Stories from Monday, June 8, 2009

Outdoor Report Red Willow State Recreation Area June 8, 2009 Willow View Campground has electrical sites available on a first come, first serve basis. All facilities are currently open and operational. There are currently four concrete boat ramps in use at Red Willow SRA. Two at the Spring Creek Area-near the Marina, one at the west end of Willow View Campground, and one at the Red Willow Area-on the south side of the dam. Each ramp has the convenience of a boat dock...

Movie Review - The Hangover Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material. It's hard to review an R rated raunchy comedy as I can't really say what they've done as it would ruin the joke and quite possibly offend those who don't want to know. The Hangover is full of offensive type moments that somehow seem hilarious when it's happening to a few guys on the big screen...

Feb. 7, 1923 - June 5, 2009 Donald Paul Ogorzolka, 86, died Friday (June 5, 2009) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. He was born in Cambridge on Feb. 7, 1923, to Anthony and Marie (Olmstead) Ogorzolka. He went to country school and later graduated from Cambridge High School in 1941...

Nov. 15, 1941 - June 6, 2009 OMAHA -- Carl "Champ" A. Rossitto, of Omaha, passed away at the age of 67 on June 6, 2009. He was born Nov. 15, 1941, in North Platte to Carl and Arlene Rossitto. He grew up in McCook and graduated from McCook Senior High School. He entered the U.S. Navy and served during the VietNam war...

May 17, 1919 - June 5, 2009 IMPERIAL -- Kathleen Collins, 90, died Friday (June 5, 2009) at El Dorado Manor in Trenton. She was born May 17, 1919, at Shelton to Albert and Clara (Eggers) Johnston. She was baptized into the Lutheran Faith as an infant and grew up on a farm near Gibbon. She attended elementary school in Gibbon through the eighth grade. She then moved with her family to Kenesaw...

Feb. 27, 1932 - June 2, 2009 Dorothy Somers "Dot" Britt, died Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte at the age of 77. She was born Feb. 27, 1932, at Mitchell, S.D., the daughter of the late Dan and Bess (Gallagher) Low. Dorothy grew up at Beatrice, where she graduated from Beatrice High School in 1950. In 1954, she graduated from the University of Nebraska Teachers College with a Bachelors Degree in education...

Like many World War II vets, Melvin Thielbar of McCook doesn't care to re-hash his wartime experiences very often. When he and the rest of the U.S. Army 45th "Thunderbird" Infantry Division liberated the Dachau concentration camp, he said, "We don't like to talk about that much. Bodies everywhere." Of the hard-fought battle at Anzio, where U.S. troops withstood four months of violent assaults from the enemy before finally pushing through to France, he simply said, "That was tough."...

Three-year-old Lukas Zodrow of Oberlin picks his favorite vehicle in the Decatur County Last Indian Raid Museum's eighth-annual summerfest car and vintage sports show Saturday in downtown Oberlin. The 1936 Ford pickup exhibited by David Sporn, also of Oberlin, caught Lukas' eye among the many collectible cars and pickups lining Penn Avenue...

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Internet service wasn't even available in McCook, but now we can't even imagine getting along without it. We're right in line with the national statistics, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau...

We've all had the nightmares when it comes to traveling: missed or canceled flights, hotel rooms not as advertised, lost identification. These random events can ruin an entire vacation. Thankfully, there are some travel headaches for which you can prepare...

While I come back to Nebraska every weekend, I took the opportunity this past Memorial Day break to talk to several dozen Nebraskans about health care and hear their priorities for reform. I met with patients and consumers, medical providers and advocates, and businesses struggling to provide insurance for their workers...

In the coming weeks, Congress will be drafting and debating significant health care legislation. It will affect everyone--families, farmers, businesses; employed and unemployed; publicly insured, privately insured, and uninsured. One of my primary goals is to see that all American citizens have access to quality, affordable health care options, as well as the freedom to make their own health care decisions. ...

Like most people locally, I have enjoyed keeping track of McCook's favorite son, Ben Nelson, since he left our town. When we bought the bakery here in McCook in 1957 one of our early employees was Ben Nelson, a newly turned 16-year-old who answered our ad for a donut fryer and delivery boy...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- John McRae of McCook won $100,000 playing the $10 Scratch game Wild 10's from the Nebraska Lottery. McRae purchased his winning Wild 10's ticket at Casey's General Store, 704 West B Street in McCook. Scratching the ticket, he revealed matching numbers with a corresponding prize of $100,000...

A McCook dentist has made the first donation for costs of the the Bison 2010 All-Class reunion, slated for next year from July 2-5. The donation from Dr. Warren Jones, a 1965 alumni of McCook High School, kicks off fund raising efforts for the reunion. Contributions will be used to offset reunion expenses such as printing, insurance, publicity and rental down payments on buildings used in the event...

Shane Zywiec, from Columbus, captured the 2009 professional title at the 2009 John Mullen Pro-Am Sunday. The 21st annual John Mullen Pro-Am took place Saturday and Sunday at Heritage Hills Golf Course. The tournament teed off Friday with the Ron Coleman Memorial Horse Race...