Stories from Monday, August 23, 2010

May 24, 1933 - Aug. 22, 2010 STRATTON, Nebraska -- Stanley DeWayne "Jiggs" Kotschwar died Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010, at his home in Stratton. He was 77 years old. Jiggs was born on May 24, 1933, at Hamlet to Leo and Anastacia (Wasia) Kotschwar. He attended school in Red Willow County and later served with the National Guard...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- For the past 10 years, there has been a steady infusion of student athletes helping energize the McCook Community College campus and this fall -- for the first time ever -- the student body will include student-athletes with full-ride athletic scholarships...

BARTLEY, Nebraska -- A 26-year-old Bartley man suffered serious injuries in a roll-over accident on a Highway 6&34 curve a quarter-mile west of Bartley, Nebraska, about 9 p.m., Thursday. The Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska, listed Joseph Sitzman of Bartley in fair condition this morning. ...

The cicadas have been chirping for a while now, birds are beginning to gather in flocks for the trip south and there's no doubt fall is in the air. With the fall sports season ready to begin, medical experts are urging everyone involved with sports to understand the risk of head injury and how best to react...

I would like to thank the lady who pulled over on the side of the road on Saturday the 21st. My 3-year-old son started choking and my husband and I had pulled over to perform the Heimlich. However, we were being unsuccessful. This lady that my mother-in-law flag down pulled over -- she was driving a blue Tahoe, I believe. ...

This editorial "Federal incentives make tighter seatbelt laws more attractive" was reprinted in The Grand Island Independent. While no one especially likes "federal tendrils" interfering with such quotidian events as routine stops by State Patrol personnel and their curiosity over our seat-belt use (quite effective without becoming a "primary offense" in my opinion), why don't we take a minute and think about where this entwining between federal "policy" and local legislative fiat (with millions of federal aid dollars at stake) first occurred?. ...

Dennis Chancellor wrote the Open Forum letter (Aug. 16) that I've been meaning to ... concerning ideas on the best use for the Romanoff site. Lack of public restrooms has always been a detriment to McCook's downtown shopping district. When one is in a business place and there's not a visible public restroom sign, one assumes there's a reason for that ... ...

Several months ago, I noticed a line item under "Details of Your Home Phone Charges" on my telephone bill. It is shown as "City Occupation at 3%." I put the question to Senator Christensen regarding the above tax and he kindly got back to me with some answers...

The Liberty Bell is one of the best known symbols of the United States and the freedom that we all too often take for granted in this country. Yet, in the beginning it was not a symbol for the United States. It predated the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and was originally brought to the United States in 1752 by the people of Pennsylvania to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of William Penn's issuing his Charter of Privileges, which stated that the colonists in the new world had the right to govern themselves, certainly a major step by the colonists on their road to Independence and the overthrow of British rule.. ...

August 23, 2010 -- Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson said that the state of Nebraska is not required to seek federal education funding Congress recently approved to keep teachers on the job nationwide. Also, federal officials have confirmed to Senator Nelson that if the state does not apply for the money, other entities would have to apply for the money to reach Nebraska...

Everyone knows our economy is doing better today than over a year ago when layoffs, furloughs and plant closings were in the headlines across Nebraska. Certainly, we haven't been as hard hit as many Americans in this recession, but everyone knows we have felt it...

All the practices, all the early-morning and late-evening drills during two-a-days, all the time in the batting cage, all the time spent on the diamond, preseason workout and summer age group competition, all leading up to Monday afternoon's trip to Hastings...