Stories from Wednesday, February 15, 2012

McCOOK, Nebraska -- School board meetings were officially pushed back an half hour. At the regular McCook School Board meeting Monday night, members voted unanimously to amend board policy to conduct regular meetings at 6:30 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. Positive comments from the board and administration included:...

Whatever the issue, there seems like there's someone ready to take advantage of the unsuspecting. The McCook Police Department recently issued a couple of warnings about possible scams that had been brought to its attention. The first involved a company offering home repair insurance, that promised to foot the bill, for instance, if the water line from the city main to your home is damaged. ...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson spoke up when former Democratic lawmaker Bob Kerrey said he would stay out of the 2012 Senate race. Not to worry, Nelson said, the Ds have viable potential candidates. He was making it up. For Nebraska Democrats, the bright side will be in the short term--watching Don Stenberg and Jon Bruning savage each other...

I was nearly speechless. Nearly. A news broadcast revealed that somewhere in the United States of America, we now have the school food police. Not just to check on the USDA approved menu items and whether or not they are offered in the appropriate quantities; but to inspect -- and pass judgment on -- whatever is packed in a child's lunchbox from home...

Corinne Margaret (Brainerd) Hoskins Jan. 31, 1912-Feb. 12, 2012 GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska -- Corinne Margaret (Brainerd) Hoskins, 100, of Grand Island, passed away Feb. 12, 2012, at Tiffany Square Care Center in Grand Island. Celebration of life service will be 2 p.m. Saturday at All Faiths Funeral Home in Grand Island. Dan Naranjo will officiate. Burial of ashes will be at a later date in the Russell, Kansas Cemetery...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- School kids in the area seem be battling the cold and flu season better than usual this year, with not a lot of activity reported. According to the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department's school surveillance report, compiled from weekly reports sent in from area schools, absences from school due to an illness is less than five percent. Of that, less than 2 percent is flu-related illnesses...

James R. Marshall July 9, 1934 - Feb. 14, 2012 OBERLIN, Kansas -- James R. Marshall, 77, died Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012), at Community Hospital in McCook. Services are pending with Pauls Funeral Home

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A member of the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce board of directors updated board members of the McCook, Nebraska, Area Chamber of Commerce on state-level activities during a meeting in McCook Wednesday. Jeff Crick of McCook is a state Chamber board member, and serves on that board's Labor Relations Council. He was a guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the directors of the McCook Chamber on Feb. 8...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Summer school for kids who struggle in elementary grades could be a possibility in the future. Superintendent Grant Norgaard brought up the idea at the regular McCook School Board meeting Monday night. Calling it "a vision down the road," Norgaard told the board, "I'm not thinking this summer, maybe not even next summer...but it could make a difference in a drastic way."...

LORRI SUGHROUE McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School Board unanimously approved three teaching contracts for next year, with two recent area graduates beginning their career at McCook Schools. At the regular meeting Monday night, the board approve a contract for Kim (Brown) Heimann as the junior high language arts teacher. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A special meeting of the McCook School Board of Education will be Thursday, noon, at the McCook Junior High cafeteria. The board will first meet in closed session to discuss the sale of two parcels of real estate: the former LIFT building on North U.S.Highway 83 and the bus barn location at Q Street...

TWENTYNINE PALMS, California -- The son of a McCook, Nebraska, couple has received the Purple Heart medal for injuries he received in action in December 2010 in Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Victor J. Purvis of Twentynine Palms, California, received the Purple Heart awarded to him by President Barack Obama for wounds received in action on Dec. 1, 2010, in Afghanistan, and presented to him by the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Feb. 13, 2012...

It's the culmination of several months of sweat, tears, some blood, mostly hard work, highs and lows, with the highest point of the season a berth in the state wrestling meet. Four McCook matmen have reached that goal in qualifying for the 2012 Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships. ...

NEBRASKA STATE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL 2012 Subdistrict Tournament Brackets Involving Gazette Area Teams Teams seeded by Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) power point formula (Team's district meet seed & won-loss records in parenthesis) All times Central Standard Time...

Elmer Zeller BARTLEY, Nebraska -- Elmer Zeller, 86, died today (Feb. 15, 2012) at Cambridge Memorial Hospital. Services are pending with Lockenour Jones Mortuary.

Earnest E. Huff Nov. 13, 1932 - Feb. 14, 2012 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Earnest E. Huff, 79, died Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012), at McCook, Nebraska. He was born Nov. 13, 1932 in Norcatur, Kansas. Services are pending with Pauls Funeral Home.

Rev. Philip A. Kline WAUNETA, Nebraska -- The Rev. Philip A. Kline, 69, died Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012), at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. He was the pastor of the Southwest Holiness Church of Wauneta Survivors include his wife, Carol Kline of Stratton, Nebraska; sons, Kenneth Kline and wife, Sherri, of Wauneta, Michael Kline and wife, Naomi, of Cincinnati, Ohio, David Kline of Loveland, Ohio; daughters, Andrea Biberstein and husband, Dean, of Stratton, Maria Mosemann and husband, Atlee, of Stratton; 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.. ...