Stories from Monday, April 23, 2007

BRYAN, Texas -- Dana Bunstock of McCook and Jason Osterstock, of Kutztown Pa., were united in marriage on Jan. 6, 2007, at Christ's Way Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas with the Rev. Mike Curry officiating. Parents of the couple are Chuck and Gaylea Bunstock of McCook, Janet Osterstock of Columbus, Ohio and Earl Osterstock, Lenhartsville, Pa. Great-grandparents of the couple are Rosa Belle Repass of McCook and Sara Ulmer of Bethlehem, Pa...

Robert and Amber Brannin of McCook announce the birth of their daughter, Natalie Brannin on Jan. 15, 2007, at Community Hospital in McCook. She weighed 7 pounds, 6.2 ounces and was 201/4 inches long. Her grandparents are Tracy and Judy Neverve of Hayes Center and Robert and Elaine Brannin of Palisade. Great-grandparents are Loren Hurst of Burlington Colo., and Ella Lowery of Palisade...

Ashley Nicole Rice of Wilsonville and Cody Robert Gerlach of DeWitt announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Tony and Patricia Rice of Wilsonville, Rick and Amy Gerlach of DeWitt and Neal and Linda Freese of Plymouth...

The family of Lewis Hofman is hosting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday on April 30. Cards of congratulations will reach him at 122 North Van Buren, Eugene,OR 97402.

David and Angela Biesecker of Albuquerque, N.M., announce the birth of their son, James William Biesecker on April 13, 2007, at Lovelace Womens Hospital. He weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. His grandparents are James and Deb Walker of Farmington N.M., and Larry and Judy Armijo Albuquerque, N.M. His great-grandfather is Richard Burton of McCook...

The family of Eldon and Fay Ann (Wicke) Barenberg of McCook are hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary. They were married April 27, 1957, at Grace Lutheran Church in Atwood. The couple's children are David and Joann Barenberg, Deb and Ron Lauer and Denise and Lance Gillen all of McCook. They have nine grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 204 West P, McCook, NE 69001...

The family of Dolores A (Strop) Leffler of Hayes Center is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday on April 27, 1927. Her children are Linda Fanning and Vicki Gohl. She has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 610 East 14th Street Apt. C3, McCook, NE 69001...

John and LaVaughn (Hock) Fries will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary April 25, 2007. They were married on LaVaughn's parent's farm north of Culbertson April 25, 1937. Their children are Steve and Gayleen Fries of Culbertson, Tyrone and Donna Fries of Plattsmouth, Wayne Fries of Leander, Texas, Harvey and Betty Fries of Lincoln and Russell Fries and Ruth Dickinson of Smithville, Mo. ...

The family of Marlin and Letha Perks is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary. They were married April 28, 1957. Their children are Boni and Lee Edwards of North Platte, Terry Perks of Bartley, and Shelly and Mike Slaba, also of North Platte. They have seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Letha's mother is Alberta Wolf of McCook. Cards of congratulation will reach the couple at HC 68 Box 6, Stockville, NE, 69042...

McCook's Josh Cherry placed second in the high school boys 800-meter run at the 80th Kansas Relays Friday at Memorial Stadium at the University of Kansas. Cherry is the first McCook athlete to competed in the Kansas Relays since 1992. Cherry finished second in the 800 behind Bobby Potrykus of Conifer, Colo...

May 11, 1914 - April 20, 2007 Roland Eugene Lefebvre, 92, died Friday (April 20, 2007) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. He was born May 11, 1914, at St. Lawrence, Canada, the son of the late Dominic and Larua (Neil) Lefebvre. He grew up at Detroit, Mich., where he graduated from Rexford High School...

Dec. 9, 1919 - April 21, 2007 Robert F. Hedges, 87, died Saturday (April 21, 2007) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. He was born Dec. 9, 1919, at Indianola, the son of Herbert and Sarah (Evans) Hedges. He graduated from Indianola Public Schools, McCook Jr. College and the University of Nebraska...

April 8, 1930 - April 22, 2007 BARTLEY -- Myrlin "Mert" Arthur Burton, 77, of Bartley, died Sunday (April 22, 2007) at Community Hospital in McCook.  He had been a resident of Hillcrest Nursing Home since August of 2004.  He was born April 8, 1930, to William A. and Elma E. (Hodgkin) Burton at Bartley, Nebraska, and graduated from Bartley High School in 1948. ...

In the next few months the NRD board will be making decisions that could cost people of the district many millions of dollars. In the past, when large numbers of irrigators have gone to the NRD meetings, they generally got what they wanted. You can also have an impact because of the different...

It began with a walk after church and concluded with a basketball shot through a hoop. The vision Marty Russell had in 2005 of a park to honor his father, Carson Russell, came to fruition Saturday with the official opening Saturday of Russell Park, on West Fifth and J streets...

One of the more interesting citizens of our city in the last 125 years, and one who made a profound difference in the area was Myatt Volentine, who arrived in McCook in 1925, aboard a slow moving freight train at age 15, with less than $100 in his pocket...

"If the farmer does well, everybody does well." It's an old saying around small-town Nebraska main streets, but it holds true in a new university study commissioned by Natural Resources Districts along the Republican River. According to the $9,000 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research study, some $81.6 million could be lost in the Lower, Middle and Upper Republican NRDs...

Winds of change are blowing through Iowa and Nebraska, but -- because the states are playing by a different set of rules -- Iowa has a large lead over Nebraska in the generation of wind power. Barbara and I found that out this past week on drives back and forth through the side-by-side states...

Show some class Mr. McPhillips ["Safety on campus" (http://www.mccook gazette.com/story/1199945.html)]. I read in complete revulsion your letter turning the tragedy at Virginia Tech into your own cause of political ideology. At the time your letter was printed in this paper the victims hadn't even been gone a week and yet you felt the need to defile them by lamenting the fact that they were not allowed to carry a concealed weapon...

I sat down to a nice cup of coffee this morning (Saturday) to read the Gazette. At first I thought I had a window open and a storm was approaching. Then I realized all the hot air was coming from the article I was reading. Once again, Dick Trail has opened his mouth and shown the readers of your paper how pompous and ignorant he is. ...

I was troubled by Dick Trail's last opinion column. While Trail's belief that not wearing a seatbelt is a sin is a little ridiculous, my problem comes with him insinuating that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine deserved to be in the crash. I would remind Trail that the crash left Corzine in critical condition, with a broken femur and on a ventilator. ...

A lot of people assume that the new water bill is something that WaterClaim supports or caused to happen because we supported Mark Christensen in his election bid and because Mark Christensen was an employee of WaterClaim. WaterClaim did support Mark Christensen in his successful election bid. We did pay Mark a salary, both before and after the election.  We did draft the first two versions of the water bill, LB 701. ...

School at McCook Senior High was postponed school until 9:50 a.m. this morning due to vandalism over the weekend. Cooking oil and other substances were spilled on the floor and poured on items, computers and books were damaged and desks were moved, said Officer Jerry Calvin with the McCook Police Department...