Stories from Friday, December 10, 2010

Family Features 'Tis the season for holiday parties -- and that means serving something special to your guests. These festive recipes make the most of golden, slightly nutty-flavored Calimyrna figs and dark, sweet-tasting Mission figs. These appetizers are the perfect blend of sweet and savory that will give your guests something to celebrate...

GOODLAND, Kansas -- This winter may be a little bit of uncharted territory for the McCook high School girls basketball team. The Bison girls have recorded two wins early in the 2010-11 season -- two more than the McCook girls had all last season. For the first time in many years, the Bison are assured of finishing no lower than fourth in the Topside Tip-off Tournament at Goodland, Kansas...

GOODLAND, Kansas -- The McCook High School boys basketball team is quickly evolving into a high-scoring machine, with senior Connor Larson at the wheel. Larson led the Bison with 30 points Thursday, Dec. 9, as McCook rolled past Norton, Kansas, 87-36, in first-round action in the Topside Tip-off Tournament. The 22nd annual early-season prep basketball carnival is being played at two sites in Goodland, Kansas...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Representatives of McCook Community College released floorplans for the new events center that the college plans to break-ground on in April of 2011, during an unveiling event in McCook Thursday evening. The college was granted a parking easement by the McCook Board of Zoning Adjustment during their November meeting and has progressed with plans to relocate the Daughters of the American Revolution Building, presently located at the construction site near the intersection of East M and East Third streets.. ...

"It's easy for Southwest Nebraska to take McCook Community College for granted," we wrote in this space in 2008 not long after a major fundraising effort began for the new MCC events center. We wished the fund-raisers well, but wondered just how long it might take to complete the $10 million project -- 2008, you recall, was the start of the "Great Recession" from which we are still struggling to recover...

My ex-wife called me the other night to tell me that she's getting married. This took me by surprise because I didn't even know she was pregnant. Just kidding. She's only been dating the guy since July but she says she loves him and that's all that matters. ...

I am really getting tired of people complaining about certain things and putting the blame on somebody else. There are many people who do not live with in their means. To start with, there some who buy a house and decide they need a bigger one, then they sell and the house still isn't big enough, so they end up buying a house that has about 2,500 square feet on the main floor with about five bedrooms and three baths and such...

COLUMBUS, Nebraska -- Today, Nebraska Public Power District President and CEO Ron Asche announced to the NPPD Board of Directors he will retire from NPPD on February 2, 2011. After 35 years of service to the utility, Asche is leaving to pursue another career opportunity outside of Nebraska. A location and/or employer has not been disclosed. He assumed his position as the utility's president and CEO on Feb. 18, 2006...

Dear Fellow Nebraskans: I want to focus this week on road safety. Regardless of whether it is the daily commute to and from work or school, or a special trip to visit friends and relatives, the message of road safety is particularly important during this time of year. Accidents are a reality on our nation's roadways. The potential for getting into an accident exists even when we take the proper precautions and do all the right things...

2010 TOPSIDE TIP-OFF BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 9-11, at Goodland, Kansas All times CST GIRLS DIVISION Thursday, Dec. 9 First-Round Results Burlington (Colorado) 56, Wallace County (Kansas) 45 McCook 33, Norton (Kansas) 30 Wray (Colorado) 51, Goodland (Kansas) 47...