Stories from Wednesday, November 8, 2006

July 28, 1938 - Oct. 29, 2006 MESA, Ariz -- Richard Blaine Hiatt Jr., 68, passed away on Oct. 29, 2006, in Mesa, Ariz. He was born in Cambridge on July 28, 1938. He lived out his dreams in many adventures throughout the country. He spent several years living in Mexico during a lengthy illness and then re-located to Apache Junction, Ariz., where he passed away...

Incumbents James Coady of the McCook School Board and Councilman Phil Lyons of the McCook City Council were ousted by voters Tuesday night, with two new members each to join the school board and City council. Voters also resoundingly rejected the proposed county jail/city safety center, with the county bond defeated 2,500 to 1,501 votes and the city portion defeated 1,859 to 883 votes...

Long lines at some polling places Tuesday were attributed to the longer than usual ballot, said Red Willow County Clerk Pauletta Gerver. The two-page ballot that included three initiatives and six amendments slowed down down some voters, Gerver said, in addition to the higher than usual number of provisional ballots...

Nebraska politics turned out to be a lot like Nebraska football this year. Sure, we talk about throwing more passes and recruiting flashy players, but in the end, it's the yardage on the ground that wins the game. Nebraskans proved true to form by handily turning down the newcomer with the television aerial attack, choosing instead the candidate who has put in his time in the trenches, as state insurance commissioner, governor and then senator, Ben Nelson...

Nov. 11 will be celebrated as Veterans Day. This is certainly an approximate title. Years and several wars ago it was honored by the name of Armistice Day of World War One. I'm sure a lot of old timers remember having a moment of silence at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month...

Nov. 11, 2000, The Nebraska Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Highway 83 was designated by Gov. Mike Johanns. Signs are at the South Dakota and Kansas borders and two are at each county line along "83." Those counties are Red Willow, Frontier, Lincoln, Logan, Thomas, and Cherry. The Nebraska Department of Roads, those six counties' commissioners and the VFW were responsible for the purchase and placement of the signs before they were erected...

The dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, is unstable. Mr. K is apparently ashamed of his height (4'9") so he wears elevator shoes. He likes to drink expensive imported cognac while his people are starving and often homeless. He seldom leaves his own country and is usually hiding...

By the time you read this, the mid-term elections will, thankfully, be a thing of the past. The results at the polls, however, are destined to be a part of more tomorrows than I care to consider. Campaigns were in full swing until the last possible moment, candidates and supporters tirelessly working to get out the vote. ...