Stories from Friday, February 4, 2005

The McCook Bison girls were in action Thursday night as they hosted the Gothenburg Swedes. The varsity game came down to the end but McCook fell short 51-50. McCook played even with Gothenburg through the entire game, but with 10 seconds left in the game Gothenburg's Janell Nelson was fouled and sent to the line where she hit one of two free throws to give Gothenburg a one point lead...

McCook Bison JV wrestlers place four at Lex meet LEXINGTON -- The McCook High School junior varsity wrestling team competed in the Lexington JV wrestling tournament Thursday. The Bison placed four out of eight wrestlers that entered the tournament. Individual placers were Skyler Monzon, 130 pounds, first place; Ahren Hays, 135 pounds, first place; Sam Frazier, 171 pounds, second place; and Alex Smith, 103 pounds, third place...

WAUNETA -- Otto Bartels, 101, died Wednesday (Feb. 2, 2005) at Heritage of Wauneta Nursing Home. He was a long-time resident of Wauneta. Survivors include his wife, Ida of Wauneta; sons, Wayne and wife, Donna of Wauneta, Dale and wife, Barbara of Lewellen and Allen and wife, Joyce of Harvard; two daughters, Barbara Cooper and husband, Jerry of Henderson, Nev., and Lois Glover and husband, Lee of Wauneta; sister, Elsie Becker of Wauneta; brother, Gus Bartels and wife, Margie of Wauneta; 14 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren.. ...

Dec. 15, 1915-Feb. 2, 2005 ARAPAHOE -- Wensel "Whitey" Einspahr, 89, died Wednesday (Feb. 2, 2005) at Bertrand Nursing Home, where he recently moved. He was born Dec. 15, 1915, to Bernard and Ema (Plamback) Einspahr in Kenesaw. He was raised in Kenesaw for nine years. The family then moved to Colorado. He moved to Lexington at the age of 16...

Jan. 25, 1934-Feb. 2, 2005 Marilyn R. Goltl, 71, died Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005, at her home in McCook. On Jan. 25, 1934, she was born in Red Willow County to Charles August and Nellie Pearl (Crocker) Wesch. She graduated from McCook High School in 1952 and had lived here all her life...

KEARNEY -- Janelle and Gabe Kowalek announce the birth of their son, Ethan Gabriel, Jan. 10, 2005. He weighed 9 pounds and was 19 inches long. He has one brother, Colten, 3. Grandparents are Ed and Rita McConville of Indianola and Kenny and Pam LaVigne Auburn. Great-grandparents are John and Bernadetta Sis of Indianola, LaMoine and Garnet McConville of McCook and Lloyd Ridgway of Culbertson...

ELWOOD -- Assistant Attorney General Dave Cookson warned water users at the annual Elwood water conference that they had better find a balance between groundwater and surface water usage and demands. Cookson, who was Nebraska's legal representative in the Republican River Compact legal battle with Kansas, told the 100-or-so at the conference, "You gotta sit down and work with your neighbors. ...

LINCOLN -- Gov. Dave Heineman today awarded nearly $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to assist with business expansions that will create a combined 46 full-time jobs in the cities of Imperial, Lexington and Atkinson. Imperial will receive $293,000 in CDBG funding. ...

LINCOLN -- Gov. Dave Heineman today awarded nearly $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to assist with business expansions that will create a combined 46 full-time jobs in the cities of Imperial, Lexington and Atkinson. Imperial will receive $293,000 in CDBG funding. ...

**Dear Editor, Willa Cather ... George Norris ... Henry Fonda ... Tom Osborne ... Marlon Brando ... Johnny Carson. There must be something in the Nebraska air that breeds greatness. Sincerely, Thomas Kope, Baldwin Park Calif.

**Dear Editor, Attention to Sen. Ron Raikes, chairman of the Education Committee: Although I do not have any family members attending a Class I or a rural school, I'm still very interested in their welfare. I attended a country school and also taught in a Class I district. ...

Ten items or less: n In their second month of distribution, Nebraska's new license plates are appearing on more and more cars. The plates, with the light blue edging and dark blue letters, replace the previous orange and red plates of the past three years...

Several major issues on the McCook City Council agenda could take the regular meeting Monday night into the wee hours of the morning, according to City Manager John Bingham. Bingham said if the meeting goes as expected, discussion on items such as State Revolving Loan Funds, reconsideration of a special exception for a parking lot near McCook Community College, discussion on setback requirements for a McCook residence, and executive sessions and decisions regarding the purchase of land to develop the city's new water treatment facility and and evaluation of the city manager's performance could make for an extended meeting.. ...

President Bush not only didn't avoid touching the third rail, he threw himself across the tracks. Speaking in Omaha on Friday, Bush admitted that he doesn't have all the answers when it comes to Social Security. "I fully recognize a personal retirement account is not the only thing needed ... to solve Social Security permanently," he told an audience of about 7,000...

I was talking to a guy today who's going through a divorce. He said he knew there were problems in the relationship but he and his wife agreed to try and work them out and he thought they were making progress until he was served with the divorce papers. He said he had gotten so many mixed signals from her that he was more confused than ever. He was looking for answers. I didn't have any. I had some explanations but none that made him feel any better...

The Legislature will convene late today (Friday), as several of our state's senators will be traveling to Omaha to hear remarks from President Bush. I welcome him to the state and truly appreciate the attention he has focused on Nebraska. Deliberations throughout the week remained steady, as members of the body advanced for review approximately 20 bills from General File. ...