Stories from Friday, February 6, 2004

By the end of Nebraska's 2004 legislative session, State Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton expects Nebraska lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment which would put the question of casino gambling on the ballot. According to Baker, the Legislature will probably pass a proposed amendment which would permit up to eight casinos in the state. And, unlike, previous proposals, this plan does not specify where in the state the casinos would be located...

NORTH PLATTE -- The Medicine Valley girls basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Central Platte Conference tourney with a 58-47 win over Eustis-Farnam on Thursday. Medicine Valley's Taylor Wolfe led her team with 21 points, while Lisa Elson chipped in 13 points...

Game times have changed for the McCook High School basketball games at Gothenburg Saturday. The junior varsity boys and girls games will start at 1:30 p.m. The varsity girls game starts at 3 p.m. The varsity boys game starts at 4:45 p.m.

Marlin Lee Zimbelman was born Oct. 22, 1942, at St. Francis to Ernest Zimbelman and Martha Walz. He died Sunday morning, Nov. 30, 2003, at Swanson Reservoir in Trenton at the age of 61. Marlin's early years were spent on a farm north of St. Francis. ...

PUEBLO, Colo. --  M. Elaine Burton Bryan died Monday (Feb. 2, 2004) at her home in Pueblo, Colo. She was born in Bartley. She spent eight grades in a one-room school near her farm home. She graduated from Bartley High School as valedictorian. She attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney, graduating with honors. Her teaching career consisted of teaching English and business for two years at Palisade and four years at Benkelman High School...

ATWOOD -- Marvin C. Waterman, 81, died Wednesday (Feb. 4, 2004) at Rawlins County Health Center in Atwood. He was born April 15, 1922, in Pawnee City to Herman and Clara (Siske) Waterman. In 1927, he and his family moved to Rawlins County from Pawnee City and lived on a farm southeast of Atwood...

Doris "Dodie" (Helt) Jeffres Bennett died Feb. 4, 2004, in Norton, Kan. She was born Aug. 29, 1936, in Lebanon to Ted and Wyna (Gay) Helt. She grew up and graduated in Lebanon. She then moved to Ogallala where she worked and met her first husband, Don Jeffres. ...

So what do you think about casino gambling? Are you for it? Or, are you against it? Why? Why not? We're asking these questions because in the near future -- perhaps as soon as November -- the voters of Nebraska will be asked to decide whether to allow up to eight casinos in the state...

This column has been running in this paper for nearly seven years now and, to date, one column touched off more sparks and made me the recipient of more hate mail (e-mails) than any other: my life with cats. In one column, I described the demise of a kitten and my futile attempt to save it. According to several readers, my reaction was pitiful and my attempt was worthless. And I vowed never to write about cats again -- until the other day when cats again took over my day...

BENKELMAN - Eugene Miller, 77, died Tuesday (Feb. 3, 2004) at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman. He was born Dec. 29, 1926, on his family's farm in Cheyenne County, Kan., to John and Sophia (Lampe) Miller. He spent his childhood on the farm. He entered the Army in 1945 and received his honorable discharge in 1947...

Jennifer Ortiz cheers on the Lakeside Central Falcons in their games against Wauneta-Palisade Friday. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)

"Did we see what we thought we just saw?" That's what a local football fan said to his buddy during Sunday's Superbowl halftime performance. Not only did he see what he thought they saw, but his son, surfing the Web, called down that he had confirmation from the Internet by the time the local viewers could discuss it...

OK, so it's a play on words, but the publicity generated from Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's performance on Super Bowl Sunday has been a really amazing thing to watch and read. I mean, you would think the morals of American had been dealt an unrecoverable blow because of what happened...

Snow was on the minds of plainsmen during late December 1902. Fifty passengers on the Burlington running from Denver to Deadwood were buried under 10 feet of snow for 20 hours. The train was completely hidden. It took 10 hours for 50 men from Sidney, Nebraska, about 15 miles away from the trapped train to dig them out...

BELLEVUE -- An Executive Council of education experts, elected officials and community leaders has been established to assist with implementation of a new 4-year college degree program in McCook and North Platte being offered through Bellevue University...

Oct. 25, 1921-Feb. 2, 2004