Stories from Wednesday, November 25, 2009

July 6, 1943-Nov. 24, 2009 Phyllis J. Kotschwar, age 66, died Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, at her home in McCook. Phyllis was born July 6, 1943 in Benkelman to Huel and Pauline (Scott) Payton. She lived her entire life in Southwest Nebraska. She attended the McCook Public Schools...

May 21, 1928-Nov. 6, 2009 KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Dr. Jack L. Bradshaw, age 81, a resident of Kingsville, Texas passed away Friday, November 6, 2009 in Kingsville. He was born May 21, 1928, in McCook, Neb., to E. L. Bradshaw and Mabel Lindholm Bradshaw. ...

Sept. 24, 1921-Nov. 23, 2009 CAMBRIDGE -- Charles Ankenman, 88, died Monday (Nov. 23, 2009), at the Cambridge Memorial hospital. He was born Sept. 24, 1921, in Norcatur, Kan., to Jacob and Eva (Bryant) Ankenman. In 1926 the family moved to a farm 10 miles southeast of Wilsonville. He later moved to a farm three miles east and a half mile south of Wilsonville and farmed this ground for the rest of his life. He graduated from Wilsonville High School in 1940...

The McCook Community College men's basketball team got turned inside-out by the Garden City Community College Broncbusters Tuesday night. The Indians dropped an 87-77 decision to the Kansas squad in non-conference action at the True Hall gym on the McCook C.C. campus...

TRENTON -- SOS! Save Our Swanson will meet 7 p.m. Monday at Northshore Marina. SOS! was instrumental in getting Frenchman/ Cambridge Irrigation District personnel to work at Swanson Lake to clear beaches this month. That work was a huge step in making beaches more useful for the 2010 season...

A conference for corn and soybean producers will be held in Culbertson at the Hitchcock County Ag Complex on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009, beginning at 9 a.m. CST. This workshop is designed to highlight cropping practices to improve energy production for sustainable production. ...

CURTIS -- The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources will be presenting the annual Republican Basin forecast at the Monday meeting of the Nebraska Republican River Management Districts Association, to be at the Curtis Community Center at 1 p.m. The meeting is open to the public...

It's tough to be optimistic when you're unemployed and things aren't going your way. But there are plenty of things to be thankful about this Thanksgiving, the bountiful supply of food chief among them. Each year, the American Farm Bureau sends more than 200 volunteers out to record prices at their local grocery stores between Oct. 21 and Nov. 9...

This past Saturday evening I voted for the Senate to proceed to a full and open debate on health care reform with two goals in mind. The first goal is that the Senate, now able to follow normal parliamentary procedures, will produce a bipartisan bill cutting the cost of health care for Nebraskans, and all Americans. ...

The Legislature finished the First Special Session 2009 last Friday making the adjustments needed to shore up revenue declines and balance the budget. Many of you were watching closely to the changes being proposed and contacted my office with concerns and suggestions, I appreciated hearing from you. However, for those of you who were not able to follow what was going on I would like to give you some highlights...

I think we all know the story of Chicken Little. The character who, when hit on the head by a falling acorn, determines the sky is falling and sets off to tell the king. Along the way he gathers a varied group of like-minded believers who he has convinced the sky is indeed falling because he has been hit by a piece of it...

Red Willow County commissioners replaced a 1993 Caterpillar road grader with another Caterpillar, upgrading to a 2010 Model 140M at their weekly meeting Monday morning. The new Cat grader will cost $150,314, and will be delivered to Commissioner Steve Downer's District 2 shop in Bartley on or about March 1...

Third grader Gabe Sehnert shared his family's bakery and his grandpa Walt Sehnert's gift of storytelling when he and his fellow students and teachers Linda Brewster and Lara Stewart stopped by for stories, pumpkin dessert and a session of singing Thanksgiving songs...

CULBERTSON -- "Corey's Christmas Corner" officially opens the Christmas season in the Culbertson area Friday evening at 6:30 p.m., when Gerald and Rosemary Corey flip the switches on 52,000 computer-programmed Christmas-carol-synchronized colored lights and decorations...

As Nebraskans across the state are gathering with family and friends around the dinner table this week, it is important to remember our agricultural producers that helped provide the food that are a special part of our holidays and meals around the year...

As we reflect on our Thanksgiving weekend and begin preparations for the upcoming Christmas season, I hope we take the time to recognize the true meaning of the holidays we are celebrating and reflect on how precious it is to have the freedom to celebrate with family and friends...

"I don't get no respect!" was the catch-phrase of the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Respect is defined in the dictionary as "a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities or achievements." Aretha Franklin added her own take on the word with her hit R.E.S.P.E.C.T with her rendition of Otis Redding's words, written in 1965...