Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Claire Uerling of Indianola has six pieces of art on display at Lincoln Federal Savings Bank, 211 Norris Avenue. Uerling paints action and still life settings from photos or things from everyday life, preferring oils or watercolor. She selected nature scenes for the bank display, featureing her interpretations of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Forrest...

From the days when the cavalry rode the Republican River Valley, to Operation Enduring Freedom, military duty has been part of life in the Golden Plains. Nearly every day, the pages of the Gazette include stories about local military personnel or their families taking part in America's response to September 11, 2001, the war in Afghanistan and preparations for war against Iraq...

Why were we in such a hurry to buy land at such an inflated price? Why hasn't there been an investigation? The people of McCook should be lined up to demand an outside investigation. Now we want to get rid of West Ward. Doesn't the school board try time and time again to push another school bond issue on the taxpayers, saying the schools are overcrowded, only to be voted down by the voters?...

The entire McCook detachment of the 1013th Quartermaster Division, comprising 40 members, has been activated and moved to North Platte before deployment to Fort Riley on Feb. 5. The deployment is part of an additional 100 Nebraska Army Reserve and National Guard troops called up to active duty to help fight terrorism at home and overseas, including possible involvement in a war in Iraq...

A van slows to -- and below -- the posted speed limit approaching McCook on U.S. Highways 6-34 on Tuesday afternoon. The Nebraska Department of Roads places the signs for instant feedback to lead-footed drivers.

Two McCook residents are seeking injunction to prevent the city of McCook from buying a backhoe loader. James Burton, owner of J.B. Well Service and Michael D. Allen, an employee of Klein's Motor and Electric, are asking Red Willow County District Court Judge John Battershell to stop the city's purchase of a John Deere backhoe/loader from a North Platte company...

The McCook Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Chamber Banquet, Saturday, 6 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 308 E. Ninth. The banquet motto, "We are one -- Our Nation, Our Communities, Our Members," will be highlighted with red, white and blue decor...

KEARNEY -- Brig. Gen. Harold E. Confer was inducted into the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame last week at the Nebraska Aviation Symposium at the Kearney Holiday Inn. Confer was born in 1924 in Culbertson, graduated from Culbertson High School in 1942, and after one year at Colorado A & M College, enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943, where he earned his pilot wings as a 2nd Lieutenant...

ATWOOD -- Atwood and Herndon patrons will vote April 1 whether to consolidate the two schools and create "Rawlins County USD." The boards of the two schools approved the consolidation during a meeting Jan. 23, signing a formal resolution that now needs an okay from the Kansas Board of Education, which meets Feb. 11...

Moving around a lot as a child gave me a lot of false impressions about life. I grew up believing that everyone moved frequently and those who didn't were, well, odd. When I would meet someone who had never moved, never been the "new kid" at school, I was amazed at their story. In my world everyone came from "someplace else."...

CURTIS -- Ernest Tyre Nelson was born July 14, 1924, on a farm south of Curtis, to Alvah and Rissena (Jorgensen) Nelson. He died Sunday (Jan. 26, 2003) at the McAllen Medical Center in McAllen, Texas. Ernest was baptized as a baby and became a member of the Curtis Methodist Church, August 1935, and remained a member for 67 years...

OBERLIN -- Joseph H. Barber, 83, died Wednesday (Jan. 28, 2003) at the Decatur County Good Samaritan Center in Oberlin. He was born Nov. 11, 1919, in WaKeeney, Kan., to Joseph Abraham and Minnie Mable (Hawks) Barber. He was raised on a farm in Rooks County, Kan. He attended Sand Creek School and graduated from Codell High School...

ALMA -- Robert A. Pfeil, 76, died Sunday (Jan. 26, 2003) at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. He was born Sept. 13, 1926, in Doniphan, to Clarence LaVelle and Nellie Pearl (Sparks) Pfeil. He attended school in Doniphan and Grand Island, and his first three years of high school at Kearney. He graduated from McCook High School class of 1944...