Stories from Tuesday, September 7, 2004

OMAHA -- George E. Cornwell Jr., 55, died Monday (Sept. 6, 2004) in Omaha. He was preceded in death by his father, George E. Sr.; mother, Pat; and brother, John. Survivors include his wife, Sue; daughter, Christine and special friend, Jim Schultz of Boone, Iowa; sons, George III and wife, Annie of Gothenburg and Tim and wife, Janet of Indianola; brothers, Brian and wife, Rita of Omaha, Mark and wife, Barb of LaVista and David and special friend, Tony; and three grandchildren...

Sept. 20, 1947-Sept. 4, 2004 CURTIS -- Milo "Joe" Nickerson, 56, died Saturday (Sept. 4, 2004) south of Curtis. He was born Sept. 20, 1947, to Donald and Reba (Gugelman) Nickerson in Eustis. He graduated from Farnam High School in 1965 and attended Mid-Plains Community College for two years. In 1966, he began working at Bystroms NAPA Store in North Platte...

Nov. 12, 1922-Sept. 4, 2004 ST. FRANCIS -- Alma Lorraine "Rena" (Knapp) Pickett, 81, died Saturday (Sept. 4, 2004) at her home in St. Francis. She was born Nov. 12, 1922, in Rawlins County. She was a homemaker. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence D. (Hook) Pickett in 1980...

May 17, 1917-Sept. 4, 2004 IMPERIAL -- Audra Nadene Romine, 87, died Saturday (Sept. 4, 2004) at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial. She was born May 17, 1917, to John Thomas and Maude Alice (Stock) Kerns in Wauneta. She attended country school and graduated from Wauneta Public High School in 1933. She continued her education at the Chillicothe School of Business in Missouri. She then traveled to Kansas City, Mo., where she was employed with Royal Typewriter Company...

McCook defeats Lexington 1-0 in championship The McCook Bison softball team went 3-0 at home this weekend to win its home tournament. Coach Dale Lortz's squad posted wins over Scottsbluff, Cozad and Lexington. Scottsbluff lost for the first time this season, as McCook pounded out 12 runs on 13 hits to beat the Bearcats 12-2, in five innings...

LINCOLN -- Joely A. Wesch and Alex Lewis, both of Lincoln, were united in marriage June 26, 2004, at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Lincoln with the Rev. Dan Cosson officiating. Parents of the couple are Lloyd and Carmen Wesch of McCook and Helen and Les Lewis of Port Orchard, Wash...

Rosalind Weber and Scott Sheldon, both of Kearney, were wed Sept. 3, 2004, in Harmon Park in Kearney. Parents of the couple are R.J. and Jana Mintling of Wauneta and Kathy Headlee of Kearney and the late Richard Sheldon. The bride is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney with a degree in social service. ...

Reneé Padgett and James Lyons, both of Roeland Park, Kan., announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Linda Padgett and Mike and Nancy Padgett, all of Marysville, Kan., Judy and John Bontjes of Wahpeton, N.D, and Dennis and Deb Lyons of Grand Island. ...

Lisa Conroy and Craig Hendricks, both of Omaha, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Bill and Anita Conroy of McCook and the late Ester Hendricks. The bride-to-be is a project manager at First Data Resources and the prospective bridegroom is a project manager at Data Power Technology. The couple is planning an Oct. 9, 2004, ceremony in Omaha...

The family of Don and Nona Lee (Weigel) Leitner is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th anniversary Sept. 12. They were married in 1954 at the Memorial United Methodist Church. Their children are Ren Leitner, Ricky and wife, Peg Leitner and Robin and husband, Bob Meyer. They have eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Cards will reach them at 1070 Lehigh Street, Boulder, CO 80305-6349...

The family of Loren and Doris Pursel, formerly of Curtis, is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th anniversary Sept. 9. Cards will reach the couple at 188 Cotillion Circle, Tallahassee, FL 32312.

The family of Pat Ele is hosting a card shower in honor of his 86th birthday Sept. 4. Cards of congratulations will reach him at 702 West Second Street, McCook, NE 69001.

During their 17 years in McCook, Ken and Mary Wellman made the community a better place with their active involvement in civic, school and economic development activities. Because of their contributions of time and effort, the popular couple's many friends had mixed emotions last week when they heard the Wellmans were moving to Lincoln. On one hand, we are sad to see the Wellmans go. On the other, we are grateful for all they did for the community in the years between 1987 and 2004...

By STEVE SMITH WaterClaim The state of Nebraska requires the local NRD to develop, in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources, an Integrated Management Plan. What does Nebraska law require of an IMP? We highlighted a key section that states that NRDs are not required to impose new regulations on groundwater uses that existed prior to May 20, 2003 -- the date the DNR made the preliminary determination that the Republican River NRDs were fully appropriated. ...

Law enforcement officials are still looking for the Hispanic male charged with the sexual assault of a McCook girl Aug. 31. The man, Jose Cruz Cepeda-Lopez is also charged with first-degree false imprisonment, burglary and robbery in connection with the incident in a home northeast of McCook...

While a number of people may be considering throwing their hat in the ring for the city council seat left open by the resignation of Jerry Reitz, none have officially filed for the seat. Pauletta Gerver, Red Willow County clerk, said as of this morning there have been no filings for the seat, however several possible contenders have picked up forms from the city offices to begin the filing process...

Manhattan, Kan. -- A Kansas State University presented his research on high-tech harvest monitoring to an international engineering conference in Canada last month. The student, Lucas Haag, a senior undergraduate student in Agricultural Technology Management at Kansas State University was one of more than 1,514 professional and pre-professional members attending the annual international meeting of American Society of Agricultural Engineers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Aug. 1-4...

Summer sunflowers like these near Max will soon give way to the colors of fall. The weather will be summer-like through the rest of the week, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

Nov. 30. 1919-Sept. 6, 2004 Mildred Sophie Agnes Niermeier, 84, died Monday (Sept. 6, 2004) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. She was born on Nov. 30, 1919, at Palmer to Herbert Albert John and Anna Sophie (Nietfeld) Dankert. She attended rural school near Palmer. She later worked for neighboring families taking care of their children...

The family of Ruth T. Callan is hosting a card shower in honor of her 87th birthday Sept. 9. She was born in 1917, in Red Willow County. Her children are Marilynn Jezek of McCook, the late Bob Jezek, Ron and wife, Gayle Callan of Columbus, the late Dave Callan, and Karen Callan of Julesburg, Colo. She has nine grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Cards will reach her at 711 Mousal Avenue Apt. 3, Cambridge, NE 69022...

But Huskers will get tested next week against Southern Mississippi LINCOLN -- Greetings to all. Husker Nation can breathe a little easier now that it knows the West Coast Offense can operate effectively in Lincoln under near-perfect playing conditions and against an inferior I-AA team...