Stories from Wednesday, June 13, 2012

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Robert Eisenach of McCook is recovering at Madonna Rehabilitation Center. Cards of encouragement will reach him at 5401 South Street, Room 229, Lincoln, NE 68506.

Gary Martin Stoller Dec. 18, 1946 - June 9, 2012 CALDWELL, Idaho --Gary Stoller, 65, of Caldwell, Idaho, and Palisade, Nebraska, passed away on Saturday, June 9, 2012, in a plane crash in rural Elmore County northeast of Mountain Home, Idaho. Gary was piloting the small plane and encountered stormy weather as he traveled from Nebraska to Idaho to meet up with his wife to go on a cruise for their 40th wedding anniversary...

Leonard Guy Wilkinson March 15, 1923 - June 9, 2012 HAYS, Kansas -- Leonard Guy Wilkinson, 89, died Saturday (June 9, 2012), in Hays, Kansas, He was born March 15, 1923, in Hitchock County to Guy and Rosie (Urban) Wilkinson. The family moved to the John Wilkinson homestead location in Burntwood Township, Kansas. He attended grade school at Lone Tree and Mayflower county schools. He graduated from McDonald Rural High School in 1940...

Alan Roger Fitch May 23, 1941 - June 10, 2012 PAPILLION, Nebraska -- Alan Roger Fitch, 71, died at the Papillion Manor in Papillion, Nebraska on Sunday (June 10, 2012). He was born at Oxford, Nebraska on May 23, 1941, to Faber and Venice (Taylor) Fitch. He attended school in Oxford. In 1959, he joined the US Air Force Reserve. He later went on active duty being discharged from service in 1963. He was stationed in Germany...

This information is gathered at the McCook Public Safety Center, the McCook office of the Nebraska State Patrol, the Red Willow County Courthouse, the Red Willow County Sheriff's Office and the McCook Humane Society. Police activity Activity log...

McCook Daily Gazette Wayne Brunswick checks out the certificate he received for 25 years as a maintenance man at the McCook Post Office. He was honored in a ceremony Friday at the post office.

Staff and owners of Precision Hearing Aids gather outside their new location at 405 W. Fifth Street in McCook. Sherry and Chic Becker of Hill City, Kansas, assumed ownership of Precision Hearing Aids from Rosalie Frerichs in October. The Beckers had been with the original owner, Larry Smith for 30 years. ...

McCOOK, CULBERTSON, Nebraska -- The late-spring storm that rumbled through Southwest Nebraska Tuesday evening first hurled great bolts of lightning, starting fires that raced the wind through pastures kindling-dry with the worsening lack of moisture...

TRENTON, Nebraska -- The body of an 80-year-old man has been recovered from Swanson Reservoir located three miles west of Trenton, Nebraska. The Hitchcock County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Alvin R. Brown of McCook, Nebraska. Sheriff D. Bryan Leggott said his office was notified of a missing fisherman at the reservoir shortly before 2 p.m., Monday. The Imperial Nebraska Fire and Rescue Dive Team located the man just southeast of the Trail 3 boat ramp shortly before 5 p.m...

Jon Graff of McCook, right, and two of his sons, Andrew, 12, and Ethan, 8, stretch their legs for a good cause Wednesday morning, taking part in the 2012 Cornhusker State Games Torch Run. The trio's torch carry covered a mile of U.S. Highway 83, north of McCook. ...

LORRI SUGHROUE McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- Administrators at McCook Public School will get a 2 percent increase in their base pay, contingent on individual performance. The McCook School Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night at the regular meeting in favor of the 2 percent increase for the 2012-13 year, to be allocated at Superintendent Grant Norgaard's discretion...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A McCook man was sentenced to 18-20 years in prison for his part in several Red Willow County burglaries that occurred between September and December 2011. The offender, 36-year-old Happ E. Wells, was also sentenced to a consecutive 14-16 years in prison for an escape attempt that occurred in Frontier County...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Middle Republican Natural Resources District board of directors adopted the district's "Ground Water Management Area Rules and Regulations" at their monthly meeting in McCook, Nebraska, Tuesday evening. The vote was 7-4 for approval of Joe Anderjaska's motion; James Uerling, Steve Cappel, Buck Haag and Bill Hoyt cast the dissenting votes...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- State writing scores for Hitchcock County and Southwest Schools in Monday's story included only eighth grade results. The 11th grade scores for Hitchcock County had 18 taking the test with 11 percent exceeded standards, 67 percent that met standards and 22 percent below standards...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- There have been a few nibbles, but still no buyers for McCook School District property on West Q. No definite offer has been made yet, Superintendent Grant Norgaard told the McCook School Board Monday night at the regular meeting...

It's a sad fact that violence makes news, but it's especially shocking when it strikes a Nebraska town like Alliance. A State Patrol SWAT team finally killed a man holed up in a pharmacy after he shot and wounded an escaping hostage and three officers, as well as apparently killing another person before he ever entered the store...

Having read city attorney Schneider's "clarification" of sales tax use, I am confused. It seems to me he said the city can use sales tax for property tax relief if that relief is real or imagined. HUH? Kinda reminds me of former president Clinton pondering what the definition of "is" is...

I have always had a sweet tooth. Oh, I can't eat an entire stack of restaurant pancakes anymore, my tummy can't take all that sugar, but I confess that I treat myself to something sweet on a daily basis. Growing up, we only had candy in the house at Halloween and Easter. ...

WASHINGTON -- Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson said health care costs will rise and millions more Americans will become uninsured if the activist U.S. Supreme Court overturns part or all of the Affordable Care Act later this month as many expect...