Stories from Thursday, September 16, 2010

Aug. 13, 1931-Sept. 15, 2010 INDIANOLA, Nebraska -- Martin Laverne Fritz, 79, died Wednesday (Sept. 15, 2010) at his rural home near Indianola. Martin was born on Aug. 13, 1931, at a home near Indianola to John R. and Lydia Marie (Troester) Fritz. He graduated from Bartley High School in 1950. From there he worked on the family farm...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Area Chamber of Commerce has announced finalists for the 2010 Heritage Days Royalty. Finalists were interviewed on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and the Royalty, which will be revealed on Wednesday, Sept. 22, at the McCook National Bank mixer, were selected...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The personal stories of Orphan Train riders will be presented Friday, Sept. 24, during a special Heritage Days program at the historic Fox Theatre in McCook. The program, free to the public, will begin at 7:30 a.m. Charlotte Endorf, a writer and speaker from Norfolk, Nebraska, will present "Excess Baggage: Riding the Orphan Train."...

INDIANOLA, Nebraska -- The U.S. Department of Education recently recognized 304 schools as 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools, including Southwest Elementary in Indianola, Nebraska. The award honors public and private schools across the nation whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress and helped close gaps in achievement, especially among disadvantaged and minority students....

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The speaker for the 2010 Norris Foundation Prayer Breakfast was greatly influenced, in childhood and adult life, by the legislative accomplishments of George W. Norris. Bob Harris, who now works for the TVA in Muscle Shoals, Ala., will be returning to his hometown to speak at the Prayer Breakfast, which will be Friday, Sept. 24, at the Heritage Senior Center beginning at 7 a.m...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- No one from the public spoke at two hearings Wednesday where the Mid-Plains Community College board of governors later set a tax levy to support an annual budget. The first hearing began at 6:19 p.m. and focused on hearing public comment on their proposed tax levy. The proposed levy is set at $0.087994 per $100...

CURTIS, Nebraska -- The Middle Republican NRD has adopted its fiscal year 2010-11 annual budget during its regular board meeting in Curtis. The general fund budget of $5,222,020 includes more than $2 million in federal funds to be used in the repair of two flood control structures and $1,500,000 in new occupation tax. ...

Are you the last one to get the flu? It may just be because you're no Kevin Bacon. According to a new study, which appears in the journal PLoS ONE, popular people come down with the flu about two weeks earlier than a randomly selected group of people...

The window-rattling blast you heard at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 8 was the top of my head exploding after reading a councilman's comment at the Sept. 7 meeting. The Humane Society asked for a measly $3,000 to fund their dedicated and much needed service. True, they handle homless and problem animals without payment for some of our neighbors. Addressing the request, a council member said, "Why do the citizens of McCook have to subsidize the animal problems of Southwest Nebraska?"...

How would you like to take a swim? Well, with the daytime temperatures not as warm as they were last month, there might be an adventurous few who might. OK, how about an astronomical swim? I can see the confused and quizzical looks on your faces now...

The sport of volleyball is a game of momentum, and the McCook Community College Lady Indians had 'Old Mo' on their side early in their Wednesday, Sept. 15 match with Central Community College of Columbus. But the momentum shifted to Central's side of the net, and MCC suffered a four-set loss in action at the True Hall gym on the McCook campus...

The most important game of the 2010 high school football season for the McCook Bison is the next one. The 2-1 Bison face a tough test Friday, Sept. 17, when Gering, also 2-1, comes to town. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Weiland Field as McCook celebrates Homecoming...