Panhandle Scanner News

Yesterday, Oct. 29th, just after noon, the Scottsbluff Police Department was called to the West Pond at Riverside Zoo regarding an unattended death believed to be self-inflicted from a gunshot wound. (It was actually west of the zoo)   The investigation remains ongoing and efforts are underway to identify the deceased. Next of kin will be notified once identification has been confirmed. Additional information will be released as appropriate.   That is the official press release from the Scottsbluff Police Department. We simply ask the community to pray for the situation for all first responders, family, friends, and those involved.    A trailer was stolen from Table of Grace Food Pantry in Sidney on Oct. 25th. That was Sunday around 7 p.m. We have a photo of the vehicle that stole the trailer on our Facebook page and our news page at diggingdeeper.net.    Please contact the Sidney Police Department with any information. That was a car hauler trailer stolen from Table of Grace in Sydney on Sunday night.   Speaking of Sidney, loud bangs on the north side of town heard Thursday were from the Sidney Police Department conducting a scheduled training exercise with the Scottsbluff Bomb Squad.    A bloody dog bite happened this past week in Scottsbluff with a woman hospitalized and emergency personnel describing two dogs still wandering in the alley with blood all over their faces. Catch that story, dog bite in Scottsbluff, in the Sunday Scanner and on our news page at panhandlescanner.com.    And don't forget our very popular public record every Monday through Friday when available, all on panhandlescanner.com.

What were you doing on this day in history 57 years ago?    It was October 29, 1969, when the first electronic message was sent over a computer system once known as ARPANET, now known as the Internet or World Wide Web. (although it crashed the system after two letters)   According to Scanner Traffic, at approximately 12.15 p.m. on Monday the 26th, the Scottsbluff Fire Department was dispatched to Rincon Latino at 1002 East Overland after dispatch received a third-party report of a gas leak within the commercial building. The Scottsbluff Fire Department confirmed that Engine 1, 3 and Scottsbluff 2 were assigned to the call. Upon arrival, crews made entry into the building and noted an obvious strong smell of natural gas. Due to the levels within the building, occupants were evacuated and Black Hills Energy was contacted. Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that the leak had started Sunday evening, however, it had not been called in until Monday by a customer. Due to the levels, the gas was shut off to the building and ventilated, and the store manager was advised a pressure test would need to be completed, and the leak resolved prior to the gas getting turned back on. We join the Scottsbluff Fire Department in reminding everyone that if you smell natural gas, do not delay. Report it immediately and evacuate if necessary. Please note, it is not normal to smell natural gas and should never be ignored.    And don't forget our very popular growing public record, every day Monday through Friday when available on Panhandle Scanner.    That's going to do it for today's scanner news. Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.

One of our most important missions at Panhandle Scanner is our missing persons, and we have a juvenile currently missing in Scottsbluff, Rhylee Wilberger. Rhylee is a 17-year-old white female, 5'4", 105 pounds, red or auburn hair, and blue eyes. Rhylee Wilberger was last seen in the Scottsbluff area on October 26th. She was last seen wearing a grey sweater, blue jeans, grey shoes, and a black backpack. Please contact Scottsbluff Police Department if you know anything about Rhylee Wilberger's whereabouts.    National Cemetery Day was yesterday and we want to tell you about a new business in Sidney. That's right, long-time friend Bob Gehrig from Sidney, Nebraska, has Gehrig Headstone Cleaning and Restoration and is offering free headstone cleanings for military veterans whose resting place is Boot Hill Cemetery in Sidney.  If you are a family member or know of a veteran at Boot Hill Cemetery in Sidney, give Gehrig Headstone Cleaning a call. Find more information on his website with his address where the public can participate by sending him pumice stones to help with this cleanup effort.    www.gehrigheadstonecleaning.com  Website by Hale Multimedia    Panhandle Scanner is well known for helping new businesses get exposure in the community. Be sure to visit our page at Panhandle Scanner on Facebook on Saturdays for Scanner Saturdays where we highlight local businesses around the Panhandle of Nebraska. Nominate your favorites every week for our quarterly Local Favorite Small Business Contest. And don't forget our very popular Growing Public Record every day Monday through Friday when available on Panhandle Scanner.

There's no shortage of news now with our new court reporter working hard. Our courthouse reporter Raul Fernandez has several new articles up on our website and our Facebook page.   A Scots Bluff man faces a trial on a felony drug distribution charge after allegedly exchanging prescription medication for smoking products in Tarrytown. And a Casper woman faced court in Gearing for failing to appear at her 2018 drug case sentencing following a bench warrant issuance. That court date came 8 years later.   Interesting story there. And 308 boy pleads no contest. A 20-year-old pled no contest to unlawful firearm possession recently.   Find these stories and more on our website at Panhandlescanner.com. Just click on the news tab. Or follow our social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and now TikTok. Starting this winter you might see these words on blizzard warnings or ice storm warnings.   This is a particularly dangerous situation, or a PDS. This means there's a high confidence in a rare and extreme event that poses an exceptional threat due to its historic nature. During a PDS, stay off the roads and exercise extreme caution.   That message brought to you by our National Weather Service in Cheyenne. For breaking weather, news, sports, and more, be sure to follow Panhandle Scanner. And don't forget to share it with your friends.   And if you have a breaking news tip, be sure to contact the page, either through Facebook or by our telephone numbers listed on the page and our website. And don't forget our public record every Monday through Friday when available. All on Panhandlescanner.com. That's going to do it for today's scanner news.

A slow-moving storm system is pulling colder air into the northern plains today. While this setup is triggering some slushy wet snow in higher elevations in South Dakota's Black Hills, the threat to Nebraska is highly restricted. A brief changeover to all snow might happen over northern Sheridan and northwestern Cherry Counties. However, because ground temperatures remain warm, any light snow that does fall will target grassy areas and melt off by midday.   The Sunday Scanner is out and our top story for the week is the Aquatic Center project. Find an extensive article on all the details on this new project in the Sunday Scanner. The Sunday Scanner is our new newspaper-formatted printable publication. Available online free of charge as a high-resolution PDF as well as a flipbook for easy viewing. Check it out at panhandlescanner.com.    There will be a vote November 3rd, that's Tuesday, November 3rd. Registered voters in Scottsbluff County will be voting on Proposition One. Proposition One will appear on the ballot with the wording, Shall the City Council of the City of Scottsbluff, Nebraska impose a local sales tax and use tax in the amount of one half percent for the purpose of financing the construction, acquisition, and equipping of a municipal aquatic center and senior center facility? That will be the question.  As the community weighs the clear financial premiums against the promise of a year-round regional asset, the future of the Kmart site rests entirely in the hands of the voters. See our full article in the Sunday Scanner on panhandlescanner.com. There's a link to all county voting guides on our website and our Facebook page.    High School Playoff Brackets are set. Find them in the Sunday Scanner.   That's going to do it for today's Scanner News.

Missing Persons is a mission we take very seriously.   If you need help finding a missing or runaway juvenile, please contact Panhandle Scanner. A missing 15-year-old boy from Morrill was reported who had been missing since 6.30 p.m. Wednesday night. Good news, Brayden has been found!   Well, yesterday, J.D. Vance, the Vice President of the United States, was in North Platte, Nebraska talking about agricultural business possibilities. We'll have more on that as it develops.    A large response was seen Wednesday night on Highway 71 south of Gering on the highway near Robidoux Road. Scanner traffic indicated that a 67-year-old male had experienced a medical incident and crashed into a power pole near Highway 71 in Robidoux Road just south of Gering on Wednesday. Further traffic indicated airbag deployment and, fortunately, no injuries on the way to Regional West.    Last night, a traffic stop occurred around 4th Avenue and East Overland in Scotts Bluff that involved the Nebraska State Patrol assisting. In the end, one male was 10-15, or under arrest, and booked into the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center.    Late last night, scanner traffic indicated a trooper sideswiped a deer and possibly damaged his cruiser. A second unit was requested.   The weather is getting colder, and the coffee is hot, so let's get all the best coffee businesses on a map. If your business is related to coffee in some way or another, and you are located in the Wyobraska region, sign up on Panhandlescanner.com to put your business on the map. Once we have enough participation to make a nice printed map, we'll print it and distribute it around the Panhandle. In the meantime, we'll publish it as an interactive online map for immediate exposure. Check it out on Panhandlescanner.com.    That's going to do it for today's scanner news. Thanks again for listening, and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.   Photo by SB Rural Fire; Dario Santos, Winner - Chili Cook-Off

Introducing the Panhandle Coffee Map by Hale Multimedia...   The weather is getting colder, possibly 40s or maybe 30s coming up soon, and the coffee is hot. So let's get all the best coffee businesses on a map. If your business is related to coffee in some way or another, and you are located in the Wyobraska region, sign up on PanhandleScanner.com to put your business on the map. Once we have enough participation to make a nice printed map, we'll print it and distribute it around the panhandle. In the meantime, we'll publish it as an interactive online map for immediate exposure. We already have businesses signed up, with the first one on the books being Cornerstone Coffee in Mitchell, Nebraska. Congratulations to our first quarter favorite small business on Panhandle Scanner, and the first coffee business to sign up for the Panhandle Coffee Map. Look for it coming soon.    Also coming soon, very possible that we'll get some snow. Early models are suggesting some wet slash snow activity a week before Halloween. We'll see what happens. Temperatures to dip to the lower 50s with overnight lows feeling a lot like in the 30s.    Please be advised that there is a scheduled power outage for Thursday. (updated to Saturday) That's tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. in Bridgeport. That is to replace the underground feeder to the substation. As you may remember, the town-wide power outage just a couple of nights ago. The outage is expected to last no longer than four hours with power anticipated to be restored by approximately 5 p.m. on Thursday.    And don't forget our daily public record every Monday through Friday when available. That's going to do it for today's scanner news.

Introducing the Panhandle Coffee Map by Hale Multimedia.     The weather is getting colder, possibly 40's or maybe 3'0s coming up soon, and the coffee is hot. So let's get all the best coffee businesses on a map. If your business is related to coffee in some way or another and you are located in the WyoBraska region, sign up on our website to put your business on the map.     Once we have enough participation to make a nice printed map, we'll print it and distribute it around the panhandle. In the meantime, we'll publish it as an interactive online map for immediate exposure. We already have businesses signed up with the first one on the books being Cornerstone Coffee in Mitchell, Nebraska.     Congratulations to our first quarter favorite small business on Panhandle Scanner and the first coffee business to sign up for the Panhandle Coffee Map. Look for it coming soon.      Also coming soon, very possible that we'll get some snow. Early models are suggesting some wet slash snow activity a week before Halloween. We'll see what happens. Temperatures to dip to the lower 50s with overnight lows feeling a lot like in the 30s.     Please be advised that there is a scheduled power outage for Thursday. That's tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. in Bridgeport. That is to replace the underground feeder to the substation.     As you may remember, the town-wide power outage just a couple of nights ago. The outage is expected to last no longer than four hours with power anticipated to be restored by approximately 5 p.m. on Thursday. And don't forget our daily public record every Monday through Friday when available.     That's going to do it for today's scanner news. Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.

Good news for Bayard residents. The City of Bayard has lifted its Do Not Consume Drinking Water Notice after follow-up testing found nitrate levels in the city's water source well below the federal regulatory limits. According to a new public notice, samples collected on the 9th of September showed nitrate concentrations at 6.7 to 7.26 mg per liter in the city's wells, below the maximum contaminant level of 10 mg per liter. Residents no longer need to avoid consuming city water or used bottled water, the city said. Nitrates can enter drinking water through natural sources and human activities, including agricultural runoff and septic systems. Elevated nitrate levels are a particular concern for infants younger than six months. The city encourages residents to share the updated notice with others who use Bayard's water system, including people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses who may have not received the original warning directly.    Have you noticed an uptick of courthouse articles on Panhandle Scanner recently? Well, the public certainly has, and that includes those who have been charged and found guilty in a court of law. Feeling like the rhinestone cowboy here, we have been receiving multiple phone calls, emails, and letters from people I don't even know, complaining that we are publicizing court records. There is nothing disrespectful about us publicizing public information. If you get in trouble, your name could end up in the news. Don't call us to complain.    Catch all these controversial stories and more right on our news page at PanhandleScanner.com. And don't forget our daily public record, every Monday through Friday when available. That's going to do it for today's scanner news.

Scanner traffic indicated a male bleeding at Essential Fuels on East Overland in Scottsbluff Sunday evening. The call came in just after 7:30 p.m. One witness said there was blood everywhere. Ambulances responded, but were cancelled by Scottsbluff PD. We'll keep our eyes out today in the public record for any type of altercation that may have happened last night.   And we have several court reports for you, thanks to our courthouse reporter. Like this story, Fake Plates, Real DUI. A 23-year-old man was sentenced to 45 days in jail for drunk driving with additional fines and a revoked license. The arrest happened in Henry, Nebraska, where Jerry Dalton Jones entered a guilty plea in Scotts Bluff County Court to amend a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class W misdemeanor.    And the box truck that ended in arrest. It was a pursuit, with two occupants taken into custody October 17th after a box truck allegedly failed to stop for law enforcement. In Grant County, two occupants were arrested. When the incident began near mile marker 142 on Highway 61, deputies attempted to stop the truck for reported driving violations. The vehicle allegedly failed to yield to emergency lights and sirens and continued south into Arthur County. The Arthur County Sheriff's Office was notified of the vehicle's location and direction and deployed stop sticks, bringing the truck to a stop near mile marker 129 on Highway 61. Authorities conducted a felony traffic stop and took both occupants into custody without further incident.    Catch these stories and more on our website or on Facebook by the same name... Panhandle Scanner.   And don't forget our daily public record, every Monday through Friday when available.