Public Health Service has “mosquito count” stations in Dawes, Garden and Sheridan counties. There have been single cases reported in Dawes, Morrill and Kimball counties in the panhandle. Statewide, about 25 cases have been reported in Nebraska. The disease is not normally spread by contact between humans. However, it is possible to contact West Nile disease through blood transfusions, organ transplants, intrauterine exposure and breast feeding. U. S. blood banks now routinely screen for West Nile disease. JENNA PROVANCE and Charles Ferguson were crowned the 2008-2009 fall Homecoming King and Queen at the football game versus Bridgeport Firday night. Provance was attended by Kali Autrey and Julie Novotny. Ferguson was attended by Brock Tjosvold and Brad Weisbrook. Crown bearers are Carly Keller and Scott Hunsaker. (Patrick Cossel/Observer) An anti-West Nile vaccine is available for horses but not for humans The disease showed up in the U. S. in 1999, starting in the New York City area. The U. S. variety closely resembles West Nile found in Israel in 1998. There were 124 deaths from the disease in the U. S. in 2007.

Longhorns Open Home Stand With A Split In Triangular Patrick Cossel Observer Editor Despite losing to the Mitchell Tigers in straight sets the first round, the Kimball Longhorns rallied to defeat the Potter-Dix Coyotes in their first home games of the season. Mitchell swept Kimball 25-23 and 25-18. Mitchell then swept Potter-Dix 25-21 and 25-15 to win the triangular. The Longhorns took on the Coyotes in the third game of the night and won in two straight sets, 14-25 and 19-25. Kimball jumped out to a quick 3-11 lead against the Coyotes in the first game. Seniors Jenna Provance and Michelle Snyder combined for three straight spikes to give the Longhorns a 10-point lead, 8-18. Provance finished the first game behind the serving line with an ace and a volley that ended when the ball bounced around in the rafters, confusing the Coyotes. Potter-Dix took control of the first game as they established a 4-point lead, 6-2. The Coyotes held loosely on to their lead as the Longhorns began a slow crawl back. Senior Jaclyn Christensen had back-to-back spikes to pull the Longhorns within two. A bad spike by Potter-Dix tied the game at 18. Kimball followed suit with a bad serve, returning the lead to the Coyotes, 19-18. With the game knotted at 19, Snyder drilled a spike past the Coyote offense, giving her Longhorns the lead. With Provance serving, the Longhorns repeated their efforts from the first game. She led the ladies to four straight points to end the game. The final point of the game came from a spike by Christensen that bounced off a Coyotes players arm and into the crowd. Kimball will hit the floor again on Sept. 16 in Gordon. The Longhorns will take part in another triangular that includes Gordon and Hemingford. The match is schedule to begin at 4 p.m.

2nd solo crosscountry flight