Stories from Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Wills twins spark Raiders Medicine Valley's girls track team took their first win of the season in the Maywood Invite Tuesday. The meet took place on the McCook High School track. The Raiders finished the day with 162 points. Heather Wills took home two first place medals and meet records...

A former student at East Ward Elementary who used to shoot marbles on the playground now owns the building. Dan Childers of Sebring, Fla., who agreed to purchase the building for $60,000 said plans are still in the preliminary stages, but is hopeful the city will look favorably on his proposal to renovate the building...

By GENE O. MORRIS Publisher Remember the start of the new century, when the new Valmont plant and Work Ethic Camp sparked a wave of economic excitement in the McCook community? Well, get ready, because more economic breakthroughs could be on the way...

May 19, 1924 - March 26, 2006 BIRD CITY -- Ellsworth J. "Gus" Wilkens, 81, died Sunday (March 26, 2006) at the Salina Regional Health Center in Salina, Kan. He was born May 19, 1924, on the family farm in McDonald, to Frank and Jennie May (Wolfe) Wilkens. At birth he weighed one-and-a-half pounds...

BENKELMAN -- A new company has chosen Benkelman as the site for a plant which will manufacture semi trailers for the ethanol industry and other commercial uses. Valley Farm Industries LLC has occupied the 15,000 square foot building which formerly housed the John Deere dealership. The firm will begin production in May with the goal of having the first trailer completed in June...

Anyone looking for an easy answer to the immigrant worker question has a long search ahead of them. On one hand, one has to admire anyone who will risk crossing the border illegally only to take a low-paying job that no U.S. resident wants. The family is especially important in Latin American cultures and much of the money earned off the books here ends up improving the quality of life for relatives back home...

Thanks Mayor Berry -- what an exquisite explanation of why we should keep the present city manager. I think you were trying to say the process was flawed, but then you go on to say "if council members COULD HAVE done it differently, they probably would have informed the public."...

This is in response to the article in the Tuesday, March 21, 2006, edition. The article had quotes from Public Works Director Kyle Potthoff on the performance of the city crews in the clearing of snow from the city streets. I don't know if he has ever been to another town or city after a snow storm, but I strongly disagree with his comments on the performance of the city crews on how they did such an outstanding job of clearing the streets of snow...

The family of Ron and Doris (Josten) Friehe of McCook are hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 30th anniversary. The couple was married: April 3, 1976, at St. Boniface Church, Elgin. Children of the couple are Valerie, Sam, and Brian Friehe. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 2005 Norris Ave, McCook, NE 69001...

It turns out our house may be older than we were led to believe. In fact, we may have already missed its hundredth birthday. Based on the hand-made nails drawn from some of the beams, it wouldn't surprise me. We have based the earlier age on a recent letter received from a faithful reader, Esther Wissbaum, who lives at Hillcrest. ...

When the Republican River settlement was reached in 2003, irrigators and government officials faced the tremendous challenge of sending millions of additional gallons of water downstream to avoid paying millions of dollars in fines. Nearly three years later, we have made a lot of progress at the federal level to assist irrigators and the State of Nebraska in complying with the rules of the compact, and I am proud of the cooperative efforts of Nebraskans in working to resolve this problem. ...

We the residents of Southwest Nebraska would like to thank you and the other state legislators for "wrestling with the problem" of meeting the compact agreements with Kansas over water usage. Clearly you've heard about the "problem." It's unfortunate you have been unwilling to understand the...

Culbertson, Neb., nestles beside the graceful tree lined bank at the juncture of the Frenchman Creek and Republican River. The Republican channel passes into Nebraska from Colorado about 65 miles upstream and the Frenchman meanders from its meager beginnings in eastern Colorado about 100 miles upstream...

March 27, 1916 - March 23, 2006 E. Morten "Bud" Grosse, 89, died Thursday (March 23, 3006). He was born in Stratton, Neb. to Henry W. and Martha Virginia (Morten) Grosse. He grew up in Stratton and graduated from Stratton High School. After high school he completed business college in Missouri. ...