Stories from Tuesday, July 8, 2008

LINCOLN -- Division I Ping All-Region teams have been announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Ping All-Region teams consist of the top 15 individuals in their region in the Individual Ranking System. Additionally, any player ranked in the top 75 according to Golfstat or the Sagarin rankings not included in their region's top 15 are added to their region's team...

STRATTON -- Helen S. Ekstrum, 97, formerly of Stratton, died Sunday (July 6, 2008) at Linden Court in North Platte. She was born in Hitchcock County, north of Stratton to Roy and Effie (Gagle) Spencer, and attended country school near her home. She attended and later graduated from Stratton High School in 1929, and went on to attend summer school at Peru State Teachers College...

March 29, 1915 - July 6, 2008 BEAVER CITY -- C. Jean Shafer, 93, of Beaver City, died Sunday (July 6, 2008) at Tri-Valley Hospital at Cambridge. She was born March 29, 1915, at Orleans to Harry and Elfie (Childress) Olson. She grew up in the Orleans and graduated from Orleans High School in 1932. ...

May 9, 1911 - July 5, 2008 ATWOOD -- Irene Cloe Gertson, 97, died Saturday (July 5, 2008) at Rawlins County Health Center in Atwood. She was born to William and Agnes Beck Birrer on May 9, 1911, in Atwood. She attended school in Atwood graduating in 1929, and then attended Denver Beauty Academy in Denver, Colo...

Decorative street lights lining Norris Avenue would be expensive -- but would also restore the charm, and maybe traffic, to downtown McCook. The McCook City Council was asked for a donation of city funds for vintage-looking street lights along Norris Avenue, from A Street up to F Street, near the Frank Lloyd Wright House...

Several city department heads explained their budgets and purchasing requests to the McCook City Council Monday night. City Council Kurt Fritsch commended city staff at the regular meeting for "holding the line" in their budgets for next year. The total proposed budget for 2008-09 is $22.3 million, a decrease of about $1 million from last year. A third of the total budget is the General Fund, that pays for functions and purchases in all city departments...

From reserving money for a possible police/fire facility to playground equipment, the McCook City Council will have to decide how to allocate city sales tax dollars from the 2008-09 proposed budget. The council conducted its first of three budget discussion sessions Monday night at its regular meeting to consider the proposed 2008-09 spending plan. Mayor Dennis Berry was absent from the meeting...

May 12, 1947 - July 5, 2008 McCook resident, Marvin Len Pratt, 61, of McCook died Saturday (July 5, 2008) at Mary Lanning Hospital in Hastings. He was born May 12, 1947, to Marvin Orlie and Janice Daisy (Welcome) Pratt at Aitkin, Minn. He married Victoria I. Eaken on Feb. 5, 1998, in Salina, Kan.They later moved to McCook...

A McCook boy burned across his torso by a lit firework has a little advice for firework safety. "Stay far, far away," advised 7-year old Zane Walker. Zane thought he was far enough away when he and his family celebrated July 4 at a friend's house. Standing about 5 feet off to the side, Zane watched as an adult lit the cylinder-shaped "Zip" firework...

The 43rd Army Band performs music ranging from orchestra pieces, top, the Sousa Marches, jazz and Country & Western Monday night in Norris Park. Both the bandshell and the band's own inflatable version were put to good use as hundreds attended the free event. The group's tour includes a stop in Arapahoe on Wednesday. The group is the Nebraska National Guard's only musical unit. (Bruce Crosby/McCook Daily Gazette)...

The Fourth of July has come and gone, but there's no shortage of spectacular fireworks for those willing to venture out after dark. Lightning storms like the one that skirted McCook overnight are certainly impressive, but we don't recommend being outdoors during those...

Do they have a Fourth of July in the rest of the world? Well yes, there is a July 4 on the calendar the world, around but most don't celebrate our Independence Day. That lesson was brought home to me one year while I was on temporary duty in Hong Kong. Yes I know a hardship tour indeed! With friends I was touring a part of the British Colony that overlooked their magnificent blue water harbor...

LINCOLN -- Rural Nebraskans overwhelmingly support aggressive pursuit of renewable forms of energy to resolve the energy crisis, according to the Nebraska Rural Poll. Yet Nebraska is one of 18 states with no standards to require such development. A majority of respondents to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln poll also reported they believe Americans should reduce their energy consumption, with many saying they already have taken steps to do so...