Stories from Friday, May 1, 2009

KEARNEY -- The McCook High School girls tennis team rolled to the title at the Kearney Invitational Thursday. The Bison tallied 65 points, easily outdistancing Ogallala, which placed second with 41. The Bison host Alliance at 2 p.m. and Scottsbluff at 4 p.m. today at the Bison Courts...

McCook's Jaycees Sports Complex and Felling Field will be the sites for the 4th annual Spring Slam Girls Fastpitch Softball Tournament Saturday. The tournament is hosted by the McCook Optimist Club. There will be four divisions -- 10 and under, 12 and under A, 12 and under B and 14 and under...

Richard Fisher, 68, of McCook, died Thursday (April 30, 2009) at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Wednesday at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook. Burial will be in the Quick Cemetery. Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook is in charge of the arrangements...

GOTHENBURG -- Lavina Palic, 92, died Thursday (April 30, 2009) at Hilltop Estates in Gothenburg. Funeral services will be at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook, Monday at 1 p.m. with Randy Hayes officiating. Burial will be in the Hayes Center Cemetery...

Sept. 4, 1916 - April 29, 2009 Born Sept. 4, 1916, in Frontier County. Her father James E. Ryan of Irish immigrants. Mother, Lillian was raised in a homestead dugout near Stockville. Her parents were prosperous until the depression and years of drought in 1930's. ...

IMPERIAL -- Byron Bremer, 79, died Wednesday (April 29, 2009) at Imperial Manor Nursing Home. Survivors include his wife, Connie of Imperial; son, Kip and wife, Jan of Imperial; daughter, Kandi Bremer of Lincoln; four granddaughters; and one great-granddaughter...

Aug. 11, 1924 - April 28, 2009 STRATTON -- DeWayne Alfred "Shad" Caress was born Aug. 11, 1924, in Holbrook to Nelley Mae Caress and James Patrick McByron. He departed this world April 28, 2009, at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman at the age of 84...

BEAVER CITY -- Elma Noel, 82, died Thursday (April 30, 2009) at Beaver City Manor. Services will be Monday, 10:30 a.m., at Friendship Center Church in Beaver City with the Rev. Bonnie Perkins officiating. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery at Beaver City...

July 26, 1993 - April 30, 2009 BEAVER CITY -- Tasha Christine Pike, 15, of Keyes, Okla., died Thursday (April 30, 2009) at Morton County Hospital in Elkhart, Kan. She was born July 26, 1993, at Cambridge to Jay and Kelley (Tomlinson) Pike. The family lived north of Arapahoe for a year and moved to North Carolina for 2 1/2 years. The family then moved to Keyes in 1999. She was a sophomore at Yarbrough High School at Goodwell, Okla. She suffered from Retts Syndrome...

Dec. 9, 1960 - April 27, 2009 HASTINGS -- Mark Steven Larreau, 48, of 742 Williams of Hastings, died Monday (April 27, 2009) at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. He was born Dec. 9, 1960, in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Gerald and LaDonna Larreau. After graduating from Wauneta High School and a variety of jobs, he decided to follow his dad in the masonry line of work...

The McCook City Council will be asked to select an architect and approve a contract for the design of a new city fire station, at its regular meeting Monday, 7:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers in Memorial Auditorium. At its April 20 meeting, the council approved the "Request for Qualifications" from architectural firms, for the design of a city fire station. ...

Nebraska's poorly designed safe-haven law, which resulted in dozens of teenage children being dropped off at hospitals last year will result in some good if a package of bills advanced Thursday are signed into law. The fiasco forced the Legislature into a special session to create a 30-day limit on the law, designed to prevent babies from being abandoned in unsafe conditions, but the long-term fix won't approach the nearly $150 million some predicted...

The potential swine flu pandemic is putting the spotlight on ways the disease is spread -- hand shaking among them. The late Paul Harvey advocated a "snappy salute" instead of a handshake, and President Obama reluctantly abandoned the "fist bump" on the campaign trail when it was thought to be a little too hip for a statesman...

Golf season doesn't officially start for me until I play my first tournament and that was accomplished this past Sunday. Jim Lemon and I have partnered for the past several years at the Fireman's Scramble, a two-person golf scramble sponsored by the Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department and hosted by the Cross Creek Golf Links in Cambridge...

I'm jumping on to the bandwagon of the "random thoughts" column this week. Why? Two reasons: number one, I'm very sleepy; number two, all of my thoughts tend to be -- well -- random. And thirdly, I'm very sleepy. Matter of fact, this could just be a vivid, old-pizza-induced dream that I'm having ... which would explain a lot...

Jason Bryant and Bridget Hammond announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Parents of the couple are Tim and Lynette Hammond of Long Island, Kan., and Steve and Cathy Bryant of McCook. The bride-to-be is a registered nurse in women's services at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte...

The family and friends of Norma Brooks is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday on May 7. Cards will reach her at 71443 Drive 395, Indianola NE 69034.

Emily Jackson, formerly of Maryville, Mo., and Chris Manker, formerly of Wauneta, now of Gardner, Kan., announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Beth and Jim Zech of Maryville, Mo., and the late Rodney Jackson, Karen and Lee Denker of Wauneta and Jim Manker of Indianola...

May 13, 1923-April 30, 2009 NORTH PLATTE -- Lloyd V. Rupp, 85, formerly of McCook, died April 30, 2009, at the North Platte Care Centre. He was born May 13, 1923, to Chris and Emma Heiselman Rupp at Holbrook. He was raised in Furnas County and served in the United States Army until his honorable discharge in 1946...

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life season has begun. Anyone interested in participating in or serving on the Relay For Life Planning Board for this year's Relay is encouraged to attend either of two meetings on Tuesday, May 5. These meetings will be for the planning board at 5:30 and for team captains at 6:30. Both meetings will be held at McCook Community College, Student Union, 1205 East 3rd Street...

July 25-1917-April 30, 2009 LINCOLN -- Marcella P. ( Spahn) Barnes, 91, of Lincoln, widow of John F. Barnes, died Thursday, April 30, 2009. She was born July 25, 1917, in Culbertson to Peter and Lydia (Wacker) Spahn. She moved to Lincoln in 1958 and was a longtime receptionist at Union Insurance Co., retiring in 1979...

Promoter Chuck Gray made the call to cancel the May 1 races at McCook Speedway. Too much rain Thursday morning, as well as drizzle and cloudy conditions Friday morning, with more of the same forecasted for the rest of the day, made the track unpreparable for the show...

McCook Junior High's eighth grade social studies teacher and the high school's assistant softball coach has been named the "Rookie Teacher of the Year" by the Nebraska State Education Association. Craig Dickes, who has taught in McCook and coached seventh grade girls basketball and eighth grade boys basketball as assistant coach since the 2007-08 school year, was nominated for the award by fellow teachers for, among other traits, his "excellent classroom management skills."...