Stories from Thursday, July 20, 2006

There will be a mandatory pre-season player/parent meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the high school auditorium for any girl entering grades 9-12 who wants to play volleyball this fall. The meeting will cover rules and expectations, practice schedules, and required paperwork to be completed before the start of the season...

Nov. 21, 1918 - July 19, 2006 Fredrick Richard Prell, died Wednesday (July 19, 2006) at Community Hospital in McCook, at the age of 87. He was born Nov. 21, 1918, at Arnold, the son of the late Lovell "Bake" and Mildred (Beardsley) Prell. He grew up at Anselmo and graduated from Anselmo High School in 1938...

LINCOLN -- By unanimous vote, McCook has been selected for renewed participation in the Nebraska Lied Main Street Program. Action was taken Wednesday by Lied Main Street directors in Lincoln. "This is exciting news," said Pam Harsh, executive director of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce. "Main Street offers many programs to help the business district."...

The sign says, "Old florists never die. They just lose their bloomers," and adorns a lush garden in Arapahoe.

Whew! It was already in the mid-70s this morning as we were getting up, but a smattering of rain and promise of more throughout the day was a major relief from Wednesday's heat wave, when McCook got national attention, topping out at 111 degrees. "Nebraska's Hot Spot," anyone?...

As a result of the high water bill I am no longer a resident of McCook. But I do still have interest in McCook such as my job and family. To think the City Council is going to cut the fire department by $5,000 in volunteer pay is astonishing to me. For one, these people leave their jobs, family and many other things too numerous to mention to protect your property...

Biblical religious expert George Anderson has explained part of the word "Bible" in his latest letter to the Gazette."Bi" means two -- logical by modern standards. But he doesn't explain the rest of the word -- "ble." According to Jewish and Christian historians, the answer is that early writers used papyrus, and they didn't have the space to write long explanations; thus "ble" is a shortened form for "bleat."...

"You need to replant my mother-in-law plant. It's going to get root bound" Brad told me as he walked out the door on his way back to Wyoming. It sounded to me like the plant was about to get constipated. I thought about feeding it a laxative. The plant had been sitting on the breakfast bar for the last three months. The only time it got any attention -- or water was when Brad came back every two weeks and gave it a drink...

Nov. 12, 1919-July 18, 2006   Cecil Harlan Davis, age 86, died Tuesday (July 18, 2006) at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial.  He was born in Washington, Kan., to Edward and Jessie (Carter) Davis on Nov. 12, 1919.   He married Mary JoAnn Leonard at McCook on July 2, 1968.  He was a truck driver for Freight Line Trucking with his brother; later he drove for WEW, Speedway, and A.J. ...