Stories from Thursday, October 22, 2009

Jerry and Deb (Buschkoetter) Reitz of McCook celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They were married Oct. 20, 1984, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in McCook. Children of the couple are Erica and husband, Jeremy Zywiec of Columbus, Travis Reitz and wife, Steph of Kearney, Andrew Reitz of Omaha and Mitchell Reitz of McCook. They have one grandchild...

Motorcycles and space ships. What red-blooded American student wouldn't want to hear from a speaker who has intimate experience with both of those modes of transportation? Students in McCook Public School and St. Pat's School will get an opportunity on Monday to hear from Duane G. "Digger" Carey, a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and NASA astronaut pilot...

Health facilities in McCook have seen an upswing in patients with flu-like symptoms, but whether it's seasonal or H1N1 flu is hard to say. In fact, symptoms of the flu and H1H1 are nearly identical, with fever, coughing, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue, headaches or body aches. But symptoms are more severe with H1H1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, with a sudden onset along with a number of cases having vomiting and diarrhea...

A high-stakes chess game is under way in Kearney, but we all have a stake in the outcome. A week after a group of doctors announced plans to build a new $20 million hospital southwest of town, Kearney's Good Samaritan Hospital announced plans to spend $65 million for improvements at that hospital...

Anyone else out there have this problem? I have a [prepaid phone]. I bought a 60-minute air time card. Only now you get a store receipt with the pin number and [the prepaid phone company's] 800 number. Fine. Any dummy can do this; you get an automated menu. I gave IT the [prepaid phone's] serial number, the phone number and the pin number. You punch these numbers in the phone and if you mess up, you get a real person -- I always mess up...

I would like to thank the folks in McCook for again having the annual clothes closet and winter clothing giveaway. This community can be proud of itself with the unselfish giving of warm clothes to folks who have no way of buying them. All should come and watch on Nov. 9-10 and see the happy smiles...

A host of McCook High School state meet veterans will try and make a run at a top five team finish at the 2009 Class B State Cross-Country Championships. The Bison girls qualified as a team for the state meet scheduled Friday, Oct. 23, at the Kearney Country Club. McCook finished second in the B-4 District meet Oct. 15 at Ogallala...

With the advent of earlier darkness these October evenings, now is a time to get outside and peruse the sky. Of special interest will be the grouping of constellations I like to find this time of year telling the story of the hero Perseus and his feats of daring do to win the hand of the love of his life, the fair damsel Andromeda...

The McCook and Ogallala High School football teams will see a mirror image of their respective squads across the line of scrimmage Friday night. The two teams bring identical 6-2 season records to Friday's showdown, with the Senior Night kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Weiland Field. The two teams are battling for the same main goal -- the Class B-7 District title and a home game next week in the first round of the Class B state playoffs...