Stories from Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Beverly Sue Berndt Nov. 11, 1954 - Dec. 14, 2011 LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Beverly Sue Berndt, formerly of Trenton, Nebraska, died Wednesday (Dec. 14, 2011), at the Sunrise Country Manor in Milford, Nebraska. Services are pending at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook...

100th birthday The family of Earl Brown is hosting a card shower and reception for his 100th birthday on Sunday, Dec. 18, from 2-4 p.m. at the Good Samaritan Center in Oberlin, 108 E. Ash. Cards of congratulations will reach him at 108 E. Ash, Oberlin, KS 67749...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook School Board members on the Negotiation Committee are in talks with the local teacher's union on next year's salaries and benefits. The committee, comprised of Tom Bredvick, Sandy Krysl and Shane Messersmith, have been meeting with the McCook Education Association, with the latest meeting Tuesday morning...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Santa's head elf in McCook, Nebraska, is concerned that some children may go without toys, or have fewer toys, under their Christmas tree this year. Barb Ostrum, who coordinates McCook's annual "Toy Box" gift give-away, and Joan Bass, who coordinates Santa's helper elves from McCook Senior High, are worried that there haven't been as many toys donated to the Toy Box as in past years...

TRENTON, Nebraska -- The road over the Swanson Lake dam west of Trenton, Nebraska, will be closed until a guardrail damaged in a truck accident Tuesday can be repaired. Josiah and Allen Scherbarth of Hay Springs, Nebraska, were injured when their semi-truck tractor-trailer rolled 42 feet down the face of the Swanson Lake dam after sliding on black ice created by fog and freezing rain...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School District sustained an excess of $140,000 in damages from the August hailstorm. But the insurance reimbursement have been received and will repair the damage, Superintendent Grant Norgaard told the McCook School Board Monday night at the regular meeting...

LORRI SUGHROUE McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Public School District may have some property up for sale in the future. At Monday nights' regular Board of Education meeting, the board met in closed session after the regular meeting, to discuss the sale of district properties...

Curling up in front of the Christmas tree, 13-year-old Madisyn Garcia reads to her little brother, Briscoe, who turns three in January. Madi and Briscoe are the children of Tim and Dawn Garcia of McCook, Nebraska. Tim is a member of the Southwest Nebraska Leadership Institute which is accepting new and gently-read donated books and giving them away to babies through 8-year-olds who visit Santa Claus Saturday. ...

Ashley Hagan adjusts a "branch" on the Christmas tree at The Kloset in downtown McCook, Nebraska. The tree was fashioned from recycled newspapers spray-painted a silvery-gray and attached to a chicken wire base woven around an old Christmas tree stand. ...

Mary Kay Quinlan Bureau Chief Nebraska News Service LINCOLN -- Robert Louis Stevenson, the 19th century Scottish poet and author, is remembered for his lilting verses for children and his adventure tales like "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped," not particularly for political commentary...

Note to Nebraska chambers of commerce: How about a new slogan -- "In the middle of everywhere"? We're sure we've heard that tagline in use somewhere, but recent events reconfirm Nebraska's national importance, despite our small population and rural location...

Cecil Lafferty Jan. 5, 1923 - Dec. 13, 2011 KEARNEY, Nebraska -- Cecil Lafferty, 88, died Tuesday (Dec. 13, 2011), at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. Services are pending at Herrmann Funeral Home in McCook.