Stories from Tuesday, October 31, 2006

In a Week 2 game on Sept. 8, the No. 1-ranked McCook Bison handed the Ogallala Indians a 13-0 loss at Weiland Field. To refresh the memory, that contest happened during homecoming, was interrupted by a long lightning delay and according to head coach Jeff Gross was not a good effort by his team...

WILSONVILLE -- Miss Rodeo Nebraska Ashley Rice of Wilsonville will be honored at a send-off party Saturday, as she prepares to compete for the title of 2007 "Miss Rodeo America." Ashley has spent the past year and a half representing her home state of Nebraska and promoting the sport of professional rodeo and America's agricultural industry and Western heritage. ...

April 4, 1923 - Oct. 30, 2006 Ruth Elaine Budig died Monday (Oct. 30, 2006) at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge. She was born April 4, 1923, in Culbertson and was the daughter of Ira and Flossie (Korell) Joy. She graduated from Culbertson High School...

Dec. 18, 1921 - Oct. 26, 2006 SAN?ANTONIO, Texas -- Brigadier General Philip A. Deffer, San Antonio, Texas, died Oct. 26, 2006, at his home.  Born Dec. 18, 1921, in Indianola to Frank W. Deffer and Hazel Phillips. He attended public school in Indianola, McCook Junior College and the University of Nebraska, receiving his MD in 1945, from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine...

TRENTON -- The driver of a semi truck involved in a fatality accident Monday afternoon eight miles north of Trenton has been arrested on suspicion of motor vehicle homicide and jailed in Hitchcock County jail in Trenton. Hitchcock County Sheriff D. Bryan Leggott indicated in a press release this morning that James Watt II, 50, of Everton, Ark., is charged in the death of Alan T. Roller, 59, of Champion...

IMPERIAL -- Attorney General Jon Bruning presented $75,000 for invasive species removal to the Nebraska Republican River Manage-ment District Association in Imperial. The money was made available through the Attorney General's Environmental Court-Ordered Settlement Fund, a fund generated from voluntary payments collected in court-approved settlements from entities that have violated state and federal environmental regulations...

Anyone who was expecting the treat of being able to take a deep breath and give the election some deep thought before next week's election is in for a nasty trick. That's because timbre of the campaign, on all levels, is holding true to the end. Among the latest is a new attack on Sen. Ben Nelson that should sound alarms in his hometown, should his opponent Pete Ricketts be elected...

Nov. 27, 1949-Oct. 28, 2006 BENKELMAN -- Richard Lee Els, 56, died Saturday (Oct. 28, 2006) at Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Colo. He was born Nov. 27, 1949, at Wray, Colo., to Byron and Leah (Richard) and was baptized in the Presbyterian Church. He attended grade school at Dist. No. 52, and later attended high school in Benkelman where he was a member of the graduating class of 1968.  He also took two years of auto mechanics at Goodland, Kan...

Sept. 26, 1921-Oct. 27, 2006 ATWOOD -- Carl Sterling Phillips, 85, died Friday (Oct. 27, 2006), at the Good Samaritan Center in Atwood. He was born Sept. 26, 1921, to Carl Spry and Pearl Elsie (Scaman) Phillips in Bent County, Colo. He attended country school through the eighth grade...

Gary Benson (Open Forum 10/26) is right to find my idea disturbing that "OUR rights as citizens" are being removed by our own government. But that is what's happening. In September Bush demanded -- and our obedient Congress gave him -- the authority to dump the rights of any of us...

I was very happy to see that you are remembering "our" birthday back home ["USMC plans birthday party" (http://www.mccook gazette.com/story/1175023.html).] It seems that some forget that you don't need hundreds of people to gather to celebrate something so dear to those of us who have worn the uniform of a United States Marine, or loved someone who has...

Over the last several weeks, I have been very interested to observe various opinions about our water use situation in western Nebraska. The issue is very basic. On the logical, scientific side of the issue is the foundational fact that our water resources can originate in only one way: natural precipitation, no matter where in the Great Plains area, or any inland venue for that matter, we may reside...

Amendment 5 on the November ballot will ask Nebraskans to vastly expand the role of our public schools in our children's lives. Nebraska's constitution now guarantees a free education to students from kindergarten through high School. Amendment 5 would be the first step in adding that guarantee to children from "birth to kindergarten."...

Having the privilege of volunteering with some local and state organizations that are involved with youth, I am excited about the potential that Amendment 5 has in helping to develop our children across Nebraska. Amendment 5 establishes an early childhood education endowment -- without raising taxes or implementing a new tax -- that will give some of our most vulnerable children and families the opportunity to have a good start in life. ...

I read a lot of papers from around the state, particularly the political and editorial sections. I am a Liberal Democrat and that effects my interpretation of what I read, but that's my right. I have noticed lately many letters to the editors around the state that repeat the same basic talking points. ...

I take issue with anyone who thinks closing Class I schools will save money. It won't. District 8, a Class I outside of McCook, operated for a comparable per pupil cost to McCook, sometimes for less, had a quality program, and usually had some money left over at the end of the year...

EDITOR'S NOTE: In accordance with our published Open Forum letter policy, today is the last day we will publish new letters related to the Nov. 7 election. An exception would be specific rebuttals to specific letters already published.

Today, supporters of Frank Shoemaker, Candidate for the 44th District seat in the Nebraska Legislature, released a letter written to the publisher of the political website, necitizen.com. In the letter, the Shoemaker supporters describe a survey posted on the site as "false" and "misleading" and charged the site with attempting to "fool people in Legislative District 44."...

Steve Smith and Nebraska Citizens issued the following response later this morning: Most candidates do not like being on the record. They prefer to control every aspect of their image. Yet many voters want to know more information than just the vague statements that most candidates hope voters will accept. ...