In Remembrance

Dave “Bum” B. Phelps

Dave “Bum” B. Phelps, age 63, of Sidney, NE passed away in Sidney on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Loved by many, today, Dave walks in Heaven with his dad, Daniel Bruce Phelps and stepson, Jeremy Barowsky! Dave was born and raised in Sidney, NE and has lived here all of his life.

He deeply loved this community and the people in it.

Dave was a kind, caring and very generous man. He was always willing to lend a helping hand, and he really never knew a stranger. He was the big guy in bib overalls around town always with a good story or a joke to tell. He'd give you the shirt off his back, in exchange for the smile it put on your face. He cared deeply for his dogs, and spoiled them rotten. He often demonstrated his care for others through his love of cooking, and almost nothing pleased him more than when someone was raving about his BBQ or enjoying any of the food he prepared.

Dave drove truck for Monfort Trucking in his younger years and often reminisced about his days behind the wheel. He was the office manager for Tri-Mac and then for Wynne Transport and sold fuel as a private enterprise for Sapp Bro's and then Bosselman Energy before opening his dream gun store in the backroom of KISST Organics. Dave's knowledge and passion for guns was unmatched and he was a big advocate for the Second Amendment.

Dave is survived by his mother, Norma Phelps; brother Warren (W.C.) Phelps; wife, Veronica Phelps; step daughters Jessica and Aubrey McMullen, along with one grandson; Tucker, and many near and dear friends.

Dave was hard to miss, but it's his generosity and heart of gold that will make him impossible to forget.

In the words of a friend, "The world is a better place, because Dave was in it." Dave had a great love for the Lord, and his greatest desire was to see his friends and family come to know the Lord, as well, that we might all be reunited in Heaven someday.

Dexter Smith

Trap shooting and shooting sports in general lost one of its biggest advocates with the passing of Dexter Smith of Sidney, Nebraska in 2019. Dexter was instrumental in the creation and operation of not one, but two trap clubs in western Nebraska. Dexter served as an officer of the Potter trap club in Potter, Nebraska, and helped run its league shoots for over two decades. He was also a founding and life member of the Sidney Shooting Park in Sidney, Nebraska, and assisted in its operation.

Dexter joined the ATA in 1992 and enjoyed patronizing local clubs in Alliance, Ogallala, Sidney, Cheyenne and Torrington, Wyoming, and Sterling, Colorado. Dexter fired at 7,100 singles, 7,500 handicap and 4,700 doubles targets in his career, breaking ten 100-straights in singles. Dexter attended the Nebraska State Trap Shoot twice, winning class AA 2nd Runner-up in the Singles Championship in 2011 and a yardage group trophy in Friday’s preliminary handicap in 2012.

Dexter had a passion for introducing young people to the shooting sports. He served as a Hunter Education instructor for over 40 years, and when his grandsons were old enough to joint the Sidney Sharpshooters 4-H trap shooting club, he and his wife DewAnn became certified 4-H shotgun instructors so that they could help coach the teams. Each year, Dexter would make sure that new Sidney Sharpshooter 4-H members were well prepared to pass their Hunter Safety test and get their Hunter Safety card so that they could compete at the Cornhusker Trap Shoot in Doniphan, NE.

Like many trap shooters in the Midwest, Fall and Winter meant it was time for deer, pheasant and waterfowl hunting. Dexter enjoyed sharing his hunting knowledge with youth by participating as a mentor in many Pheasants Forever youth mentor hunts.

Dexter was also an accomplished Black Powder Cartridge Rifle (BPCR) shooter. BPCR competitions are long-range rifle shoots with targets ranging from 250 yards to 1,000 yards which are shot with black powder rifles using open iron sights. Dexter started shooting BPCR in 1999, and as usual, his enthusiasm for shooting rubbed off on others, with his wife joining him as a competitor at BPCR meets. At the annual Quigley Match in Forsyth, Montana over Father’s Day weekend in 2017 attended by over 600 shooters, Dexter placed fourth among men, DewAnn placed first among women, and they finished first in the husband-and-wife division.

Dexter’s easy-going manner, patience, and joy for shooting enticed many young people to try trap shooting in western Nebraska.