Good Old Days 02-26-16

Compiled By Delaney Uhrig

These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons.

50 Years Ago

'Three Interchanges needed by 1990, Says City Planning Firm'

Feb. 25, 1966

City Manager George Felsch told the Thursday noon meeting of the Sidney industrial group that the firm retained by Sidney planning believes that three interchanges on Interstate 80 will be needed by Sidney.

The planning firm feels that by 1990 the traffic volume will be such that three interchanges may be required. The planners will be here March 4 to make traffic flow counts, etc. On March 11, Mr. Felsch will present their recommendations to the State Highway Department. Felsch also said the Highway Department has indicated that another public hearing will be held here before the interchange locations are finalized.

The City Manager reported that the plans for Sidney's airport expansion have been received here and that the city planning firm will go over them before returning them to state for final approval. The planners want to include high intensity runway lights in the request for state and federal aid for the airport expansion.

Joe Schaf, Coordinator of the Manpower Retraining School, told the group that all students at the school are now covered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield medical and hospital insurance. Dusty Rhodes told the group that stockholders of the Rath Packing Company were meeting Thursday and would consider a proposal, to be presented by Joe Gibson, for a sheep slaughtering facility at Sidney.

Dave Young said that KSID has been approved as an emergency station by Civil Defense providing that part of the studio facilities are "hardened" by being placed underground and that emergency electric power sources are available. This would enable the station to continue broadcasts in case of nuclear attack.

40 Years Ago

'Co-Ops Bring Health Care to the Farm'

Feb. 23, 1976

A health screening van sponsored by Farmland Industries and local cooperatives set up shop here Saturday to give rural families an opportunity to receive a medical check-up that otherwise may not be available to them.

The van will be here through Thursday and will then make stops at Kimball and Chappell.

Testing is done by a team of paramedics from American Health Profiles (AHP), a Nashville, Tenn. firm, in several compartments in the van. Equipment in the van performs more than 110 medical tests in about 35 minutes.

On Saturday, employees of the two sponsoring co-ops, Far-Mor Co-op and Farmer's Co-Op Grain, both of Sidney, went through the testing process. Results of the tests are confidential between the person tested and the physician he asks his test results be sent to. The public may telephone 254-3436 for information about taking the tests although it is intended primarily for co-op patrons. Cost is $60 for children under 16, according to coordinator Alice Farrell.

Farmland contracted with APH to make the swing through the Midwest and plans for the van to return to each location every 18 months or so.

The testing includes a medical history, urine specimen, a TV skin weight, chest X-ray, skin fold test, full-mouth X-ray, eye test for color blinds, hand-eye coordination, near and distant vision, and for those over 40, glaucoma, electrocardiogram to diagnose hart abnormalities, temperature, blood pressure, lung-respiratory test, hearing test, blood sample, and for women, instructions for a self-administered pap smear and a breast examination.

The American Medical Association has endorsed that type of health testing as an aid to physicians in preventive health care, Mrs. Farrell said.

The most common problems detected after screening are diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and dental problems. Some the of abnormality is detected in about one out of every three persons screened, according to sponsors.

25 Years Ago

'Greyhound: Sidney

Will Have Depot'

Feb. 21, 1991

Representatives of Greyhound Bus Lines were in Sidney this morning looking for a bus stop.

"Sidney is very important to us," said Michael Timlin, Agency Service Manager for Greyhound's Central Region. "We will definitely have a new depot here within three weeks."

Timlin said some confusion had arisen over Greyhound's plans in Sidney because the wrong regional office had been contacted. Until mid-January Sidney's regional office was Denver, but Greyhound reorganization in January put Denver in the Western region. The Central region, of which Sidney is apart, is now headquartered in Minneapolis. Questions concerning Sidney bus service should be directed to Minneapolis, Timlin said.

Timlin and associate Dennis Flint said they were on a get-acquainted tour with Nebraska communities served by Greyhound. "We just got the files on Nebraska, so we're going around and meeting all the agents."

Greyhound is currently advertising for a local business to become the Sidney agent for the bus line. "We will definitely have a depot here within three weeks," Timlin repeated.

In the meantime, Greyhound will continue to make regular stops at the previous depot, the old ProMart store next to The Telegraph. Passengers and luggage will be handled from there, even though there is no agent to assist them.

10 Years Ago

'Cabela's Set Record Sales Numbers'

Feb. 24, 2006

A strong fourth-quarter has propelled Cabela's total revenue to a new record of nearly $1.8 billion income in fiscal year 2005.

Cabela's released the FY2005 numbers Thursday after the New York Stock Exchange closed.

Total income for the growing company was up to 15.7 percent, from $1.55 billion in FY2004 to $1.799 billion in FY2005. Cabela's net income also rose from $65 million in 2004 to $72.5 million last year.

Cabela's retail stores tallied $620 million in sales in 2005, compared to just under $500 million in sales in 2004.

Speculation over the release of the company's annual report also drove trading up for their stock by 90 cents per share Thursday before the report was released. Cabela's stock closed Thursday at $17.91 with a volume of 375,000 shares traded. After the close the stock hit $18.99 in after hours of selling.

"We are extremely pleased with our record fourth quarter results, which represent a strong finish to another solid year," said Dennis Highby, Cabela's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The positive momentum we experienced during the holiday season gives us a heightened degree of confidence as we head into 2006."

Fiscal Year 2005 was also an incredibly productive year for Cabela's, with the opening of large-format destination stores in Fort Worth and Buda, Texas; Lehi, UT; and Rogers, Minn., according to Highby.

"These four new stores added more than 700,000 square-feet to our current operations, increasing our total number of destination retail stores to 14. In 2006, we are scheduled to open five more destination stores, bringing our world-famous retail experience to our great customers in even more locations. We also are extremely proud to have achieved $1 billion in sales in our direct business, which marks a major milestone for our company and is a testament to the ongoing strength of the Cabela's brand," Highby said.