In memorium

Editor,

Personal relationships that bind people are often considered the strings or threads by which we hold our lives and memories dear. When a favorite garment, say for example a kilt becomes threadbare in places, it becomes necessary to find the sewing kit and correct the problem while the garment is still otherwise serviceable. Waiting too long, or neglecting the upkeep creates additional stresses, socially and financially.

Examine now how the threads of relationships need to be strengthened. Spending time with people and asking questions about their lives adds to the bonds or emotional threads that join people together. Whether these threads are spun by marriage, childbirth, or even work experience, the very nature of the relationship gives strength to those affected by such connections.

It is possible that the bonds that hold human beings together may become so worn that separation must occur. Most of the time this separation happens as the result of lack of communication or growing apart. Job stress contributes to the distance as minds are occupied by incredible pressure to perform or otherwise hit deadlines. Without careful attention to those relationships affected in such ways, we seemingly do not see the coming despair in those whom we love dearly.

One of my closest friends died this week, a victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I have no idea what was the triggering event for him, the thing or things that clearly deemed to his mind that he had no hope left. What I did know was after I left the same company he worked for over two years ago, my contact with him had waned significantly. I had recently been in closer contact with him and we had even planned to have dinner one day soon. I had no warning of his pending actions which ultimately would lead to his death. It is easy to say, “If only ...”; that somehow taking a more positive step towards reconnecting with him that I could have understood the pain he was not so obviously in.

Hindsight is a good tool to figure out ways to improve things that a learning experience can be gleaned from. Due to the nature of my friend’s passing, I cannot figure out how to repair the kilt for him. Instead, I must apply myself to a better end, to involve myself in the lives of my friends who remain and to honor my friend though a renewed sense of emotional tailoring.

In the spirit of my friend, Neil Wolff, I would humbly ask that each of you take some extra time in the coming days to evaluate your emotional tailoring and renew yourselves to your family and friends. Take the time to talk with your friends and to reach out. Fix their kilt and in doing so, strengthen the emotional threads that will help you survive as well.

God Speed, Neil. You were a brother to me and I shall miss you for the rest of my days.

Mike Rowland,
Peetz, Colo.

City Council Meeting Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall and Supporting Materials

The Sidney City Council will take up a number of issues when it meets this Tuesday evening at 7:15 PM in the Sidney City Council Chambers. Among the items for consideration:

Boot Hill Cemetery Chairperson Cathy Wilson makes a request for firearms discharge as part of the Pony Express Ceremonies.

Mayor Dave Wiederspon will make a formal recommendation to the city council on names for consideration to replace Dave Zackowski and Harold Perkins, both of whom have elected to forego further service on the city's planning commission. After a public solicitation in the Sidney Sun-Telegraph, Jeff Campbell and Tom Dial have both expressed interest in the position. Each man provided a letter expressing their intent to help the people of Sidney and detail some of their experiences they felt would be beneficial to the community.

What is wrong with enforcing the law?

States have historically adopted and codified federal law into state statues for decades. One such federal law, called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act was a cornerstone federal law that set boundaries for establishing guideline rules and laws for the administration of justice for children in separated relationships. Almost every state in the nation has incorporated vast provisions within state law without any issues or complaint from anyone.

Now comes Arizona with a similar attempt to codify a federal law, this time immigration. Not only has the backlash been inflammatory in nature, the tone taken by Obama Administration officials borders (pun intended) on the insane.

Critical Masses?

While the results of the city council primary race made a few people, including the candidates, scratch their heads, it also underscored the need for people to be as informed as possible when choosing those who are to govern them. The analysis that follows herein is meant to examine the outcome before the canvassing board met last Thursday and the subsequent changes found from those who were early/absentee voters.

Of surprising note was how well several first time candidates performed. Mark Nienhueser surpassed two incumbents, Dalan Hiett and Marvin Filsinger to secure the number two position in voter popularity. Although his vote tally was nearly 150 votes behind Wendall Gaston's 904, he has clearly emerged as an early game-changer in the race for the city's future leadership. Nienhueser's strong showing, in a primary that had higher than historical average turnout bodes well for the Cabela's vice president and presents challenges for both Filsinger and Hiett who hope to sway enough voters in November to return to the council chambers for another four year term.

Nelsen steals the show

Candidate Tamara Nelsen has passed Zane Hall by a count of 288 to 287 after a recount verified the updated results from the provisional and absentee ballots.

This puts Nelsen in the crucial sixth and final primary candidate spot for November's general elections.

More to come later.

Recount!

The results of the canvasing board show a one vote difference between Zane Hall and Tamara Nelsen. State statutes require a recount if the difference between the winning candidate is less than one percent of the top vote getter's count. That number is currently nine based on the over 900 votes received by Wendall Gaston.

Candidate Nelsen waived her right to recount, but Candidate Hall did not so the recount will commence momentarily.

Results of provisional ballot count

Vote counts in the Sidney City Council race between Tamara Nelsen and Zane Hall add 6 additional votes each to their total. The gap remains unchanged, with the next step being the counting of some 240 additional absentee/early votes.

The additional votes are being processed at this time.

Primary vote turnout higher than state, higher than local historical primary average

Turnout for Tuesday's primary elections was 7 percentage points higher than the historical average.

More than 2200 votes were cast out of nearly 6900 registered county voters.

Canvassing Board meets at 2:00 PM today

The Cheyenne County Elections Canvassing Board will meet today at 2:00 PM at the courthouse in Sidney. The purpose of the meeting will be to certify the results of the vote count from the Tuesday primary election and to also count some 243 late absentee ballots that were received Friday and Monday, and to verify 28 provisional ballots cast during the election day activities.

Theguardiannews will cover the canvassing board activities live and will make up to the minute reports on the outcome, particularly in the Sidney City Council race. Currently, first-time candidates Zane Hall and Tamara Nelsen are separated by a slim 16 votes and either could benefit from a swing in the voter sentiments as revealed by the board.

Both candidates feel that there is potential for excitement in the end results and are cautiously optimistic that the the few remaining votes may help secure their position or upset the apple cart of public opinion.

Be sure to check back frequently this afternoon in order to get the scoop... We will have it here first.

Hackleman disappointed with primary results, maintains resolve to help the city move forward

For former Sidney City Council Candidate Tim Hackleman, the results Tuesday night were less than what he hoped for. "I was surprised and disappointed," He wrote in an email to theguardiannews. "I think that the results would have been different all the way around, had there been a larger voter turn out."

Hackleman said that it should stand as a testament that primary elections are just as important as the general election and people shouldn't take it for granted the person they support will advance if people don't vote.

Hackleman, who campaigned in large measure through his Website, often had to make changes to counter anonymous comments that directed questions or blame to sitting council members or other members of the community. At times, the comments bordered on the more vicious side of the debate regarding over trust and equality of treatment under the law. Despite the challenges encountered during his first attempt at public service in Sidney, Hackleman continues to look at the bright side.

"All in all, it was a fantastic experience," he wrote. "I learned so much and will hopefully continue to learn. I love this city." He hopes to remain engaged in local public service. Hackleman plans to talk with City Manager in the coming weeks about possible service on the Historical Preservation Society board. He believes that the proximity of the I-80 corridor is a money pipe that needs to be directed into downtown business opportunities."

"I think the Historic District is the way to tap into it," he wrote, indicating the tourism and travel dollars that come into town at the exits from the interstate and how they could be used to build up the downtown area. Hackleman wrote that a strong downtown business area will help grow jobs and sales tax revenues.

Hume, "touched, honored" by choice of the voters

Gradually assuming the many of the duties of the Clerk of the Cheyenne County District Court was a challenge that Republican challenger Debra Hume readily accepted as the retiring Edith Baumbaugh began to transition away from some of the tasks during the last several years. That effort, however, was small by comparison to the amount of effort it took to get into the campaign to hold the seat  Baumbaugh vacated earlier this year.  It took more than words of encouragement from her husband Rick and all of her friends. It took coaxing from her mother.

"She believed in me," said Hume.  When prayer and encouragement from some of her closest friends seemed to not be enough, her mother told her, ""She told me, Debra, you run,""

Wanting to run for a political office can be daunting for a first time candidate.  In fact, after the Cheyenne County Commissioners appointed Volkmer, Hume questioned her willingness to run at all. Wanting to advance one's career by appealing to those whom are served can be intimidating and Hume gives credit to those people closest to her for giving her the courage to put her hat in the ring.

"I have a lot of ladies and gentlemen who stepped up and put their faith in me," said Hume.

Her mother's advice, coupled with those around her turned out to be solid for Hume, who secured the Republican nomination with a strong showing in the election, winning by approximately 300 votes over the appointed incumbent Volkmer. The results may have surprised some people in Cheyenne County, but Hume was not surprised by the results.

We worked hard," she said. "We had a lot of good supporters who walked the streets and put signs up." Hume said that the support that received from volunteers, family and friends gave her a sense of strength and hope. Several times she commented on how prayer and the love of her family helped her to keep a positive attitude.

Campaigning took Hume and many of her supporters out of their comfort zones. "Most of us had never been door to door before, but they believed in me ...  put their faith in me. I feel honored."

Volkmer, who currently holds the position that Hume will most likely assume early next year, remains as the District Court Clerk by virtue of her appointment. Whether any early transition of some duties will happen is up to Volkmer, according to Hume.  "I totally respect the position and I will do what I need to do," she said. "A lot of that (the duties to be passed along) is up to Deanna, but I have done many of those tasks for quite a while, but we will see what happens."

The impact of the primary race results is still sinking in on Hume. "I am very touched that I got the votes I got," she said. "I am proud that people stood up for what they believed in me, and that they went out of their comfort zone. I am very blessed."

Nelson, Hall wait on results of final, uncounted ballots for city council primary race

The slim majority lead held currently by Zane E. Hall over 7th place finisher Tamara Nelsen is well within the margin of change possible when the Cheyenne County elections canvassing board takes up the issue of counting approximately 240 absentee ballots along with 28 provisional ballots cast on Tuesday.

According to a post on her campaign blog site, Nelsen feels she still may have a chance yet to pass current sixth place candidate Hall. Currently Hall holds a slim lead of sixteen votes over Nelsen, who graciously thanked her supporters for their efforts in promoting her campaign.

Based on the nature of those who tend to vote early and absentee, the odds may indeed favor Nelsen. Zane Hall, who ran pretty much a grassroots effort to get younger people involved in the race might need a little Scott's Turfbuilder to preserve his lead, if the choice were limited to just these two candidates.

Although it will not be impossible for Nelsen to pick up some extra votes in the canvassing board tally beginning Thursday afternoon, based on the results from Tuesday evening, there will most likely be a strong gap between the top three and the rest of the pack.

Far stranger things have happened in the world of politics.

Top six vote getters advance to November Ballot

Wendall Gaston, Mark Nienhueser and Marvin Filsinger were the top three vote getters in today's Cheyenne County Primary election for Sidney City Council.

Gaston received 804 votes, with Nienhueser bringing in 674 votes and Gaston trailing in third place with 602 votes.

Dalan Hiett was fourth with 542 votes. Roger Gallaway captured 308 votes in his third bid for a council seat. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Zane Hall, who captured additional support in the crucial Sidney District 5 precinct to move ahead of first time candidate Tamara Nelsen with 253 votes. Nelsen garnered 237 votes.

Tim Hackleman received 214 votes, Tracy Hruza had 161 votes, and Jim Hansel, who dropped out of the race for personal reasons earlier, still managed to collect 56 votes.

Amendment 1 also went down to close defeat 995 against and 971 for. The amendment would allow local governments to purchase property for the benefit of nonprofit entities.

The results are unofficial and are subject to change as a determination must be made on more than 300 provisional ballots, whose outcome could sway the outcome the 4th-6th positions on the ballot.

Hume, Jensen, Fiegenschuh easily defeat opposition to advance to November Ballot

One incumbent, one challenger and one open seat candidate will advance to the November general election ballot if preliminary election results from the Cheyenne County Primary elections hold at their current margins.

Debra Hume, the long-time deputy clerk of the district court easily defeated incumbent Deanna Volkmer by a three to two margin. Volkmer had been appointed in January to fulfill the unexpired term of Edith Baumbaugh, who retired.

Beth Fiegenschuh who ran on a platform of 16 years experience proved more than a match for former county employee Sarah Deaver, winning by a two to one against the first time candidate.

Chief Deputy John Jenson had perhaps the strongest showing of the county candidates. He defeated challenger and three-time sheriff's department employee Patrick Jenks by a 1409 to 202 margin.

Please check the Cheyenne County Website for up to date information on totals for each office.

Hume victory almost assured

Flash

With all precincts reporting, Clerk of the district court candidate debra hume has tallied a 960 to 667 vote lead. Unless results from provisional ballots skew heavily in Volkmer's favor, Hume will advance to the November ballot. Results are unofficial.

It all comes down to Sidney 5

Sidney 5th district has just been delivered. It is the largest voting district with over 1300 registered voters. It has the potential to be a game changer in the city council election.

Results coming in now

Please check the primary day post for up to the minute results

Primary Day Coverage

This post will be updated throughout the day with time stamps. If people have information from the outlying areas in Cheyenne County, please call me at 540-354-7636 with your report. Reports will be listed by time. It is vitally important to get every registered voter out to the fairgrounds for those living in Sidney. If you someone who needs assistance to get to the fairgrounds, please help them get their voices heard.

======News from Election Day=====
7:15 AM Light turnout at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds, home to five of the ten voting precincts. Election officials indicate that early voting was up significantly and that party change registrations as well as first-time voter registrations are very high. Election officials are cautiously optimistic that turnout will be higher than normal this year and encourage all to vote. Next big push, Lunch time.

11:32 AM: Traffic has been light but steady at the fairgrounds so, as lunch approaches, more and more of the precinct voting stations are beginning to fill up.

12:07 PM: Traffic flow is beginning to increase. One voter complained to election officials about the inability to vote for certain party-affiliated races because he was an independent. The election official explained to the voter that primary race ballots are split by party affiliation but that all offices are on the general election ballot in the fall.

Jon Boothe, commented that there wasn't much to vote for if you weren't a registered Republican, an observation at the strongly conservative leanings Cheyenne County traditionally exhibits.

12:40 PM while preparing an update, was approached by a poll worker who instructed me to refrain from using the web function on my phone. Polling place directives preclude the use of cell phones, but no directive exists for text messaging, or web functions. Additional information was provided by asst. County Clerk who explained that cell phone calls were restricted to prevent disruption to voters, but that web access or texting was permissible.

On the vote front, turnout continues to be light but steady. Of the 24+ ballot stations in use, I have yet to see more than half filled at one time. People may be waiting till after 5:00 PM.

4:24 PM: Things are picking up at the fairgrounds now. There were nearly 20 people casting their vote as this was being written.

4:49 PM: The excuses are flowing now. Two junior poll workers, whose job it is to assist voters as tithe correct precinct to vote in have a friendly challenge going. The contest between them is to see who can find the location the fastest. From the accounts of the two, supervised by an adult poll worker, Miss Sarah has the lead over Mr. Sam presently with a little more than two hours to go.

5:04 PM: news flash. With a little less than two hours remaining, approximatly 22% of those eligible to vote in the five Sidney precincts have exercised their right to vote.

On a side note, Cathy Wilson approached me about a previous post while writing this update. Despite my instruction to her that the polling place was not appropriate for her choice of conversation, she persisted, a fact which was noted by others present.

5:26 PM: The number of people who have come in the last 20 minutes is approximately double the number from the previous hour.

5:59 PM The push seems to have subsided, many people wearing the characteristic green lanyard have made their way into the voting area. It looks like the turnout will be reflected in the statements, including my assessments at around 25-28% or registered voters. The next update will be the initial vote tally's from the courthouse. There is still an hour to go. If you know someone who is eligible to vote, or is unsure if they are registered, get them down to the voting stations to see what needs to be done. Every vote counts this year, especially!




===========================================


Here are the unofficial results (scheduled to be released around 7:30 PM this evening) contested positions only will be covered. Final, unofficial results will be posted for all office seekers as they are made available to the media.
http://www.co.cheyenne.ne.us/2010PrimaryResults.htm


@@@@@ 9 of 9 precincts reporting@@@@@

Amendment One...
Allows municipal governments the ability to purchase land for the benefit of nonprofit entities...
971 for
995 against
Cheyenne County Clerk, 4 year term
Sarah J. Deaver 491
Beth E. Fiegenschuh, incumbent 1145

Cheyenne County Clerk of the District Court, 4 year term
Debra A. Hume 960
Deanna Volkmer, incumbent, appointed 667

Cheyenne County Sheriff, 4 year term
Patrick J. Jenks 202
John D. Jenson 1409

Sidney City Council, 4 year term (3 positions)
Marvin Filsinger, incumbent 602
Roger M. Gallaway 308
Wendall F. Gaston, incumbent 804
Tim Hackleman 214
Tracy Hruza 161
Zane E. Hall 253
Jimmie Hansel – withdrawn from ballot 56
Dalan Hiett, incumbent 542
Tamara Nelsen 237
Mark Nienhueser 674

Sidney School Board, 4 year term
Randy Flamig, incumbent
Brian Fort
Brett Lococo
Thomas Von Seggern, incumbent
Jeffrey R. Wernsman, incumbent

Potter School Board, 4 year term
Valerie Ball
Chris Bogert
Kimberly Gotfrey
Brad Hicks
Mike Rotert

Excercising more than your waist line

As I sit here writing this piece, I want to come up with some catchy turn of phrase that will ignite a turn out of massive proportions for the people of Sidney and Cheyenne County. What can one person say that causes another to act on something the founders died for to make possible.

The escape from British colonial rule was a difficult and fragile time for the fledgling nation that was determined to prevent the kind of excesses imposed by an uncaring monarchy three thousand miles to the east. Part of the plan, they reasoned, would be to elect their leaders from the body public. First, free white male land owners, then former slaves, then women, all took their turns at the ballot box as we grew into a mature nation.

The essence that stabilized that fragile nation 223 years ago provides to all of us the chance to perpetuate the great experiment into the future with our voices, our votes.

Whether you are voting for someone, something or against something, your voice truly only counts when you exercise your precious right to vote. Some of the races will effectively end tomorrow as county wide races for Sheriff, County Clerk and District Court Clerk offices are Republican primary contests. These winners will most likely be elected if they advance to the November Ballot. Other office holders for various school boards and county commissioners are likewise lightly contested or open.

Three Sidney City Council candidates will fail to advance after the votes are cast and counted tomorrow. Which ones will you vote for? You have three choices and the six top vote getters will square off in November. How well have you done your homework to ensure you are not just voting on name recognition, or what you heard someone say in a coffee shop? How many sources did you consult, including talking with candidates to see if their goals and ideals match up to your own?

Tomorrow is Primary Day in Cheyenne County, Neb. You may not get what you want just because you vote, but at least you draw your own line in the sand though this precious exercise. You could allow someone to vote for you and remain silent and be fish, waiting for the right bait to come along. Wouldn't it be better to be the fisherman, who after careful study of the waters and the shore grasses, understands where the big fish lie, biding their time.

My friends, It is time to be the fisherman. Please vote on Tuesday May 11th and let the fishes know that you will be heard and they will listen.

City Council Meeting Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall and Supporting Materials

The Sidney City Council will take up a full slate of activities this Tuesday evening as it considers items from financial statements to zoning requests. A replacement nomination for the Library Board comes before the council as Doris Jensen offers Sidney Public Schools teacher Michelle Onstott to fill the unexpired term of Gina Rosdail who resigned last fall.

Perhaps the biggest item on the agenda will be the consideration of a new ordinance to regulate and mitigate the operation commonly referred to has panhandling that has drawn public and media attention in the last few weeks. The ordinance seeks to discourage professional panhandlers who camp out at street corners, particularly at the intersection of 385 and East Old Post Rd near Wal Mart, Runza and other businesses, by requiring that special permits to panhandle be obtained prior to fund raising activities commence.

Cheyenne County wide candidates forum in Potter

For reference, Julie Young taped the recent candidate forum for the three contested county-wide offices up for a primary vote. Since all three races are contested by Republican candidates, the winner of these races Tuesday evening will only have to face write in candidates in November as no Democratic challengers have come forward.

Excepts from the forum can be found here, or by going to Julie Young's Website. Theguardiannews wishes to thank Ms. Young for her taking the time and effort to inform the citizens of Cheyenne County during this primary season.

Michael Rowland
Publisher

Response to attacks on me from Tim Hackleman's Campaign Blog commenters

Publisher's note: I received an email from Tim this morning in which he explained that he removed a couple comments from people who were not using his site to promote or educate voters about his positions. I thank him for doing so and encourage everyone to use these resources in a way that positively reflects on the elections underway.

Tim,

I feel I need to address a couple things regarding those who comment on your blog. This information is being sent to your email, your site and this site in the hope that you will receive the message. Your site is a campaign site, not a bash Mike Rowland Site. Several times now I have asked you to remove references to me by your posters. You have changed your site from a free for all un-moderated site to one where you at least approve of the comment before posting. There is no reason to post any comment with my name on it, and yet you persist in allowing such material to flow through your site. You are right, I am not the Sidney Citizen. I appreciate the statement of your belief that I am not the writer of the anonymous paper. I don't understand your statement minimizing my ties to local businesses downtown as being a key to understanding the problems outlined by the Sidney Citizen, to the extent any such comments are valid.

***UPDATED**** Dog Dodges Hangman, has new lease on life

There is joy in Mudville this day as the German shepard no longer has to walk the green mile, but instead finds greener pastures in the care of a family who adopted him moments ago. Special thanks to the concerned citizen who forwarded the information of the dog's circumstances and to the family opened their hearts and home to a new member.


===== Original Post========
A concerned citizen just informed me that an unclaimed, untagged German shepard is on his last day of hold prior to euthanasia procedures being applied per city ordinance. According to the information supplied theguardiannews, the dog is an adult male, who appears to be pure bred in appearance, though no paperwork accompanies the animal. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact White Bluffs Veterninary Hospital immediately at 308-254-2704.

Constitutional Amendment on ballot

Among the various state and local election choices voters will have to consider is a constitutional amendment to allow counties, cities and villages to acquire, own, develop and lease of finance real and personal property by nonprofit enterprises for non religious purposes. Another provision in the amendment allows localities to issue revenue bonds in order to acquire such property.

Localities will not be able to condemn any land or property as part of the acquisition process, nor will localities be able to levy any tax to pay for any such purchase permitted under the proposed amendment.

Theguardiannews provides this information in order to let voters know the potential impact on their choices in the upcoming primary election next Tuesday.

Open Door Policy

You may have noticed that I have not been writing very much lately. It isn't that I have given up on the people of Sidney, but rather the result of open doors and closing doors that brings me to today's resumption of theguardiannews.

County Commissioners Meeting Monday, May 3rd Cheyenne County Courthouse 8 AM

CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
AGENDA - MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners and Board of Equalization will consider, take
necessary action and may go into Executive Session, when applicable, concerning the following:

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

8:00 A.M. Roll Call
Announce Open Meetings Law Act
Approve current Agenda
Approve Minutes from meeting on April 19, 2010

8:15 A.M. Claims
Review correspondence, if any

9:30 A.M. Diane Scott, County Treasurer
Pledged Securities Report

9:45 A.M. Darrell Johnson, County Sheriff
Installation of new generator

10:00 A.M. Tom Noel, Highway Superintendent
Update on road activities

10:30 A.M. Comments from the Public

City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 27, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall and Supporting Materials

City Council will take up a moderately heavy schedule this evening with a proclamation from the Elks for Youth Week as the first week in May, the presentation of a check for $400.00 to Leadership Cheyenne County for working with the ACE (choice energy campaign) program, A fence request from Harold Tremain, Subdivision of property between the Neinhuesers and the Pippetts, Planning and Tree Board Appointments, a review of financial statements, Nebraska Legislature update and city manager/department head reports.

All of the city information has been combined into one document with bookmarks to allow you to follow along for convenience.

Mike Rowland
Publisher

Male Brindle Boxer ***STILL ***Missing

I spoke with Jake via telephone today and he informed me that Mooch is still missing. The family is very concerned and wants to let everyone know that they appreciate the help in locating him and hope he is found soon.

Courtesy Posting by Wagon Tails Animal Rescue
wagontailsanimalrescue.com

A two year old brindle boxer named, "Mooch," has been missing since this past weekend. The dog has a chromium chock chain and city tags. If you see him, have found him or know where he might be, please contact Jake at (308) 249-1495 or (308) 254-5759. Please spread the word and help return this family pet to his home.

Sidney Survey Results (edited)

Publisher's note: I received the survey from the city staff today. It is called edited as the PADD group who conducted the survey, performed edits on the comments made by citizens in order to remove names or other potentially "libelous" statements as described on page two.

I have altered the document only to the extent that I have performed a technique called OCR on the pages. OCR, or optical character recognition is a process by which scanned pages are examined in an attempt to read the document for it's text content.

As a result of using this technique, the document is now search-able if you have the adobe reader. If you need the reader, go to adobe.com.

The planning commission will be holding training sessions on each section of the survey's results and will be incorporated into the comprehensive plan the city will use to guide resource use for the next several years. All citizens are encouraged to review this and share it with your neighbors. Your elected representatives need your input, in conjunction with this survey report to help provide the necessary guidance for the future.

Michael Rowland
Publisher

2010 Election Coverage

Bookmark this Page 

May 3rd Candidate Forum
Candidate Nelsen interview post this evening

The purpose of this page is to provide a resource for people to learn about which candidates are seeking their vote on a variety of county and city related positions. Links to biographical information, news and candidate interviews will be provided as necessary to help provide the people of Cheyenne County in obtaining as much information about each candidate as possible prior to the election. Theguardiannews does not take any position endorsing any candidate for any office.

Who's lookin' out for you?

The number of postings on theguardiannews has been very light for the last couple weeks.  I have been dealing with a number of issues, but rest assured that I am still involved and continue to bring information out that is of use to the people of Sidney and Cheyenne County.

I am presently finishing up stories on two city council candidates and am in the process of getting a couple more interviews completed for other office holders before the primary elections. Stay tuned, because early next week will be quite revealing.

As always, I am deeply appreciative of your readership, feedback and support. Let me know how I can make the guardiannews a better starting point for your election coverage in 2010.

Mike Rowland
Publisher

"Sidney Citizen" attacks "Posers," and presents it's own plan for Sidney

Publisher's Note: I am publishing parts of the last two pages in what the anonymous Sidney Citizen claims to be it's fourth edition. I did not publish the third edition, nor a forth edition in March as neither issue did anything to create substantive debate. A letter purported to be from the Sidney Citizen on March 16th was significantly different in tone and direction from letters one through three, and now followed by a new forth edition excerpted below. 

I am not taking a position on any of the issues, except to strongly suggest that item 1.(d) pertaining to the budget, in the face of more than 50% of local sales tax evaporating due to economic development refund requests and lack of state assistance to mitigate the problem. With respect to positions taken to eliminate certain jobs, I neither understand the reason for the job cut, nor the qualifications anyone currently holding the position has as a justifiable reason. The decision to cut jobs, benefits or services is a painful one that all citizens should be involved in. It is your tax dollars that do the city's work and you have every right to express your opinion and provide input. 

I would strongly suggest that those who support the either the items below, or the serious discussion of serious cuts to the existing budget now as well as new budget year planning coming up in August, you need to make your point known before the budget preparations sessions, and preferably before the primary election. Failure to act responsibly in voicing your opinions will leave you little room to complain if a project, economic or otherwise results in increased fees or taxes to accommodate those who choose to speak.

Michael C. Rowland

Publisher

County Commissioners Meeting Monday, April 19th Cheyenne County Courthouse 8 AM

CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
AGENDA - MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010

The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners and Board of Equalization will consider, take
necessary action and may go into Executive Session, when applicable, concerning the following:

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

8:00 A.M. Roll Call
Announce Open Meetings Law Act
Approve current Agenda
Approve Minutes from meeting on April 5, 2010

8:15 A.M. Claims
Review correspondence, if any
Review and consider approval of Monthly Fee Reports

9:30 A.M. John Fahey
Keno Satellite Location at Hillside Grill

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

10:00 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of:
Application for Tax Exemption on Motor Vehicles Owned by
Qualifying Nonprofit Organizations for Nebraska Food Bank

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

10:15 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of:

Application from Patrick and Paula Doyle to subdivide and rezone
a 7.24 acre tract of land to be known as Macie II Subdivision located
in part of the South Half of the South Half of Section 27, Township 14
North, Range 50 West of the 6th P.M., Cheyenne County, Nebraska

Vacation of Macie Subdivision

Application to change zoning from Agricultural to Residential Estate
for Macie II Subdivision

10:30 A.M. Tom Noel, Highway Superintendent
Review and consider approval of Supplemental Agreements
and Resolutions designating a Responsible Charge for Project
STPE 1132(1) and Project STPE 1135(2)

Review and consider approval of Snow Removal Contract with
United States Air Force

11:00 A.M. Cheyenne County Fairboard
Maintenance of fairgrounds
Security during Fair
Fuel reimbursement for personal vehicle use during Fair

11:45 A.M. Comments from the Public

Proposed fix bus route to be cost neutral to the city in year one

Plans to add a new fixed route bus schedule to the Sidney public transportation system will not add additional costs to city taxpayers, according to  Sidney City Manager Gary Person.

A review of the application for federal and state transportation assistance shows that 75% of the startup and first-year operational costs will be paid by state and federal  agencies,  25% and 50%,  respectively. Of the remaining 25% or $71,151.50, Person  said  that with a commitment of sponsorship from the Cheyenne County Visitors  Committee in the amount of $20,000, the first year operational costs will not exceed the planned budget for the dial-a-ride program.

Beware the Snuffleupagus

Oh, Bird! The sounds you may be hearing in your neighborhood early in the morning are not from the re-incarnated muppett from your childhood, but rather the sounds of compressed air being though two high-pressure pipes. With better weather improving the prospects for street maintenance, a company from eastern Nebraska will be performing a process to improve and protect neighborhood streets from moisture damage.

City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 13, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall

Among several agenda items this week, the Sidney City Council will conduct a public hearing to solicit feedback and approval for an additional public transportation bus and facilities. This project is being contemplated as part of the city's effort to expand the public transportation system to include a fixed bus route.

City Council Meeting Tuesday, April 13, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall, Supporting Materials

The following material is provided as supplied from the City Management offices.

Fairgrounds cleaning not up to par for Jaycees

The Sidney Jaycees came to the Cheyenne County Commissioners meeting to protest the withholding of 200 dollars damage. The deposit was part of the rental agreement when the civic group procured the fairgrounds property to host its annual Put-Put and Bar Crawl. The County Commissioners decided to refund half the deposit after reports of the facility's condition were reported back to them.

The conversation turned several times on charges that the facility was not properly cleaned after the event. According to information presented by Cheyenne County maintenance staff member  Shiela Conley, streaks were left on the floor, carpets were not vacuumed and several toilets were dirty.

Sidney Community Blood Drive April 19th

Have Joy and give thanks for all that He has done.

Listening to the dying process can be painful for those who must endure it. Like many people who have lost a parent to severe illness, I found myself struggling with grief as I listened to the failing respiration of a body fighting to live, but unable to command the necessary movements to breathe, to pump blood and to process stimuli in meaningful ways.

County Commissioners Meeting Monday, April 5th Cheyenne County Courthouse 8 AM

CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
AGENDA - MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010

The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners and Board of Equalization will consider, take necessary action and may go into Executive Session, when applicable, concerning the following:

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

8:00 A.M. Roll Call
Announce Open Meetings Law Act
Approve current Agenda
Approve Minutes from meeting on March 15, 2010

8:15 A.M. Claims
Review correspondence, if any

8:30 A.M. Ken Steffens
Sidney Jaycees damage deposit for Exhibit building

9:15 A.M. Diane Scott, County Treasurer
Louella Pippitt, County Assessor
Online access to land parcels and real estate taxes located
in Cheyenne County

9:30 A.M. Diane Scott, County Treasurer
Report on Pledged Securities

9:45 A.M. Quarterly jail inspection

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

10:00 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of:
Application for Tax Exemption on Motor Vehicles Owned by Qualifying Nonprofit Organizations for Cheyenne County Hospital Association

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

10:15 A.M. Paul Schaub, County Attorney
Fence on County road or within County right-of-way commencing at the corner of Sections 19, 20, 29 and 30, Township 13 North, Range 51 West of the 6th P.M., Cheyenne County, Nebraska

10:45 A.M. Review job applications for position on Building and Grounds staff

11:15 A.M. Tom Noel, Highway Superintendent
Update on road activities

11:45 A.M. Comments from the Public

There's no place like home for Google

Grow or Die?

There is some truth in the phrase the city manager and others have used that a city must grow or it will stagnate or die. The manner of that growth can be reasonably debated among those who care, but most would agree that a sensible balance between spending and return on invested capital is necessary to achieve the kind of growth that sustains a community and provides for the kind of revenue necessary to support existing services. Those who oppose some of the examples of growth Sidney has undertaken have been labeled as anti-growth or uninformed. I, for one, do not see the opposing view that some kinds of activities should be suspended during the tough times as anti-growth, but rather a need to absorb what we have done and to retool our approach for the future.

IPhone to come to Verizon and Sprint?

News reports have surfaced regarding potential plans to make Apple, Inc.'s IPhone device available to CDMA carriers Verizon and Sprint. These reports provide clues into what might be the beginning of the end for AT&T's strangle hold on the trendy smart phone and give millions of people outside of the current availability map hope to be as geeky as their resident computer tech.

Long seen as an innovator in the personal electronics space, Apple has won praise and numerous design awards for its crafting and refinement of small devices such as music players, home theater devices, wireless access devices and desktop computers. The company's hub application, ITunes was a central focus in the development of the IPod music device by hosting music and later video and tv programming. Apple created an instant competitor to Napster and other peer shared sites that seemed to make consumers and copyright holders happy. This application continues to be the central hub for what has been termed the digital lifestyle and Apple used it as a central docking station for its new device.

Health care law to correct "Mal distribution of income"

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Since this item was published, DNC Chairman Howard Dean has also jumped onto the income redistribution platform.

 Senior Democrat Max Baucus, D-Mont, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee  yesterday said that one of the benefits the new health care law will bring is a correction to what he termed a mal distribution in American income.

On having compassion

I looked at the Sun-Telegraph this morning as I do every day. A letter to the Editor from Jan in Dalton expressed both the extended sentiment on Todd Hansel's crimes and wishes that he have the sound and memory of his actions for the rest of his life. So many people in the area have pets that are intentionally abandoned or discarded because the chew on things or get away and the owner's simply stop caring. A during a conversation with several staff and citizens after the meeting, Julie Young cited that 26 animals were put down last year. The majority of those put down were licensed animals, whose owners had ten days to reclaim them. Just because these animals were euthanized in a quiet manner doesn't excuse the neglect of the families who owned them. The lives of these animals could have been spared by caring enough to find a different home for them or by teaching the animal how to "play" in  acceptable ways.

White Bluffs Vet Clinic gets 5 year deal

White Bluffs Veterinary Clinic received a contract to provide impound and other animal services to the city of Sidney for a period of five years after bids were formally presented to the pubic and council members present.

Citing a conflict of interest, Mayor David Wiederspon turned the meeting over to Vice Mayor Dalan Hiatt, who presided over the final portion of the meeting. Two bids were received from White Bluffs, and Sidney Veterinary Hospital.

Comments from the public included a question Ibs Young, who inquired as to the amount of the contract and whether it was necessary to bid for that amount. city attorney Jordan Ball provided information answered her question that due to the fact the Mayor was a bidder in the process and for the protection of the public interest was being served, the process was bid in an open manner.

Young also told council about a policy she observed while affiliated with the school board many years before, how some services were rotated among vendors who charged a standard fee. Additional comments, including those from acting Police Chief Joe Aiken revealed that the two vet offices in Sidney had dissimilar holding facilities, with White Bluffs' location having four runs with exterior access and Sidney Veterinary Hospital having only one. Aiken said there could be times where more than one animal would need to be impounded and Dr. Cook and his staff live outside of town. Shelter considerations in inclement weather were also a concern.

With respect to rotating services, councilman Dalan Hiatt said that he would entertain such discussion at some point in the future.

 Council voted unanimously voted to award the contract to White Bluffs, which is owned by the Mayor for a period of five years commencing April 1st, 2010.

Breaking News Vet service bids released ***UPDATED***

Publisher's Note: The following table is compiled from the bids submitted by White Bluffs Veterinary Clinic and Sidney Veterinary Hospital, PC. The original documents are provided afterward.

According to information shared with theguardiannews, Sidney police indicated that 18 dogs were euthanized during the previous year. This information was corrected after the city council meeting based on information provided by Julie Young who looked at the billing statements for the service for the last year.

City ordinance 618 provides for the regulation of animals in the city and specifies the rates the city charges owners who must pick up their animals from impound and also indicates the length of time a licensed or unlicensed animal will be impounded prior to being put down. Currently the time for licensed animals is 10 days from impound and 3 days for unlicensed animals. According to Major Joe Aiken the largest amount of cost in the animal control budget is the impound fees and the monthly fees. Aiken has prepared a report on animal control statistics and will share it with city council members and the public at tonight's council meeting (3/23/2010).

Health Care Bill passed by the U.S. House last night

Publisher's Note: This is the copy of the bill (HR3590) voted on 3/22/2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives. HR 4872 is the reconciliation measure that is being debated in the U.S. Senate this week. Both Bills were sourced from the Congress.gov Website. You may search the items, clicking the download option.

President Obama's Executive Order on Abortion Funding via Federal Sources

Publisher's Note: Criticism has been launched at Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mi. Below is the text of the executive order to be signed by President Barack Obama as part of the negeotiations to bring pro-life democrats back into the fold for the health care bill voted on yesterday evening.

City Council Meeting Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall

The Sidney city council will once again meet this Tuesday evening at 7:15 PM in the council chambers for the purpose of discussing several items, reports and updates from city staff. Public comment is welcome.

Among the items for consideration are will be consideration of the city's animal impound and veterinarian services agreement and the consideration of bids for the north side power transformer replacement project. The sales tax refund fund legislation update for LB 967 will also be covered, along with a request to review and approve the financial statements for the month of February, 2010.

Supporting documents for this council meeting may be viewed or downloaded from here.

Sidney City Council Meeting March 23rd, 2010 supporting materials

Publisher's Note: The following materials provided are for the pubic in support of the upcoming Sidney City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday March 23rd, 2010 at 7:15 P.M. The meeting is held in the council chambers at City Hall. These documents are provided in unaltered form and may be downloaded for reader convenience. Documents are provided in Adobe Acrobat form and require the Adobe Reader application to view if you download them. Viewing in browser requires Flash, also an Adobe product. To get either, please to go www.adobe.com.

Sidney City Council Open Meetings Act

Publisher's Note: The Open Meetings Act is covered as agenda item 1 for each city council meeting. This link will provide you the same link as provided to all persons requesting a copy and is the same item provided to the media. A permanent link to this resource is provided for your convenience.


Agenda # 1 Open Meetings Law

The death of the American way

I have been on record for more than a year against the Democratic health reform proposal. I am not against health care reform as it is a system in dire need of modification. The proposals offered by super majority in the Senate and the House bill will ultimately not make the cost curve bend down, but will raise taxes on small business and adversely affect long term wage growth and employment (at a time we can ill afford a stymied rebound).

Hansel to withdraw from city council race

Dear Mike,

After much discussion with my wife and children, we have agreed to have my name removed from the City Council ballot.

Our focus right now needs to be on our family, and on helping the community work through this…especially those directly impacted by and tied to this event. This will mean freeing up some of my commitments to allow more time and effort to be put into the community and family healing that needs to happen.

We pray that the loss of Daisy may open the eyes and strengthen the voices of those who can and should speak out to save the lives of many other pets who endure brutality and abuse at the hands of their owners.

We are very pleased with the excellent list of candidates who have their names on the ballot and wish them all the best this election year.

Sincerely,

Jimmie Hansel

Love the sinner, hate the sin

The arrest Thursday of Todd Hansel for felony cruelty to animals has left a larger impact than just the death of an innocent and helpless beagle puppy. The violent end of one creature’s life has caused additional harm to a troubled man, his companion, his family, and countless other households who have, or will need, to sit with their children to try answering “why” this happened to someone’s little puppy.

Gallaway says great things require great effort

People say the third time’s the charm. For long time Sidney resident Roger Gallaway, he hopes the adage comes true for him as he seeks a seat on the Sidney city council. With ten candidates vying for three seats, he will need more than the turn of a phrase to be successful in his third attempt in six years.

Gallaway feels a passion to serve the people of Sidney, Neb. He hopes to leverage his skills in communication and project management and hopes to combine them with his community spirit in what he hopes will be a winning bid for city council. During a phone interview lasting more than an hour,
Gallaway discussed a variety of issues, giving his insight on the current situation for Sidney along with the need to keep an eye on the future.

How hard is it to write a prescription?

Publisher's Note: If you a story to share about your health care experience, as a patient, health care provider or insurer, send it to guardianofsidney@gmail.com

A woman calls Sidney Medical Associates for a new prescription each month. It is a maintenance prescription for her and she asks for it to be dispensed for the non-generic form. She had tried the generic after her doctor (whom she really likes) inadvertently had her try the generic formulation and she found the results significantly differed from the regular, name brand drug.

City Council Candidate Roger Gallaway

Candidate: Roger M. Gallaway
Current Career: Media Director, Sidney Public Schools
Education: BS in Education, Chadron State, double major in Basic Business and Library Media with a coaching endorsement.

Other Activities: Coaches Track, has also coached football, softball and base ball for many years. Currently serves on the Way Out West Community Theatre Board of Directors and is Vice-President of the American Legion's Baseball Committee. Roger enjoys riding his motorcycle, working on his Sidney home. He owns rental property in town and can often be seen painting houses in the summer.


Roger has three children, two of whom are grown. He says he feels fortunate to have named each of his children. Stephanie Kay Gallaway, whom he wanted to have a name all her own is 23, John Roger Gallaway, who shares names from both his father and grandfather, is 21 and Rachael Marie Gallaway whose name was nearly given to sister Stephanie, shares a near constant middle name with other women in the Gallaway family. Rachael is 6. Marshal Steininger, 21 has lived with Roger since his senior year of high school. Steininger is the friend of his son, John, whom Gallaway met while coaching football. He came to live with the Gallaways during his senior year in high school after speaking with his mother and feeling like Sidney was the best place for him to finish school. Roger welcomed him into his home, "as the 6'7" son I never had." Steininger recently took a job in Sidney as well and makes his home here.

Roger is engaged to Wendy Evertson of Chadron, who also has two children, Jacob, 13 and Julie, 10.  The couple and children will continue to live here in Sidney once they are married.


"I have been promoting Sidney to others ever since I moved here in 1992. I realized early on that I really enjoyed being able to call Sidney home."

You may contact him regarding his candidacy at
roger.gallaway@gmail.com

Candidate Interview with theguardiannews

City Council Candidate Jim Hansel

Candidate: Jim (Jimmie) Hansel
Current Career: Chief Operations Officer Memorial Health Center and Executive Director of the Health Center Foundation

Other Activities: Preaches at Sidney Church of Christ.

Married to wife Cristy for almost 32 years. Jim and Christy have three grown children, Chelsey (28), Todd (25) and Brett (24). The Hansel's are high school sweethearts, having been married for nearly 32 years. In addition to sharing the same high school, the couple were also Senior Class President's in succeeding years (Jim, 1977; Cristy, 1978)

The couple make their home here in Sidney.

Jim Hansel has published a candidate site

You may contact him through his site or at
jim4sidneycc@hotmail.com

News for Jimmie Hansel
Hansel withdraws from city council race.
Impact of son's actions poses consequences for candidate Hansel.

City Council Straw Poll

Theguardiannews has created a simple poll to give its readers an opportunity to pick the city council candidates they hope will advance in the May primary election. The top six advance by state statute. Please be aware that this isn't a scientific poll, but merely a way to kind of see a snapshot of the people who have voted.

The Poll will be open until May 1st and readers may change their vote as often as they want to. You can also pick multiple answers so have fun with it. Candidates are watching the site. Let them know where you stand.

If you have questions for the candidates, send them to guardianofsidney@gmail.com and I will get them answered. Have a great day and good luck to all of the candidates.

Michael Rowland, Publisher

TheGuardianNews Opinion

People continue to chatter that I sought special treatment from local governments for information requests or a place at the city council media table.  Despite the publication of Susan Ernest's letter on sidneyne.blogspot.com, people continue to believe that I skewed Ernest's comments. I am of the opinion that a small group of people insist on believing what they want and refuse to see what has been placed before them in black and white.

Hyperbole

Candidate Tim Hackleman posted a thought on his position that there was too much division between the people of Sidney and the representatives on the City Council. I have to give him credit for taking all questions, but frankly, the ones being debated on that thread are beyond the scope of what I think he intended. That is just my opinion, but frankly it is probably time for people to stop using his site to bash me and do it here. All you have to do is put a verifiable name to your post. I would be happy to discuss your issues with me or the site and incorporate any positive and constructive criticisms.

For those interested in the thread in question, you may find it here.

Transparency a double-edged sword

When citizens complained about the perceived transparency over the nature of the dual roles Gary Person holds as City Manager and Economic Development Director, the amount of chatter and clamor for transparency was stunning. It was also the right thing to do as the public has a right to know what goes into the decision to create or modify policies that affect how the government is run, or how it is reported.

Ernest's assumptions anything but

OPINION PIECE WARNING

I wrote this week about being relegated to the kiddie media table after someone in the "traditional media" wrote a letter of complaint to city officials. The letter, which led to some research by city staff defined media in two forms as print or electronic wave-based media. I sought and obtained a copy of the letter from Jo Houser, utilizing the open records request form and paying my fee of sixty cents.

I received my receipt, forty cents change and six pages of paper which included a memo from the City Manager to city staff, A copy of Nebraska Statute 25-523, which defines a legal newspaper (for purposes of being a vehicle for public legal notices), and a letter from KSID radio GM Susan Ernest. What I did not get was the name of the city councilman who asked Gary to look into the issue of media definitions and I am still waiting that response from Gary Person. I have another dime, if necessary.

Candidate Interviews: Tim Hackleman, Sidney City Council

This past Monday, Sidney City Council Candidate Tim Hackleman sat down with me over lunch to discuss his candidacy and a host of positions and issues he feels are important to him and the people of Sidney. What follows is a frank discussion regarding issues he is passionate about and gives some insight as to the kind of councilman he would be, if elected.

County Commissioners Meeting Monday, March 15th Cheyenne County Courthouse 8 AM

8:00 A.M. Roll Call
Announce Open Meetings Law Act
Approve current Agenda
Approve Minutes from meeting on March 1, 2010

8:15 A.M. Claims
Review correspondence, if any
Review and consider approval of Monthly Fee Reports

9:00 A.M. Charlotte Dorwart
Advisory Council to Aging Office of Western Nebraska

9:30 A.M. Diane Scott, County Treasurer
Report on Tax Sale
Report on Pledged Securities

10:00 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of:

Application from Kyle Mettin, General Partner with Sparks Farms,
Ltd, for a 19.73 acre subdivision known as Sparks Farms Subdivision
located in the Northwest Quarter of Section 34, Township 15 North,
Range 49 West of the 6th P.M., Cheyenne County, Nebraska and an
application to change zoning from Agricultural to Residential Estate

Application from the Village of Lodgepole for an 8 acre subdivision
owned by Joseph D. and Patricia Anthofer known as Oberfelder's
Subdivision located in the Southeast Quarter of Section 31,
Township 14 North, Range 46 West of the 6th P.M., Cheyenne
County, Nebraska and an application to change zoning from
Agricultural to Light Industrial.
The land will be sold to the Village of Lodgepole for the
construction of a waste water retention lagoon

10:30 A.M. Tom Noel, Highway Superintendent
Update on road activities

11:15 A.M. Dixie Brown
Handyman Service 2010-2011 Budget

11:30 A.M. Comments from the Public

Candidate Tim Hackleman News Analysis Page

Publisher's Note: Candidate Hackleman's blog has been getting some attention lately. This page will provide summary analysis and links to specific posts/comments for your convenience. Candidate Hackleman has since posted a statement on his Blog that suggests theguardiannews has taken his prior statements out of context and that other candidates would look for similar treatment. 


Theguardiannews feels that a particular issue in this election has been made over the intentions of persons presently representing the City of Sidney. Mr. Hackleman until today has simply referred to this issue in very abstract ways. Today he mentions that the problem with City Council Members is that certain councilmen bid on city contracts and that if elected, he would change the practice to ban all elected or appointed officials from bidding on city work. 

His justification for the proposed policy is to avoid the appearance of impropriety. It is a policy he is committed to and as such, theguardiannews makes no statement for or against it. That is up to the public to decide.

With respect to the commentary below, theguardiannews does find fault with Hackleman's logic, primarily due to the fact that it is legally permissible for sitting councilmen to bid on city work and it has been so for a number of years.  The oversight protections employed statutorily act as an appropriate check and balance under the present law and castigating sitting council members for participating in a legal manner is just wrong.


If you don't like the policy, act to change it and hold people accountable for the changes that can be put into effect. Theguardiannews stands by the analysis below, but will be happy to correct any area that suffers from misstatement upon correction by interested parties.


This publication remains committed to bringing the candidate positions to the public for their consideration. It is unfortunate that Candidate Hackleman used unfortunate language to characterize the intent of this publication toward any candidate as untoward. I sincerely hope he will remove the language from his post as soon as possible.

You're not quite there yet ...

Last night's City Council meeting didn't offer up any surprise. No conflict with the agenda, no lengthy question and answer session, no complaints about council interference with city personnel, no fireworks at all. It was one of the most calm and effective meetings I had seen in quite a while.

There was something different about the meeting though. It reminded me of the holidays of my youth. You know the kind where family gathers around to hear stories about all that has happened since the last time they had seen each other. One holiday specifically came to mind, including one particular activity: Thanksgiving dinner.

A Call for Engagement

The City of Sidney is conducting a comprehensive plan review and update. A copy of the survey can be found on the Council meeting notes for March 9th. Residents should receive one in the mail or should go to city hall and pick up a copy if you don't get one in the next few days.

A question on the survey was misreported in the Sun-Telegraph, who said "... if you’re a family with children living outside of Sidney, what could motivate you to move to town?"

City Council Meeting Tuesday, March 9, 2010 7:15 PM City Hall

Publisher's Note: The materials for the agenda are contained in a separate post.

theGuardianNews wants to hear you on Health Care Reform

For nearly a year now, the Congress has been primarily focused on the issue of health care reform. A  bitter debate over whether or not the government should be a single-payer system as in medicare, how to stop the practice of pre-existing conditions, or mandating that all people buy coverage, in order to spread the risk.

Sidney City Council Meeting March 9, 2010 supporting materials

`The following materials are provided as provided to theguardiannews by City of Sidney staff. An update for missing item 9 has been added.s

Jaycee funding effort par for the course

Recently, Jaycee President David Fritz came to the Sidney City Council to have March 1-7th proclaimed "Sidney Jaycee Week." Many of the community and youth activities the group promotes are done because of the money generated through fund raising activities. This weekend marks the third annual appearance of one such event, dubbed the "3rd annual Put-Put and Bar Crawl."

Will Walk (Ski, Snowshoe) for Mood

I work in the outdoor industry, a category that may be considered by some economic experts as a frivolous expenditure, especially given our economic slowdown.

I won’t deny it costs money to recreate. There’s the cost of gas, the purchase of gear and appropriate clothing, and equipment rental to name a few costs. While all off these items incur a dent in the checkbook register, if you’re like me, it costs more to forgo the “frivolity.” To me, a day outside is a necessity, not an extraneous expenditure. For me, it’s a return back to what’s important.

Keeping things on track

I had the chance last weekend to go on a snowshoe outing with friends. It marked the second annual event to play in the snow.  This year's spirit cleanse was found on Rabbit Ear's Pass, just outside of Steamboat Springs, Col.

While on the sojourn, I came across some cross country ski tracks left by people trying to get over a hill. It caused me to think about my present situation in a way I hadn't appreciated before.

Cheyenne County Commissioners to meet March 1st

CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CHEYENNE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
AGENDA - MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010

The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners and Board of Equalization will consider, take
necessary action and may go into Executive Session, when applicable, concerning the following:

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

8:00 A.M. Roll Call
Announce Open Meetings Law Act
Approve current Agenda
Approve Minutes from meeting on February 16, 2010

8:15 A.M. Claims
Review correspondence, if any

9:00 A.M. Sue Warner, Marketing Specialist for Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance
Introduce Tara Stevenson, new Blue Cross/Blue Shield Representative

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

10:00 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of Exemption
Application for Tax Exemption on Motor Vehicles Owned by
Qualifying Nonprofit Organizations for Regional West
Medical Center

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

10:15 A.M. Rob Roderick, Sidney Volunteer Fire Department
Review and consider approval of Special Designated Liquor
License for Fireman's Ball on April 16, 2010

10:30 A.M. Tom Noel, Highway Superintendent
Update on road activities

11:00 A.M. Public Hearing to review and consider approval of One and Six Year Road Improvement Plan

11:15 A.M. Comments from the Public

Jordan tells council to get back on the Ball

The North Substation Transformer's arcing and sparking aside, there were few fireworks at last night's Sidney City Council meeting. With a couple public comments and considerably less public participation, council took up a schedule of ten items that included a proclamation for the Jaycees, the Northside Transformer project and the one and six year road plan.

When Mayor Wiederspon called for public comments under last night's agenda, City Attorney Jordan Ball rose to the podium.  Ball made a statement in which he suggested Council take a different approach in dealing with the public comments section of the bi-monthly council meetings.

'Our Clothing Store' dressed for success long before it opened the doors

In a recent post to TheGuardianNews, Starla Eleson described a meeting in which a Sidney, Neb. community-owned clothing store was discussed. She talked about similar efforts in Torrington and other communities who sought to establish ways to recapture shopping dollars spent elsewhere. They also hoped to create local jobs and further stimulate local downtown areas that had seen a rough time of things in recent years.

City Council Meeting February 23rd, 7:15 PM City Hall

UPDATED: MAYOR's Agenda item 

Publisher's Note: City Council is now providing electronic copies of the agenda and supporting information. This is the same information supplied to members of the media. Theguardiannews will make available a copy of this packet to anyone interested. Please send your inquiry to guardianofsidney@gmail.com one will be returned to you by close of business that day.

For purposes of brevity, summary items from the supporting documents will be added below each agenda item as applicable.

The lie of the Tiger

"I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. I brought this shame on myself. I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife's family, my friends, my foundation, and kids all around the world who admired me."

These words and more were spoken by a visibly shaken Tiger Woods today as he read from a prepared statement in front of a live camera this morning in Florida.

Torrington eyes community-owned clothing store (2005 Reprint)

Publisher's Note: Tom Mast gave permission to re-post this article. The community store effort that has been discussed along with Ms. Eleson's article made me go look for some deeper information on this issue.  The store in Torrington, WY is still apparently in business. The article below appeared in the Star-Tribune in January of 2005. Note also how much money they thought they needed to raise to get their effort off the ground. I did not see a reference in the article posted earlier on how the ownership model would be employed, but the idea of limiting the maximum number of shares an individual may hold seems like a good check against a large investor having undue influence in the direction the store might take.

One more bit of information: Our Clothing Store has apparently been sold to a Nebraska company located in Scottsbluff. More information to follow.

TOM MAST Star-Tribune staff writer
Sunday, January 16, 2005

Economic development officials in Goshen County hope to raise $450,000 by this spring in an effort to create a new clothing retail outlet.

By so doing, they want to reduce the "leakage" of money that results when local people shop elsewhere for goods, like in nearby Scottsbluff, Neb.

Brad Sutherland, executive director and sole employee of the Goshen County Economic Development Corp., said the effort to create a community owned store is similar to a successful venture launched in Powell.

Man sets fire to house, flies plan into federal IRS building

A 53 year old unemployed software engineer named Andrew Joseph Stack, III flew a plane believed to be owned by him into an office building in Austin, Texas today. It appears from the investigation thus far that Stack was despondent over his loss of income and frustrated with the federal government, particularly the IRS.

Stack took his frustrations out first in an online rant, subsequently published on Foxnews.com.  He rambles about how long it could take to fill up the piece with examples, but finds it, "pointless...especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head."

Stack's anger at the IRS was, in part, due to federal regulations that permit churches to remain exempt from taxation. He claimed that his actions were intended to bring attention to the laws that govern such policies that, "make a mockery of people who earn an honest living."

It also appears that Stack set his own house on fire with family members inside his home in Austin prior to launching his plane.

Executive Usurpation of the Constitution

President Obama today signed an executive order that creates a deficit reduction committee, the purpose of which is to get control over the massive deficits this nation has incurred, particularly since late 2008.

The commission, comprised of 18 members, six of whom will be Republicans, named by congressional Republican leaders, plus two additional Republicans named by the President.

We elected members to congress in part to hold responsibility for the purse strings. They have the sole power of federal taxation and appropriation and have used both to devastating effect on the US economy. The President has instituted, by fiat, a usurpation of Congressional Constitutional authority.

Cabela's Inc. Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2009 Results

Information Supplied by Cabela's Press Release.

Fourth Quarter Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.77 Before Special Charges
Fourth Quarter Comparable Store Sales Decline 0.5%, Exceeding Expectations
Fourth Quarter Retail Operating Margins Expand 70 Basis Points
Record $294 Million Cash Flows From Operations For Year
Year End Return on Invested Capital Improved 150 Basis Points To 11.1%

City Council Candidate Tim Hackleman

Candidate: Tim Hackleman

Current Career: Art Director, Cabela's, Inc.

Other Activities: Actively involved with Sidney Youth Football for five seasons. Active and proud supporters of the Sidney High School fine arts and athletics programs. Tim also has held multiple leadership roles in his church.

Tim and his wife Amy have been married for 21 years and are the proud parents of four sons, Jaren, Seth, Nathan and Grant. In 1993, Tim received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from the University of Utah. He went on to receive his Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphic design in 1997 from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. You can find out more about Tim's positions by going to his blog.

Tim and his family make their home here in Sidney.



Tim's Vision for Sidney:

My vision for Sidney is to build a stronger, more prosperous community through the positive partnership of the City Council, city administration and the citizens of Sidney. My top priorities will be:

If elected, I will work towards building an easier and efficient way for the city to communicate thoughts, suggestions and concerns to the appropriate city officials. In return, have those comments, first, acknowledged, and second, responded to in a timely manner. If Sidney is to be the best it can be, it needs to happen through a stronger partnership with the community.

If elected, I will work towards the operation of a balanced budget. 

If elected, I will partner with city officials to explore new ways to increase revenue to reduce the tax burden placed on the citizens.

Together we can build a stronger Sidney family through honesty, integrity, open communication, understanding and respect. We can do this together!


NEWS COVERAGE

Candidate Interview with theguardiannews

City Council Candidate Mark Nienhueser

Candidate: Mark Nienhueser
Current Career: Senior Director of real estate and construction, Cabela's

Other Activities: King of Kings Lutheran Church Board of Lay Ministry, Sidney Public Schools Facilities Committee.

Married to wife Shelley. The couple have three sons, Jeff, Chris and Tim.

The couple make their home here in Sidney.

Other News about Mark Nienhueser

Interview in the Sidney Sun-Telegraph

Opening the Door on New Jobs in Cheyenne County

The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners met today, and among the business addressed was a request from Emagine Concepts, Inc for $160,000 in community development block grant funds. The request for a loan from the re-use fund was to assist the Colorado company in relocating equipment and to prepare a permanent site for operations in the Cheyenne county area. The request was conditionally approved, pending the attachment of a schedule of collateral assets to cover the loan and that 20 employees would be created within the first year of operations.

Electoral College not a protector of small states

Dr. Carl Cornelius writes in today's Sun-Telegraph that the Electoral College was put into place to protect small states from being dominated by a, "...consortium of large states." Essentially, he is making an argument for not choosing the President by popular vote such as was demanded after Al Gore's close loss in 2000.


This posting reflects the framer's intent as contained in Federalist 68.

It isn't just for Hospitals and Guardians: Wards

People have been talking about the impact of splitting the City Manager/Economic Development Director positions (or keeping them together) for a variety or reasons lately. There is a much broader question that should be asked of the structure of the current management of the government and that is how effective are the five council positions at representing the entirety of the city's population?

For the Love of St. Valentine

Someone wrote as a comment (which I did not post) that this site was a poorly written, vemon-filled pile of crap. I was so stunned and afraid that someone got in touch with my 3rd grade English teacher, I nearly panicked.  After a few doublestuff Oreo cookies and a glass of milk, I was able to regain my composure.

Insane questions

Boo Radley writes on Julie Young's blog, "As long as we are on the subject of open disclosure, I would love to hear the reason that the City of Sidney is not collecting a little over $11,000 in taxes from the mayors business. Does anyone else find it interesting that his little parcel of land is not annexed, yet city contracts are given for our animal control? Do the city Police and animal control officers even have jurisdiction once they take an animal taken from the city to an unannexed (sic) location? Why should I have to pay a fee to retreive (Sic) my pet from a non-city business?? And folks wonder why the citizens have questions about our elected officials playing above board!! Unbelievable!

Boo Radley

Well Boo,


The city can't charge taxes on businesses that are not located outside its jurisdiction. Sidney routinely issues contracts for work and services to companies outside the jurisdiction of the city limits so no, I don't find it interesting in the slightest.

The city police are allowed to transport animals to the vet clinic. asking that question says more about her than the policy. As for having to pay a fee to retrieve your pet, perhaps she should avoid the situations that required the police to transport the animal out of the city limits.

If you want to question the actions of Council, try to stick to legitimate ones, not the comic relief you dribbled out to Julie Young. If that is the best line of questioning you can develop to show how underhanded the city is, your cause has the toughest row to hoe in all of Nebraska.

Michael Rowland

A pause to say, "Thank You."

I have been publishing this site for nearly a year now. I need to thank those who have participated in the success of this site by reading and providing useful comments on the topics at hand. I truly appreciate the fact that there are concerned citizens who choose to look here for a part of their news and commentary.

Having said that, I would like to encourage everyone, whether you agree with the opinions or stories expressed or have a different perspective to share those comments and stories with our readership which has surpassed 500 hits per day and is averaging page views exceeding 1200 for the first time in the last couple days.

It is because of the needs of the town and its people that I do this. If you enjoy reading, but don't want to comment and value the site and the service it provides, please consider contributing to help keep it going via financial support. If readership continues to build we will be very close to opening up true media competition in the Sidney area. That hasn't happened for a very long time. A chipIn widget on the side of the page will provide you a secure method to make your donation.

Thank You to everyone who has read and made the site as successful as it has been so far. Let me know how I can keep making the place a more complete view of the needs of the town.

Sincerely,

Michael Rowland, Publisher
theguardiannews

Issue No. 2, the Sidney Citizen

Publisher's Note: I am taking no position on this item below, except to post it for the benefit of those who said they did not get the first one and wanted to see it. Perhaps the author will forward a copy of the original version. I expect to take some flack for the references it makes to me, as well as Julie Young, but this is an on-going news item of interest to the city and as such will be posted here. Please feel free to comment for or against.

Of Dogs and See-Saws

I don't plan to be a pawn by anyone, just to be clear. Do I feel that rules been broken by various employees of the city, including councilmen? Yes. Should everyone's first conclusion be that the council is underhanded? I should hope not.

I liken the current imbroglio to a dog who knows where to get its food. When another dog comes too close, the first dog gets nervous, and then will fight to preserve its source of sustenance. It yelps and scratches and bites at the newcomer, seeking to drive away its competition for survival and the preservation of its own way of life.

The big dog in town wields all the real power. He chews on the deals and decides what he will give to the other members of his pack, and they are so grateful for the opportunity to continue living that they are willing to do whatever the big dog wants. The pack of the big dog in Sidney has shown that they are willing to fight any other dog who might get too close to the food bowl, even if it means cutting the heart of them in the process.

I would submit that the big dog in Sidney needs to learn how to share his source of power and remember that someone is always bigger than the big dog. What will all the little dogs do if that changes?

This town needs obedience training.

Michael Rowland

DNC asking people to write form letters

I get crazy letters from the DNC and the Obama team occasionally asking me to trounce and denounce the Republican policies through a letter which they are happy to "help" me with.

Below you find the contents of their talking points. Note the specific request to not use the points verbatim.

House Divided, Again

 Publisher's Note: This is a letter I sent to the Sun-Telegraph Publisher and editor today in response to a skewed article by Klark Byrd.  I am publishing it here, because as someone once wrote, I know it will get published.

HIghlights from Council

City Council met last night and adopted two resolutions, heard presentations from the City's auditor and the  Library's Annual Report. Discussions were also held on the continuation of the Deadwood trail project, and an agenda item from Julie Young on four points.

Contents of the Library Annual Report

­ The library ended the 2008-2009 fiscal year $30.55 under budget.

***Bulletin*** Council Meeting Tonight City Hall, 7:15 PM

The City Council of the the City of Sidney will meet tonight in the City Council Chambers. There will be a full agenda to consider with requests for two resolutions to be passed and annual reports from the City's financial Auditor, Rauner and Associates, and the Sidney, Public Library annual report. The agenda is provided herein commencing with items 4 through 11 with background as provided by members of the city government for your benefit.

LB 967, modifications to statutes affecting refunds of state sales taxes

 Publisher's note: The bill is presented using denoted lines. As such, it may be hard to read, but it would be searchable for various elements of interest.


FOR AN ACT relating to revenue and taxation; to amend section 77-4106 and 77-5726, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska; to change provisions relating to refunds of local sales and use taxes under certain tax incentive laws; to create a fund; and to repeal the original sections.

Civillity in Civil Government

Robert's Rules of Order provide a framework for debating ideas in a public forum in a way that allows recognition of individuals in a controlled manner. Ideas are brought before a body public through a process called motions, for which a second is obtained. The idea behind it is that if an idea doesn't have at least two people in favor of it, any discussion of that idea would have little chance of bearing productive fruit. Once a second is obtained, a vote on the motion takes place to open the process of formal debate.

Debate can be defined as a formal contest of argumentation in which two opposing sides defend and attack a given proposition. In a civil debate, each side brings their facts forward and each states a point, which can addressed (or rebutted) by the other side. Generally, the better prepared side will win, but in politics, the best prepared side doesn't always win the argument.

Council debates

Recently, several citizens of Sidney have alleged that three councilmen are acting in concert to fire Gary Person as City Manager and/or economic development director. The reasons cited, included a desire to manipulate the various departments and employees directly as was done under the old mayoral form of government years ago or to set up some employee (some have named this writer) as a new head of the city management or a PR person for the city who "assisted" the group in their objectives.

Enough with the Conspiracy Theories Already

Publisher's Note: I am making some changes to this entry based on information subsequently provided to me after the date of original post.

Julie Young's blog is a continual rant of baseless allegations of corruption and skewed interpretation of state law.  She charges that Bob Van Vleet, Marvin Filsinger and Dave Weiderspon are conspiring to violate open meeting laws, holding illegal closed sessions and trying to fire the City Manager.

It is clear from council meetings that a majority of elected officials seek to examine the possibility of separating the positions of City Manager and Economic Development Director. The conspirators gave different reasons, so they apparently must not be very good at conspiring, but yet, they are evil men.


My gut feeling is that the positions should be separated, on the basis of providing a necessary check and balance between the need to grow, but also to be able to manage the current obligations effectively.

Instead of building a path to I-80, that 167k could have been spent on improving the worst areas of the city's streets, but we pressed on, stating that we had yet another grant that we would lose if we didn't go forward. Now we are told that we would only save 24k if we killed the project now. We are damned if we do (because highway, epa and other regulations will force us to incur additional expenses to maintain it) and damned if we don't.  Maybe someone should have acted to kill the project outright, but that didn't happen, not from the City Manager, nor members of the City Council, who are both at fault, in my opinion.

If you are willing to take a position different from mine, I welcome your comment, you just can't be anonymous.

Nebraska Open Meetings Act, as Amended, with Attorney General Comments and rationale

Publisher's Note: Julie Young pointed out that I copied the information below from the Attorney General's website, rather than the state legislative website. The information below is the same, but you have the added benefit of understanding the AG's rationale for the acts provisions, and the benefit of case law for many points contained therein.

This posting copies the contents of the Open Meetings Act as amended, from the Attorney General's website. The links herein will navigate away from this space to the actual posting from the his site. Among the many provisions it contains are the bodies covered, meeting definitions, when closed sessions can/should be called and member responsibilities when issues arise, including timeliness in reporting violations. Lastly, the Act provides remedies for civil and criminal penalties for knowing violations to the Act's provisions. Case law and Attorney General comments/citations are provided for context and further understanding.

This is the same act as posted at the City Council and duly noted by the Mayor at each meeting. I encourage each of you to read the act, particularly in areas where you feel local government has failed with respect to the Acts provisions.  

Knowledge is power and knowing your rights will help you keep your public servants on the correct course and prevent breaches of the act, whether intentioned or not.