Stories from Thursday, August 25, 2011

As a TV consumer with both a long memory and a varied, yet voracious, appetite, I'm never surprised to find myself remembering pleasant viewing experiences from the past. Some of them are fuzzier around the edges, sure (and occasionally in black-and-white), but these memories of programs past are sure to remind me of two things: 1) I have watched/am watching/will continue to watch a great deal more television than most anyone I know, and 2) I kinda wish that more of these shows were readily available for viewing today.. ...

TRENTON, Nebraska -- Petition circulators have obtained enough valid signatures to force recall elections for three Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Public Schools board of education members. County Clerk Margaret Pollmann said this morning that her office finished certifying signatures Wednesday, and she notified school board members Mike Baker, Larry Ferguson and Gary Matson and school superintendent Mike Apple of the results by certified mail...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- The issue of using an out-of-town architect for a cafeteria at North Platte Community College generated heated debate and a 6-5 vote Wednesday night. The vote authorized a contract with Wilkins, Hinrichs, Stober Architect to design a new cafeteria for NPCC's south campus, for a fee not to exceed 10 percent of total project costs...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Michael Proscia has been on the back of a horse maybe "three hours total in my life," he said. But after being involved in multiple roadside bomb incidents while deployed in Iraq, riding all day on horseback across the country was not that intimidating...

A monarch butterfly walks on a butterfly bush in the late-summer sunshine in the front yard of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in McCook, Nebraska. A gypsy moth and a silvery-color Acadian hairstreak moth shared the bush Wednesday afternoon. Another monarch startled, talking off from a cluster of purple blossoms...

Other states' losses are Nebraska's gains -- or at least Nebraska's smaller losses, according to a University of Nebraska Omaha study. Yes, we're still losing people -- down 400 between 2008 and 2009, the 13th year in a row. In 2008, however, Nebraska lost 2,500 people, and 2009's figure was the smallest since 1996...

I hope you had an opportunity to view the very close conjunction of the moon and Jupiter early Saturday morning? I did, between the rain clouds that is. There were just enough holes to view the pair as the rain traveled east. If you were clouded out, or just couldn't get up that early do not fret, they will do it again on Sept. ...

My family is always complaining that I don't sit and play games, or go outside with them because I always have stuff to do, "stuff" being housework, laundry, meals, etc. It makes me feel so guilty and I often wonder if I have my priorities in order. When I sit and think about it, I have probably spent one-third of my years as a mother and wife feeling guilty about things I've not done. Another one-third I spent worrying about family and the remaining third actually having fun with them...