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.