Stories from Wednesday, August 20, 2003

McCook High School boys tennis player Brad Potthoff returns a shot during the first day of fall sports practice Monday morning at the Bsion Tennis Courts. The tennis ball behind the net was also Potthoff's shot. Don't get used to the hair, however. ...

Not by chance I'd like to bless you all with a quote from Isaac Newton: "Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance."...

Social group? Dear Editor, I was disturbed (Tuesday) morning to hear Councilman Dick Trail, while speaking on the Council Closeups on a local radio station, referring to the McCook Humane Society as a "social organization." I remember a number of years ago when the late Jack Hawkins was equally upset due to a report of the recent meeting of the board of directors of MHS which was included with the extension clubs and other clubs in the Gazette...

Let's start off the new school year with a little guessing game. OK, here's the question: "How many students at Central Elementary will be attending the school for the first time this year?" If you guessed 25, 35 or 50, you're not even close. Because the answer, you see, is all of them!...

I just opened my e-mail and found a message from Susan Crothers in Jerusalem. Susan, frequent readers will remember, is the mother in the mother/daughter team of Susan and Michelle Crothers, serving as volunteers for one year at Joseph's Storehouse on the outskirts of Jerusalem. They have been in Jerusalem for 10 months, and have sent e-mail updates through the course of their sojourn there...

The family of Geneva E. Cain is hosting a card shower in honor of her 84th birthday, Aug. 25. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 907 East Fourth, McCook, NE 69001.

Eden Maynard, a senior at Culbertson High School, paints part of a sea mural in a room at Community Hospital of McCook. Maynard, Angela Mustion of Culbertson and supervisor, Ray Walter of McCook, Culbertson High School art teacher, have put in many hours in painting a sea scene which includes sea turtles, dolphins, various fish and sea vegetation. ...

Workers for McCook Harvest Church take a break from cleaning a storefront building in preparation for the opening services at McCook Harvest Church Sept. 14. The Rev. Jon Albrecht (second from right) will conduct family crusade services Friday night in Norris Park at 6:30 p.m. ...

A McCook teen combined his love of running and track with his quest for an Eagle Scout rank and sponsored a track meet Aug. 10 for clients of the Southwest Area Training Service in McCook. Shawn McMurtrey, of Troop No. 244 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized a track meet to fulfill the requirements of his Eagle Scout community service project. ...

Last year, the dreams of two young Haigler girls developed into very real plans for community involvement and fund-raisers to buy new playground equipment for the community's park. Within a year, the fund drive raised $20,000, and the newly-installed playground equipment rises from a bed of new sand in the center of the park...

Ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremonies for new facilities on the McCook Community College campus are set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, according to college officials. The event will include the ribbon cutting and rededication of McMillen Hall and the Welcome and Student Success Center, the grand opening of the Ben F. Hormel Center for Business and Technology, and the grand opening of the Center for Advanced Studies...

CULBERTSON -- Friday's races at the Hitchcock County Speedway will carry special meaning to area racers and fans, as they are being run in memory of Ruth and Don Hagan Sr., who died in an auto accident last December. The Hagans were avid race fans and sponsors of stock car racing in the area, Jim Lewis of the Hitchcock County fair board said...

With McCook Mayor Jerda Garey looking on, U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne addresses more than 100 individuals from U.S. and state government agencies, community leaders and business leaders this morning during the day-long Arsenic and the Old West conference. The conference ended at 4 p.m., today, with the drafting of a resolution to be forwarded to government leaders...

McCook High School's Class of 2003 seniors, who took college prep courses, scored above the national average and just two-tenths of a point below the state average on ACT college entrance exams. McCook's composite ACT score of 22.4 for students taking core classes includes these scores in core studies: English, 21.5; math, 22.4; reading, 22.9; and science, 22.2...

OSHKOSH -- Maxine "Mickey" Mintling, 82, died Monday (Aug. 18, 2003) at the Garden County Nursing Home in Oshkosh. She was born Oct. 2, 1920, to Clara and Selar Leffler in Geneva. She moved with her family to Hayes Center in 1930. She graduated from Hayes County High School in May 1937 and attended Kearney Teachers College for two years. Afterwards, she taught in a one-room school for four years...