Stories from Tuesday, January 26, 2010

In 2009, the U.S. government accrued a record $1.4 trillion in debt -- three times as much as the previous record set in 2008. The federal government has spent so far beyond its means that we have once again reached the debt ceiling, a Congress-mandated cap on how high a tab the Treasury can run. ...

July 31, 1918 - Jan. 7, 2010 OSHKOSH -- Rita Marie (McKillip) Phares, 91, of Oshkosh and former long-time Palisade resident, died early Thursday morning, Jan. 7, 2010, at the Garden County Nursing Home in Oshkosh. Rita Marie McKillip was born in Hot Springs, Ark., on July 31, 1918 to Daniel P. ...

April 21, 1924 - Jan. 24, 2010 Warren Francis Farrell died Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010, at the Santa Marta Skilled Living Home in Olathe, Kan. He was 85 years old. Warren was born on April 21, 1924, in Bartley, to Francis Joseph and Genevieve Rose (McAdams) Farrell. He graduated from Lebanon High School...

Monday night's special meeting at the McCook Public Safety Center should have been an eye opener for anyone who hasn't visited the police station or fire station recently. Members of the public who joined the council for the event had to be divided into two groups to tour the jail, dispatch center, training rooms and fire barn. The number of people taking part tended to exacerbate the crowded conditions, but they did get a taste of the working conditions at the facility...

At the last City Council meeting it was revealed that sales in McCook were down nearly three million dollars for the last reporting period. It was not surprising information in light of the sagging national economy. For those of us in our community who are not in the sales industry, if it was easy to think those figures do not matter to us, we would be wrong!...

Time is not the side of the city fire department at its current location on West B. It's been at the location for nearly 50 years, since the early 1950s -- and it shows. With a crumbling parking lot and little parking available, cramped quarters and pressing maintenance and technology demands, department needs have outpaced its space...

Most of us don't read or dwell on statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Generally we listen to commentators on national media to impart their conventional wisdom about how good or bad things are going in the USofA. Well the conventional wisdom is that the manufacturing sector has died and all of "our" jobs are being exported overseas. Obviously that is a bad thing and it lays to the unions and our politicians to fix the problem...

With the intention of getting the best bang for the buck and saving taxpayer money, the McCook City Council continued to explore alternatives for a public safety center at a special meeting Monday night. With representatives of the McCook Public Schools present, along with Red Willow County Commissioners and about 15 members of the public, the council discussed partnering with other governmental agencies, bonding abilities and numerous other possibilities...

Every year, when Pat was little, her parents made a big splash for her birthday, even though it came right after Christmas. "The folks always made a big to-do about my birthday. I always felt so special," Pat Powers, of McCook, said recently, smiling with the memories. "I guess they thought it was really something that I made it."...

Additional options have been uncovered for a McCook man registered as a Independent, who was barred from running for Red Willow County Sheriff in the May primary. David McConnell, a military vet who served two tours in Iraq, was not allowed to place his name as a candidate for county sheriff as he is registered as an Independent...

Oct. 4, 1924-Jan. 17, 2010 WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- Richard "Dick" W. Miller, 86, died Jan. 17, 2010, at Wheat Ridge, Colo. He was born Oct. 4, 1924, at Palisade, to Floyd and Mable Miller. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944-1946, spending one year in Korea...