Stories from Thursday, August 7, 2003

HILLSBORO, Kan. -- Ashley McKillip of Hayes Center High School has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for Tabor College this season. Head coach Amy Ratzlaff recently made the announcement. The 5-foot-10 middle hitter was a Sertoma all-star volleyball team player, a conference first-teamer and a McCook Gazetteland All-Area selection...

Good luck, McCook Dear Editor, Good luck with the oil spill clean up. The town of Skykomish, Wash., is in the middle of it with BNSF. It seems that they misplaced 166,000 gallons of bunk and diesel over the last 100 years. We have oil booms along our river front. It adds so much to the image of the town. I would guess that there are hundreds of towns that were left holding the mess left by the railroads...

Every day -- in so many ways -- the people of McCook and the surrounding region do an abundance of good deeds, helping their friends, families and communities with voluntary acts of service and sharing. We say thanks whenever the opportunity presents itself, but many acts of kindness do not receive the recognition they deserve. Those doing good don't mind because it is the act, not the accolade, which is important to them...

If you live in McCook and haven't been keeping up on news from the McCook City Council, you may be surprised to see the $2 increase that comes with your sewer bill. That increase will be used to offset the cost of bringing the city's sewer plant up to the Environmental Protection Agency's requirement for releasing water containing ammonia into the Republican River...

I've been blessed with the opportunity to live in McCook for most of my life. My parents moved here when I was a toddler; and other than four years away while my husband and I finished college, McCook has been the place I've called home. I love the open spaces, the slower pace and the positive environment in which to raise our family. A trip across town here takes 10 minutes, while in bigger cities it's a half-hour excursion...

As part of the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Reunion, a replica of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial will be in North Platte, today through Sunday. The opening ceremonies for the Wall are scheduled for this evening, 7 p.m., at Centennial Park in North Platte...

Auditions are set for Monday in McCook for 60 area students to be cast in the Aug. 16 production of the Missoula Children's Theatre's adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island." Two members of the acclaimed Missoula theater program will conduct open auditions for kindergarten through 12th grade students at Central Elementary School from 9-11 a.m...

With the expense of getting rid of used tires on the rise, many people in Southwest Nebraska are wondering what to do with their old tires scattered around in the back yard. The city of McCook and the state of Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality are sponsoring a regional tire cleanup to help area residents dispose of the eyesores...

Joshua Nixon (below) of Smith Center, Kan., helps unload a pickup-load of ice during the opening day of the Decatur County fair in Oberlin Tuesday morning. The ice for fair activities is provided by Oberlin Ice. The home-owned carnival on the midway in Oberlin celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Tickets for the carnival rides -- including the gray mares on the carousel (above) -- are 25 cents each. The carnival opens each evening, through Saturday, at 7 p.m...

Pheasants and chukars and cemetery directories are certainly an odd combination, yet these were the focus of a tour by Southwest Nebraska members of the Nebraska Development Network. NDN/Southwest Region members toured Fielding Birds southwest of McCook to learn about pen-raising pheasants and Windy Prairie Systems Inc. in Indianola to learn about computerized cemetery directories...

INDIANOLA -- The bulk of Indianola's annual Old Settlers Celebration activities will be on a Saturday for the second year in a row. Originally, activities that celebrated the area's original settlers were on Thursdays. Coordinators moved it to Saturday last year to accommodate more working people and families. The schedule this year includes:...

While there have been no confirmed cases of the West Nile Virus in humans in Red Willow County, the possibility is very real that there could be. There have been four officially confirmed cases of the virus in Nebraska, and several others not officially counted...

NORTH PLATTE -- Four McCook golfers recently competed in the North Platte Ambassador Youth Classic. Katherine Morell, Brandon Crick and Justine Hager all finished near the top in their respective age groups. Morell posted scores of 82-77-159 to win the 16-18 girls division...

There will be a mandatory meeting for girls entering grades 9-12 who are planning to participate in volleyball at McCook High School this fall. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in the high school commons area. Each girl should be accompanied by a parent/guardian as we will be discussing schedules, practices and guidelines...

The McCook Area APA Pool Leagues will take team registrations until Aug. 22. The McCook Area APA Pool Leagues include Sunday Open 8-Ball, Tuesday Open 8-Ball, Wednesday 3-Man Team Men's Super League, Thursday Open 9-Ball and Friday Ladies 8-Ball. Open leagues are open to men and women...

Another broken promise When Bush was given the White House, he said all senior citizens would get the same medical perks as government employees and Congress. Now it seems that is not going to happen. Another promise shot down.