Stories from Friday, December 30, 2005

GRAND ISLAND -- The McCook High School girls basketball team will play Scottsbluff for fifth place at the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference Holiday Tournament at Grand Island. The Bison girls game tips off at 2 p.m. The McCook boys will play Lexington for seventh place at 3:45 p.m...

ARAPAHOE -- Arapahoe's boys and girls basketball teams won their own Arapahoe Holiday Tournament Thursday. Both teams defeated Pleasonton's Bulldogs. The Warrior girls won 50-37 and the boys 59-35. In the consolation games Sumner-Eddyville-Miller boys defeated Red Cloud 64-36...

Sept. 23, 1928--Dec. 28, 2005 SYRACUSE -- Gloria A. Wellman, 77, died Wednesday (Dec. 28, 2005) at her home in Syracuse. She was born Sept. 23, 1928, in Otoe to Fred W. and Stella A. (Bond) Bock. She graduated from Syracuse High School in 1945. She married Alvin C. Wellman on April 27, 1947, in Otoe...

With running mate Kate Witek, State Auditor, at his side, Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne said deep divisions within the state are one of his top concerns. They addressed those and other key issues facing Nebraska at a press conference Thursday at AmFirst Bank in McCook...

Some projects are almost certainties. Others are only dreams. Still, it's interesting to look ahead, to wonder what the future will bring. Here in McCook, the list of probabilities and possibilities for 2006 include the following: 1. Community Hospital Expansion -- With nearly half the money already raised, and more promised, the expansion of the hospital's rehabilitation services is poised to start in 2006. ...

As the year draws to a close, journalists have it the easiest. For a year-end wrap-up, all they have to do is rehash everything that happened over the past yea. The year-end lists are everywhere from the most popular folk songs of the year to the Top 10 fashion mistakes; what star couples broke up (whom we'll never meet) to what top criminals broke out (and whom we're thankful that we'll never meet)...

**Dear Editor, It is an honor to recognize an area American Legion Auxiliary Unit for its diligence in making membership a number one priority. Each of the 339 units in Nebraska has been challenged to make membership a main objective and bring our numbers higher on the chart...

GRAND ISLAND -- The McCook High School girls basketball team dropped a 59-44 decision to Scottsbluff Friday afternoon in the sixth-place game at the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference Holiday Tournament. The Bison fell behind 16-4 in the first quarter only to score the final 4 points of the frame. McCook trailed by just 4 at halftime 27-23 and were within 36-32 in the third quarter. But the Bearcats closed the third period with a 9-4 run and outscored the Bison 14-8 in the final quarter...

Nov. 22, 1937-Dec. 29, 2005 CULBERTSON -- Dewey William Le Droit, 68, formerly of North Platte, died Thursday (Dec. 29, 2005) at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. He was born Nov. 22, 1937, to Dewey and Elizabeth (Spiegel) Le Droit in Lexington. He grew up in North Platte and Lexington...

Jan. 28, 1920--Dec. 29, 2005 Lucille Ireland, 85, died Thursday, December 29, 2005 at Community Hospital in McCook. She was born Jan. 28, 1920, in Red Willow County to William and Lillian (Junker) Baumbach. She was raised in the Ash Creek Community southeast of McCook where she attended school and was a member of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Indianola...

HAIGLER -- Marcella M. Samler, 87, died Wednesday (Dec. 28, 2005) at the Cheyenne County Hospital in St. Francis. Services will be Saturday, 10:30 a.m., at Zion Lutheran Church in Haigler with the Rev. Chris Farmer officiating. Interment will follow services at Hope Valley Cemetery in Cheyenne County, Kan...

BAC is an abbreviation for Blood Alcohol Content, as in drinking and driving. In 1938, the National Safety Council Committee on Tests for Intoxication established three "zones of influence" in regards to blood alcohol content. A BAC of .05 or lower was defined as "not under the influence," .05 to .15 was defined as "possibly under the influence," and higher than .15 was defined as "under the influence." These findings were incorporated into New York law in 1941...