Stories from Friday, February 20, 2009

OMAHA -- Southwest Nebraska will be represented by five wrestlers in the Nebraska state tournament semifinals tonight at the Qwest Center in Omaha. McCook has two entries in Class B -- Nate Morgan at 112 pounds and Chris Schleeman at 215 pounds. Southwest has two entries in Class D -- Heath Teel at 103 pounds and Josh Gates at 125 pounds...

Last second free throws by North Platte-St. Pat's Shelby Pieper hit two free throws in the final seconds to beat the undefeated Cambridge Trojans 33-31 for the Class C2 sub-district girls basketball championship game.

March 6, 1928 - Feb. 18, 2009 PUEBLO, Colo. -- Willard Jerome Teel, 80, died Wednesday (Feb. 18, 2009 at Pueblo Hospital. He was born March 6, 1928, at Indianola to Earl and Clara (Hakel) Teel. He graduated from McCook High School and joined the Air Force...

July 3, 1951 - Feb. 18, 2009 ALMENA, Kan. -- Robin Lee Johnson, 57, died Wednesday (Feb. 18, 2009) at his home in Almena, Kan. He was born July 3, 1951, to Robert Leroy and Helen Louise (Sidles) Johnson in Bird City, Kan. He grew up on the family farm near McDonald, Kan., and graduated from McDonald Rural High School. ...

CAMBRIDGE -- After years of study, speculation, deliberation and feasibility studies, Tri Valley Health System is ready to build a new hospital. The Tri Valley Health System Board of Trustees has signed a resolution to move forward with construction...

OBERLIN, Kan. -- A district magistrate judge in Decatur County set bond Thursday at $300,000 each for two adults arrested Wednesday after a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper found 264 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle. Patrol Trooper Phil Henrickson arrested Francisco A. ...

Linda Frank, coordinator of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce's Home and Leisure Show, helps Dick Geier of Endicott Clay Products set up his booth, one of about 75 at this year's show at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Airport Road in McCook. Geier, now of Omaha, said Endicott has provided a lot of brick for construction in McCook -- including the Gazette building -- but also has big markets in Chicago and New York. ...

An emergency relief grant fund designed to help organizations in Greater Nebraska meet essential human needs in 2009 will be a source of help in Southwest Nebraska. The McCook Community Foundation has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation which will be allocated to several organizations, helping provide essential needs to hundreds of people in the McCook area during this economic downturn...

I first met Jerry 12 years ago at the old Elks Club on a Sunday afternoon. I had missed the weekly Sunday morning services there and wasn't even for sure they would still be open when I got there. It turned out that they were so I walked in and took my regular seat at the far end of the bar by the door...

By now, I'm sure that 99 percent of you have heard of the "Snuggie," which appears to be the end result of the intensely intricate lab work of cross-pollinating downy-soft fleece blankets (or, if you prefer, Fleeceus comforterae, in genuine faux-Latinspeak) and the miracle invention that is the shirt sleeve (which has no faux-Latinspeak translation, at least none that I could make up off the top of my head; apologies all around). ...

Proponents of an expanded elementary program should get an "A" for effort. Make that an "A" for "Art," as in "McCook Art Guild." McCook High School recently re-established an agriculture and FFA program that's appropriate for a school in a community where agriculture is of such high importance...

The children of Bruce and Susan Hagan are requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 30th wedding anniversary. They were married Feb. 24, 1979, at the United Methodist Church in McCook. They have six children, Bruce, Jr. and wife, Dawn of Culbertson and their four children, Bryan and wife, Aletha of Culbertson and their three sons, Bryce and wife, Mary of North Platte and their twin daughters, Bret and wife, Katie of Stockton, Kan. and their son,...

The family of LaMoine Keene of McCook, is requesting a card shower in honor of his 88th birthday. He was born Feb. 22, 1921. His family include his daughter, Dian Trail and husband, Chuck and son, Steve Keene and wife, Patty, all of McCook. He has six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Cards will reach him at 111 West G, McCook NE 69001...

Brandon and Lisa Sughroue of McCook, announce the birth of their son, Caleb Matthew Sughroue on Feb. 9, 2009, at Community Hospital in McCook. He weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 21 1/2 inches. His grandparents are Gary and Cindy Siebrandt of McCook and Donnie and Angie Sughroue of Bartley. Great-grandparents are Alice Siebrandt of McCook and the late Richard Siebrandt, Peggy Cisar of McCook and the late Bill Cisar, Don and Jean Sughroue of Cambridge and the late Paul and Esther Meader...

Kathy and Jason Middleswart of Gibbon, announce the birth of their daughter, Kinsley Katherine Middleswart on Feb. 7, 2009, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 21 1/2 inches long. She has four older siblings, Larissa, Chase, Logan and Aiden. Her grandparents are Steve and Linda Tomlinson of Beaver City and Larry and Brenda Middleswart of Gibbon. Great-grandparents are Max and Alda Drew of Kearney and Don Dye Gibbon...

Brian and Erika Smith of McCook announce the birth of their daughters, Eleanor Chloe Smith and Lylith Corine Smith on Jan. 27, 2009, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. Eleanor weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 17 3/4 inches. Lylith weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 19 inches. ...

The families of Gail and Elsie Probasco announce the couple's 65th wedding anniversary and their 85th birthdays. Elsie turned 85 on Jan. 9 and Gail will be 85 on June 14. They married Feb. 26, 1944. Cards of congratulation will reach them at PO Box 151, Bartley, NE 69020...

Shane and Amanda Chambers-Johnson announce the birth of their son, Jackson Louis Johnson on Jan. 7, 2009, at Western Plains Medical Center. He weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 19.5 inches. He has an older sibling, 20-month-old Judson Hugh. Grandparents are Dave and Pat Chambers of Culbertson, Kay and Gary Matheny of Oberlin and Tedd and Lila Johnson of Paxton. Great-grandparents are Luetta Pollnow of Oberlin and Irma Johnson of Gothenburg...

The family of Naomi Kelly of Cambridge is requesting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday. She was born Feb. 24, 1929. Her family includes her son, Richard Potts and wife, Carla, two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter. Cards will reach her at 209 Nelson St. Apt. 27, Cambridge NE 69022...

RED WILLOW COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AGENDA Feb. 23, 2009 Agenda for such meeting, kept continuously current, is available for public inspection at the office of the County Clerk, but the agenda may be modified at such meeting. 9:00 a.m. Call to Order...

LINCOLN -- Amid a struggling economy, home-grown small businesses are key to a community's health, and the NebraskaEDGE program continues to play an important role in nurturing entrepreneurship, according to a new study. NebraskaEDGE (Enhancing, Developing and Growing Entrepreneurs) is University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension's umbrella organization for rural entrepreneurial training programs hosted by local communities, organizations and associations. ...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Former University of Nebraska Regent David Hergert has been charged with 18 counts of bank fraud, marking the latest episode in a string of legal and financial woes following his 2006 impeachment for breaking campaign-finance laws...

Sen. Mark Christensen defended the week-long debate in the Legislature of his bill that would allow trapping in county road rights-of-way. LB 5 had been discussed since Monday by Nebraska lawmakers and advanced to final reading Thursday, despite the effort of some senators to kill the bill earlier in the week. Some senators were complaining too much time had been spent on it, when more pressing bills needed to be considered. But Christensen said that more was at stake than the trapping bill...

KEARNEY -- Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska has been awarded $100,000 in HOME funds to rehabilitate six homes in Furnas, Frontier, Red Willow and Gosper counties. The grant provides money to renovate and rehabilitate homes for low-to-moderate income families...

It was Carl Sandburg who said, "I was born on the prairie and the milk of its wheat, the red of its clover, the eyes of its women, gave me a song and slogan." The legacy of Sandburg's words and his music come to McCook next in a unique two-part event: The Sandburg Project -- workshops exploring his poetry, music and creativity and a free public performance at McCook's Fox Theatre that will highlight his works...

NORTH PLATTE -- The Mid-Plains Community College Board of Governors will decide whether to increase tuition as well as make the campus tobacco free, at its regular meeting Wednesday at North Platte Community College, 6:30 p.m., in Room 200 at the Wood Building...

LINCOLN -- Want to make some energy efficiency improvements in your home and reduce your electric bill? The Nebraska Energy Office and Nebraska Public Power District are offering "Dollar and Energy Savings Loans" that cut in half the interest rate for energy efficiency improvement loans for retail customers served by NPPD and its wholesale customers that install heat pumps and programmable thermostats...

I need for someone to explain to me (Hello Dick) why the Republican Bush administration could give away $900 billion to various banks, corporations, etc., with bi-partisan support and the Republican House members never offered hardly any resistance; but now the Democratic Obama administration wants to give away $787 billion to different places (with strings attached to prevent helping those who over-borrowed and/or had poor management) the Republican House members cried it was was wrong and voted almost 100 percent against it.. ...

The present economic crisis has reached catastrophic proportion. The pet industry is in a cataclysm. The shipping industry is sinking, the tire industry has gone flat and the construction industry has nearly collapsed. Many businesses, such as ice cream, will be frozen...