Stories from Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Colleen Carter Dame July 1, 1917 - Jan. 16, 2012 IMPERIAL, Nebraska -- Colleen Carter Dame, 94, died Jan. 16, 2012 at the Imperial Manor in Imperial. She was born July 1, 1917 to Robert and Bernice (Finley) Carter in Palisade, Nebraska. She received her teaching degree at the Kearney Teachers College. She taught at several area schools and also in Alaska...

Cordell Meredith Svengalis SANTA ANA, California -- Cordell Meredith Svengalis, age 72, formerly of McCook, passed away at Orange (California) Health Care on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. He was born on July 31, 1939, in Gary, Indiana to the late Frank Anthony and Alvida Carlson Matheus Svengalis...

40th anniversary The family of Jim and Cheryl Stevens is requesting a card shower in honor of their 40th wedding anniversary. They were married Jan. 26, 1972, in Oberlin, Kansas. Their family include Jim and Traci Stevens and Garrett and Jessica Stevens, all of McCook, Dallas Stevens of Denton, Texas, Brian and Amanda Warren of Culbertson and seven grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 109 S. Cherokee, McCook, NE 69001...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners agreed Monday afternoon to pay Greg and Janet Hepp of McCook $160,000 for two apartment houses north of the courthouse in McCook. The purchase means the county will own all the land between the courthouse and West F on the west side of Norris Avenue. It's a possible location for a county jail...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County commissioner Earl McNutt may have the opportunity Thursday to speak against Nebraska counties losing inheritance taxes. The move to eliminate inheritance taxes by Gov. Dave Heineman and Omaha Sen. Abbie Cornett, who introduced Legislative Bill 970 ending the county inheritance tax, could affect some county budgets by millions of dollar annually, McNutt said. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Following the recommendation of its auditor, Red Willow County has created a $5,000 petty cash fund that its veterans service officer can access to pay for short-term emergency needs of veterans. The new fund will provide a paper trail of claims paid by the veterans service officer to veterans requesting assistance with such things as rent, utilities, food and/or insurance...

The tear-down and new construction of the McCook McDonald's restaurant gets under way Tuesday morning. Owner of the McCook franchise, Richard Stull, showed his enthusiasm for the project by driving his skid-loader through the front of the building to kick off the demolition. ...

When I retired we chose to live in small town Nebraska. We could have chosen one of the larger cities, Denver or Oklahoma City where we'd been stationed during my Air Force career. Omaha, Miami, New York City or Los Angeles were possibilities too. No regrets and every once in awhile I'm reminded why we prefer small town America...

With home heating costs continuing to climb and personal income continuing to be in a slump, we're all looking for ways to save money. Heating a home with wood is a viable alternative, but many of the lessons our ancestors learned about its use have been lost over the years...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A motions hearing has been scheduled for March 5, 2012, in the Stathis Kirkpatrick murder trial. The defense for the 19-year-old Bartley, Nebraska, man accused of killing a McCook girl a year ago this month, has until March 1 to file motions in response to the prosecutions request for a competency determination hearing. ...

Maxwell, Nebraska...

Clayton C. Luther Oct. 26, 1916 - Jan. 19, 2012 MESA, Arizona --Clayton C. Luther, 95, died at his home in Arizona on Jan. 19, 2012. He was born October 26, 1916. He married Marcella Marie McNeill in Chadron on Aug. 18, 1940. To this union two children were born...