Stories from Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Jan. 30, 1939-Aug. 15, 2011 CASA GRANDE, Arizona -- Robert R. "Sam" Samler Sr., 72, formerly of Randall, Minnesota died Aug. 15, 2011, in Casa Grande, Arizona. He was born Jan. 30, 1939, in Yoncalla, Oregon, the son of the late Charles L. Carrier and Marcella Hardwick. At age two, he was adopted by Oscar Samler...

Governors in most states, including ours, are quick to point out that they are constitutionally required to balance the state budget, every year. They do have a point; they routinely make tough decisions and make difficult compromises to ensure that the state books balance...

Danny's love affair with motorcycles started when he was quite young. Perhaps inspired by the Haney's collection of Harleys across the street, he made up his mind early to ride as far, as fast, and as frequently as he could, with the wind in his hair...

LINCOLN -- The U.S. Supreme Court says that sometimes the candidate who has less money and qualifies for public campaign financing can be a threat to the First Amendment rights of the candidate who may have lots of money to spend. That decision by a 5-4 majority puts a portion of Nebraska's law for public financing in jeopardy, according to Attorney General Jon Bruning...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Rising fuel and electricity rates are partially to blame for the request to increase water and sewer rates, according to Jesse Dutcher, McCook utility director. Dutcher offered a closer look at the need for the rate increases, during a conversation with the Gazette last week. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners shaved $180,000 from the county's roads and bridges budget Monday morning in an attempt to maintain a 39-cent tax levy, removing $160,000 they'd budgeted for a bridge that they've decided now to finance over three years...

WILSONVILLE, Nebraska -- Kathy Hand's recommendation isn't the final word in post office closings, but she writes in a report to Wilsonville, Nebraska, postal customers that the U.S. Postal Services' proposal to close their post office "is warranted."...

Jaylen Gonzales, 7, and his sister, Isabella, 4, try out the new playground equipment in the Elks City Park. They are the children of Troy and Faith Gonzales and attend Victory Christian Academy.

"Girl in Window," a watercolor by McCook, Nebraska, artist Norma Stevens will hang in the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky, from Sept. 27 through Oct. 29. The painting was of 70 works selected by juror Don Andrews for "Aqueous USA 2011," the Kentucky Watercolor Society's 34th national juried exhibition...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Bids for the repair of Red Willow Dam will be opened Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m., at the Bureau of Reclamation office in McCook, Nebraska. Construction is expected to begin yet this year and take about two years. Repairs on the 126-foot-tall earthfill embankment will include the excavation of the downstream face of the dam and installation of a filter and drain system. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Nebraska -- Clarence "Bob" Liggett, 84, died Wednesday ( Aug. 24, 2011), at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. Services will be Friday, 10:30 a.m., at the Congregational Church in Cambridge, Nebraska. Lay minister Bill Weaver will officiate...