Stories from Monday, March 14, 2005

Katie Lynn Vrbas and David Paul Anthony, both of McCook, were united in marriage Nov. 13, 2004, at Memorial United Methodist Church in McCook with the Rev. Dr. Jeff Thurmas officiating. Parents of the couple are Susan Vrbas of McCook and the late Lawrence Vrbas and Lorin and Geri Anthony of Sidney...

Ashley Sis of McCook and Aaron Eskew of Imperial were united in marriage Aug. 6, 2004, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in McCook with the Rev. Jerel Scholl officiating. Parents of the couple are Martin and Denise Sis of McCook and Greg and Kaye Eskew of Imperial...

Jill Rebecca Bortner and Carl Wells Koenig, both of McCook, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Ben and Ginny Bortner of McCook and Tom and Laura Koenig of Chadron. Grandparents of the couple are Gene and Gernadine Bortner of McCook, Mary Walz of Indianola, Margaret Koenig of Gregory, S.D., and Betty Wells of Sturgis, S.D. ...

Francie Wakefield and Ryan Ruppert of St. Petersburg, Fla., announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Robin Brennan of Seneca, Mo., and Ron and Kathy Ruppert of McCook. The couple is planning a May 28, 2005, ceremony in Carthage, Mo. A reception in late June will be in McCook...

Valerie Klumpe and Derek Beck, both of McCook, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Penny and Randy Klumpe of Maywood, Daniel Ogorzolka of Bartley and Robert and Jean Beck of Benkelman. The bride-to-be is a 2000 graduate of Hayes Center High School. ...

McKinsey Peterson and Wade Goodenberger announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Warren and Lin Peterson of Milaca, Minn., and Gene and Deb Goodenberger of McCook. John and Phyllis Goodenberger of McCook are the grandparents of the prospective bridegroom. The couple is planning a June 4, 2005, ceremony at the First Baptist Church in Milaca...

The family of Herb and Claudetta Peck is hosting an open house in honor of the couple's 50th anniversary March 19, 2:30-5 p.m., at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. The couple married March 13, 1955, at Zion Lutheran Church in Grant.

Helen Meyers will celebrate her 98th birthday March 13. Cards of congratulations will reach her at RR1 Box 65, McCook, NE 69001.

The family of Beulah (Wickizer) DeHart is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday March 19, 2005. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 35 W. Quachita, Wauneta, NE 69045.

LINCOLN (AP) -- Every time Wauneta-Palisade would find a way to chop into the Humphrey St. Francis lead, Flyers' juniors Daniel Wegener, Elliott Sjuts and Ben Tasa would find a way to put the Boncos right back in the hole. Wegener and Tasa scored 18 points each and Sjuts chipped in 16 to lead Humphrey St. Francis to a 70-63 win over Wauneta-Palisade Friday night in the semifinals of the Class D-1 State Basketball Tournament at Pershing Center...

Brad and Tina (Hamilton) Reischl of Avoca, Iowa, announce the birth of their daughter, Macy Elise Reischl, Feb. 23, 2005, at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She weighed 6 pounds and 5.3 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Grandparents are Jim and Deb Hamilton of McCook and Jim and Sandy Reischl of Avoca. Great-grandparents are Lois Hamilton of McCook and Joseph and Mary Reischl of Earling, Iowa...

ATWOOD -- The old Bob Nolan song called "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" conjures up idyllic scenes of life in the west -- a cowboy and his horse, free and carefree, riding along under a prairie moon -- "drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds." But, in the real world, tumbling tumbleweeds don't "pledge their love to the ground." They blow across pastures and fill road ditches and ravines. They tangle in fences and choke windbreaks. They burn like matchsticks on dry, dusty prairies...

A crew from the Colorado manufacturer who built the county's bleachers for the Kiplinger Arena will be in McCook Tuesday to rebuild them to meet building codes. County Commission Chairman Earl McNutt said this morning, during the commissioners' weekly meeting, that City of McCook officials reviewed drawings and plans for the bleachers and approved a building permit last week...

With gas prices soaring to over $2 per gallon, and signs of continued unrest in the Middle East for the foreseeable future, there is more talk now about renewable energy sources -- solar panels, fuel cells, windmills, electric and hybrid cars -- than at any time since the last big gas crisis in the 1970s...

Open the mailbox and, nearly every day, they're there. It's another offer for a new credit card, a zero-interest introductory offer or, horror of horrors, a credit card bill. All day long, we're bombarded with the message -- subliminal or overt -- that buying this or that product will make us happy...

April 27, 1958-March 13, 2005 STOCKVILLE -- Kenneth Corwin Crawford, 46, of Curtis, formerly of Stockville, died Sunday (March 13, 2005) at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. He was born April 27, 1958, in Cozad to Joe L. and Margaret Nelson Crawford. He graduated from Maywood High School in 1976 and later attended Mid Plains Community College in North Platte...

Everyone has their favorite season of the year; the time that they truly enjoy more than any other. For some it's Christmas, for others it might be the beginning of spring or the middle of a long summer. For me, October and the changing of leaves has always been the time of year that I love the most...