Stories from Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The McCook Community College men's basketball team dropped a 72-65 decision to Garden City (Kan.) in a Region IX versus Region VI matchup Tuesday night at True Hall Gymnasium. MCC dropped to 1-2. Garden City, picked to place fourth in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, is 1-0...

ST. FRANCIS -- The St. Francis Indians rolled into the next round of the Kansas Class 2-1A football playoffs with a 52-8 victory over Decatur Community High School-Oberlin Tuesday at St. Francis. The Indians improved to 9-1 and will play La Crosse (10-0) in the second round Saturday. La Crosse blasted Stanton County 55-6...

Three area Southwest Nebraska high school volleyball sub-district finals ended, while the D1-12, D1-11 and C2-11 teams competed in the semifinals Tuesday night. The three districts will play in the finals on Thursday.

Feb. 23, 1926 - Nov. 4, 2008 OBERLIN -- Wynn Horney, 82, died Tuesday (Nov. 4, 2008) at Decatur County Hospital in Oberlin. He was born Feb. 23, 1926, in Brewster, Kan., to Harland and Margaret (Brown) Horney. He grew up in Brewster and attended school in Brewster, Colby, Oakley and Toledo, Ohio...

Aug. 19, 1947 - Nov. 1, 2008 SCOTT CITY, Kan. -- Bruce L. Farr, 61, died Saturday (Nov. 1, 2008) in Scott County, Kan. He was born Aug. 19, 1947, in Oberlin to Francis "Sam" L. and Donna Faye (Stratton) Farr Sr. He grew up on a farm northeast of Oberlin and attended Decatur Community High School...

July 12, 1914 - Nov. 3, 2008 ATWOOD -- Lewie Elmer Grout, 94, died Monday (Nov. 3, 2008). He was born July 12, 1914, in Atwood to Robert and Edna Grout. He attended middle school and completed his sophomore year of high school in Atwood. On March 28, 1943, he married Velma Rahe. He farmed east of Atwood for 11 years. They moved to Aurora, Colo., where his wife preceded him in death...

Several incumbents failed to garner enough votes to stay on locally elected boards, including those on the Middle Republican Natural Resources District and the McCook School Board. Red Willow County election official Pauletta Gerver said a total of 5,112 votes were cast in Tuesday's general election, that included 962 absentee or early votes. About 54 provisional ballots will be counted Thursday with results released by Friday, she said...

Rawlins County residents decided at the polls Tuesday to use a county-wide sales tax to fund the Atwood swimming pool project that voters approved in previous elections. Residents cast 1,094 votes in favor of the sales tax; their other option was a county-wide property tax, which garnered 392 votes...

A recent documentary on the presidency of Lyndon Johnson included, of course, scenes from the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention, complete with the rioting and police response in Chicago's Grant Park. What a difference 40 years has made. Grant Park was the scene of one of the most jubilant acceptance celebrations ever Tuesday. Love or hate Sen. Barack Obama, his words have to go down in history as some of the most memorable ever delivered...

At the polls Tuesday, Benkelman voters said "yes" to a sales tax earmarked for infrastructure improvements and Hayes and Furnas/Gosper county residents said "no" to taxes for their historical societies. Also in Furnas and in Chase counties, Cambridge and Imperial residents voted against fluoridating their drinking water. In Maywood, in Frontier County, there were 210 votes split among three declared candidates for three village board positions and 126 votes cast for two write-in candidates...

Another Wednesday morning has dawned. For those who work Monday through Friday, Wednesday is typically known as "hump day." For yours truly, Wednesday is a half-day so I can save hours for our double-edition Fridays. I like Wednesdays. I've enjoyed many a Wednesday morning over the years while others have come and gone largely unnoticed. This Wednesday, however, comes with a certain measure of trepidation...