Stories from Friday, June 7, 2002

Red Willow, Dundy and Hitchcock counties are among the latest Nebraska counties where emergency grazing has been authorized on land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. The Farm Service Agency announced that those counties, plus Box Butte and Morrill, were added to the list in an effort to provide relief to producers in areas hardest hit by drought conditions...

Dear Editor, I would like to respond to Mr. Troy Swanda concerning his Open Forum letter of June 5, 2002, and I also would like to comment concerning the Dawn Cribbs column of the same date. Mr. Swanda, Paul Schneider quotes the Holy Bible in his letters. ...

Dear Editor, I want to thank Troy Swanda for his letter. It gives me the opportunity to clarify my position. Far from looking down my nose at others, I have great admiration for my fellow men and women and their accomplishments, and I try to let them know that by complementing them -- men and women from all walks of life...

Wednesday's Gazette's carried an article that included information about the owner of a West Q property being called to account for the condition of his property. At least he is out of the city limits and pretty much off by himself. What's being done about those properties in town that are not only eyesores but potential hazards to others due to the close proximity to others property?...

(Racing) is about the only thing we have to do in this town that people enjoy, and I don't think people should be trying to take it away. People shouldn't move that close to the track if they don't like it.

We just like to say thank you to the people of McCook for keeping the police busy from 7:53 p.m. Friday to 12:04 a.m. Saturday morning with the noise complaints, while there were people out drinking and driving. Thanks for keeping the police busy and keeping them away from those drunk drivers...

If people want to complain about something, quit complaining about the racing and start complaining about people on food stamps who buy better choices of groceries than people who work for a living. When it comes to food stamps, I say get off your lazy a-- and get a job...

Nebraska has reason to be proud today of U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne. Displaying both loyalty and logic, all three have given their support to President George Bush in his call for a new, cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security...

Mike Meister, candidate for Nebraska attorney general, said he is running to "bring the practice of law back into the attorney general's office and get the practice of politics out." On Thursday, Meister made McCook one of his stops on his two week, 73- county campaign through Nebraska. He is bringing his message to the people...

A farmer cuts alfalfa west of Cambridge on a sunny afternoon. Farmers should have no trouble getting their hay crop dry and baled, thanks to current 100-plus temperatures.

The McCook Civil Service Commission will meet Monday, 5 p.m., at the City Council Chambers. Items on the agenda include the vacancy of a patrol officer in the McCook Police Department and obtaining approval to start the process of filling the vacancy...

A North Platte man was sentenced on two separate cases in district court Wednesday. Randy Roberts, 19, was sentenced to 24 months of intensive supervised probation and 120 days at the Work Ethic Camp to be served concurrent with another sentence of 24 months of intensive supervised probation and 120 days at the Work Ethic Camp...

Are you feeling a little too good about yourself? Feeling like you're still miles from being over the hill? Do you feel all that dieting and exercising is finally paying off? Here's a sure-fire way to test those questions: go shopping. There's nothing like shopping to make you feel out-of-shape or old or all of the above. ...

The National Basketball Association, in its infantile wisdom, makes its fans sit through an 82-game season. The season ends in June with the NBA Finals and starts again in a couple weeks with training camp (this is an exaggeration for the purpose of attempting to be hilarious)...