Stories from Wednesday, August 31, 2011

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Normally, the "Heritage Days" Committee of the McCook, Nebraska Area Chamber of Commerce maintains silence regarding the dignitaries of our annual community celebration until the traditional announcement at the McCook National Bank mixer in September...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The apparent low bid for repairs to Red Willow Dam north of McCook, Nebraska, came in Tuesday afternoon slightly higher than the government estimate, but $2 million less than the next-highest bid. SEMA Construction of Centennial, Colorado, submitted a bid of $15,346,900 to fix cracks discovered in the dam embankment in October 2009. The independent government cost estimate is $14,750,000...

YUMA, Colorado -- The third suspect in the high-speed-chase that involved several stolen vehicles in Nebraska and Colorado was safely taken into custody by the McCook police department Tuesday evening. The aftermath of the trio's escapade left one stolen pickup crashed into the alley behind the Yuma Police Department and a second vehicle reportedly hit by a train...

BEAVER CITY, Nebraska -- Furnas County, Nebraska, judge Anne Paine on Friday morning bound over to district court the McCook man accused of trying to kill his wife and children in Cambridge in July. Bryan Addington, 42, will be arraigned in Furnas County District Court before Judge David Urbom in September; no date has been finalized, according to Furnas County Attorney Tom Patterson...

Come Saturday, it will be legal to drink in a couple more places, but being an electronic "peeping tom" will get you in bigger trouble, thanks to some new state laws. Most of the new laws that go into effect in Nebraska this week make sense, to the point that most of us didn't know they weren't already the law of the land...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Opponents of U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson are making an issue of his keeping a comparatively low profile while Congress is taking a break. Translation: Republicans wish the Democratic lawmaker would make more public appearances, in hopes that he would face noticeably animated complaints from some among his constituency. They also hope that any unpleasantness would be the subject of headlines...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- A McCook, Nebraska, woman was among 12 people arrested Monday and Tuesday by a task force of Southwest and Central Nebraska law enforcement officers for distribution of controlled substances. Judith V. Stark, 48, of McCook is being held on the distribution charge in Hitchcock County jail in Trenton, but is scheduled to be transported to the Lincoln County jail in North Platte. Others arrested are in jails in Dawson and Frontier counties...

I don't remember listening to the radio much as a youngster. Dad had an extensive LP collection and loved all genres of music, so when we listened to music, we listened to those. But, in 1968, I did have an AM transistor radio, a Christmas gift that year if I remember correctly, and I listened to it for as long as the battery lasted...