Stories from Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The first baseball coach ever at McCook Community College is coming back to fill the final vacancy of the MCC Coaching staff. McCook High School graduate and former MCC baseball coach Jon Olsen has been named the baseball coach. Olsen spent four seasons as coach at Independence Community College in Kansas...

HOLDREGE -- The McCook Legion Juniors team continued their winning streak in Nebraska Class B Area 6 district play at Holdredge Monday night. The Juniors (3-0 in district play, 16-15 overall) beat Lexington 8-7 and will play the Lexington-Cozad winner at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the title game...

LINCOLN -- Brandon Crick of McCook and Ben Tewes of Lincoln are co-leaders after 18-holes of play at Firethorn Golf Club in the 99th Nebraska Amateur Men's Championship. Both golfers finished the day at 2-under par 69. Tied for third and one shot back are Ben Hanssen of Grand Island and Daniel Hersch of Lincoln...

Match play begins today A member of the University of Nebraska golf team, J.C. Stevenson of Grand Island, shot an even par 72 Monday to capture medalist honors in the Nebraska Women's Amateur Match Play Championships at Heritage Hills in McCook. Stevenson, who is entering her sophomore year at UNL, played in every match for the Huskers in her freshman season...

BENKELMAN -- A Dundy County rancher told fellow landowners at a meeting Monday of the South West Weed Management Area that a vegetation control project on his land has improved the land. A fellow Republican River landowner told the group, however, that he worries that removing trees and undergrowth will destroy wildlife habitat...

June 28, 1919 - July 13, 2007 WAUNETA -- Russell O. Fanning, 88, died Friday (July 13, 2007) at Heritage of Wauneta Nursing Home. He was born June 28, 1919, on the family farm near Wauneta to Clarence and Della (Hanna) Fanning. He grew up in the Wauneta area and graduated from Wauneta High School in 1937...

Dec. 31, 1919 - July 16, 2007 ALMA?-- Ralph M. Johnson, 87, formerly of Stamford died Monday (July 16, 2007) at Harlan County Hospital at Alma. He was born Dec. 31, 1919, at Stamford to Lowell and Edith (Hanson) Johnson. He grew up in the Stamford area, graduating from Stamford High School with the class of 1938. ...

The McCook City Council agreed unanimously Monday night to sell 15 feet of city-owned property to Mike and Michelle Gonzales, at its regular meeting Monday night. The council approved the sale in concept only but will vote on it at the next meeting when City Staff will brings it back in as an ordinance...

Jan. 9, 1921 - July 15, 2007 LINCOLN -- Naomi Ellen Bauer, 86, of Lincoln, formerly of McCook, died Sunday (July 15, 2007) at the Ambassador Nursing Home. Born Jan. 9, 1921, in Blue Hill to Millard and Ellen (Bloomgren) Stark, Naomi was a graduate of Blue Hill High School and Kearney State Teachers College. ...

One person was talked into serving on the sales tax ballot committee and another refused, so the McCook City Council postponed other appointments until the council can bring some names at today's special meeting at 7:30 p.m. The council will go through the proposed 2007-08 budget at this meeting, which they began to do Monday night...

Karey Graves and her four-year-old daughter, Sage, find a slice of shade after completing their yard work. Shade will be a precious commodity as the temperatures climb into the triple digits for the first time this year in McCook.

After reading this story ["Neighbors rescue wheat for soldier serving in Iraq" (http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1222561.html)] I had a great sense of Nebraska pride. I haven't lived back there for 20 years, but it will always be home. People are of their word and are always willing to help. It's nice to know some things never change...

Is there is a dark side to immunization -- what would they be? If the immunizations were so wonderful and safe, why would the manufacturers of immunizations want total immunity against lawsuits-which they have consistently requested from Congress and received...

Harry Strunk, founder of the McCook Daily Gazette, was known as an innovator, who was not afraid to try something new. The most famous example was the Newsboy, the 1929 Curtiss Robin airplane, which plied the skies of Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, delivering the newspaper by airdrop. Although that experiment was cut short by a tornado, the plane was restored and is now on exhibit in Seattle...

March 29, 1912 - July 11, 2007 Kenneth Henry McGuire, age 95, died Wednesday (July 11, 2007) at Hillcrest Nursing Home. He was born March 29, 1912, to Joseph Walters and Kathryn (Reiners) McGuire in McCook. He married Jean L. Hutto in Wray, Colo., on June 19, 1952.  To this union two children were born, Ken and Judy...

Charming. ["Tattoo removal, 1950s style" (http://www.mccookgazette. com/story/1221948.html)] What an uninformed man you have writing opinion columns for you. I realize they are simply that, opinions, but I was struck when I read this line: "For some reason I have never considered tattoos, body piercing, lead rings in the nose or other places, the scruffy unshaved look or men with long, greasy hair to be 'cool.'"...