Stories from Friday, September 16, 2005

Area runners compete at McCook invite Chase County-Imperial's Scott Ohlson and Dundy County's Jordan Stroup placed 3-4 in the varsity boys race at Thursday's McCook Invitational cross country meet. Ohlson was clocked in the 5K with a time of 17 minutes, 10 seconds. Stroup's time was 17:18...

BERTRAND -- Southern Valley's volleyball team swept Arapahoe and Bertrand in the Bertrand Triangular Thursday. Bertrand beat out Arapahoe in two sets for second. Megan Becker and Alyssa Steele led the Eagles in points. Becker had four aces against Bertrand and had six attacks per game...

NORTH PLATTE -- The McCook Community College volleyball team lost a four-set match to North Platte CC at North Platte Thursday. The Indians lost 26-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-20. Kayla Laird had 23 set assists and 3 ace blocks for MCC. Lindsey Hartman had 7 kills, 7 digs and 5 ace blocks...

OGALLALA -- The McCook High School freshman football team lost to Ogallala 27-14 Thursday at Ogallala. The Bison jumped out to a 6-0 lead when quarterback Matt Berry hooked up with Ryan Hardin on a 31-yard touchdown pass. The PAT try was no good. The host Indians scored on TD runs of 6 and 7 yards and made both PAT kicks to a take a 14-6 lead after one period...

OGALLALA -- The McCook High School freshman volleyball team improved to 5-0 with a three-set win over Ogallala Thursday at Ogallala. The Bison dropped their first set 20-25, but came back to win the next two 25-17 and 15-8. "We just made too many mistakes the first set and lacked focus," said McCook coach Jon Graff. "The girls did a great job of bouncing back behind strong serving from Jordon Baumbach with 4 aces and Madison Felker with 2. We attacked th ball pretty well tonight."...

McCook is so lucky ... so extraordinarily lucky ... to have gifted performers willing to share their talents for community causes. It happens over and over again ... at community theater presentations, at barbershop singing shows and at spontaneous events, such as last week's Gulf Coast Relief fund-raising theatrics along B Street...

**Dear Editor, Now, I am sure you would like the yard to have the color of a golf course green, but there are other Greens. The picture is of our wild gourd with 40-foot runners that grew along our driveway from a single plant. Yes, it is impossible to over-winter gourds, but this wild one has survived for two winters now. Few if any man-cultivated plants can survive without adding water and the terrible heat from the concrete driveway would kill all but the strongest so-called weeds...

While most students prepared for the new school year by purchasing new clothes, classroom supplies and backpacks, there are a select few students whose preparation included clearing off the dining room table -- home schoolers. Every time I help one of my children with their spelling words or review for a test, my admiration grows for those who choose to home school their children...

By Connie Jo Discoe Regional Editor Todd Brown of Holdrege remembers well the coaches who encouraged him to do his best. Unfortunately, the coaches who did nothing to motivate him share space in his memories as well. "I learned so much from coaches. Coaches are so influential," Brown told coaches and parents gathered for the McCook Bison Boosters 2005 Coaches Appreciation Banquet Wednesday evening...

Perseverance does pay off, at least in the case of John Brennan of Stratton. Brennan, 80, was recently reunited with his brother after a 66-year separation, when he and his siblings were adopted out separately in 1939. Buoyed by this successful reunion, family members are now trying to locate the two youngest sisters, who were three and seven years old when Brennan last saw them...

Special memories Dear Editor and Readers, Thank you for sharing just a little of my memories of my beautiful stepson who was buried this week. When Gaylord and I were first married, we went to Bethphage so that I might meet Kenny. Some people might see a weird-o, retard-o or many other cruel names for people who are different...

LINCOLN -- Lincoln businessman Rick Poore kicked off his campaign for the Nebraska Legislature's 28th District seat with an event at a downtown pub Thursday night. The 51-year-old Poore grew up in McCook and is a 30-year resident of Lincoln, where he co-owns DesignWear, a union-friendly embroidery and silkscreen business with 24 employees. Rick and his wife Jo have a four-year-old son, Charlie...