Stories from Friday, October 26, 2012

40th anniversary The family of Gary and Barb (Buxton) Bradney of Kearney, Nebraska, is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 40th wedding anniversary. They were married Nov. 4, 1972, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in McCook, Nebraska. Their family includes Todd and Jill Bradney of Papillion, Nebraska, Traci Bradney of Curtis, Nebraska and two grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 7 Elm Drive, Kearney, NE 68845...

Ocken, Taylor Josilyn Ann Ocken and Justin Dean Taylor announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the bride to be are Dennis Ocken of Elwood, Nebraska and Cyndi Huxoll of Lexington, Nebraska. Parents of the prospective bridegroom are Don and Suzanne Taylor of Doniphan, Nebraska, He is the grandson of Jack and Virginia Clark of McCook, Nebraska and great-grandson of Willard Hoyt of Culbertson, Nebraska...

80th birthday The family of Mrs. "Bud" Wolzen (Marilyn Harding) is hosting an open house in honor of her 80th birthday, on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 620 Penn Street in Cambridge. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 1010 Nelson, Cambridge, NE 69022...

Jackson Miles Broz Nick and Candace (Klein) Broz of Bridgeport, Nebraska announce the birth of their son, Jackson Miles Broz, who was born Sept. 26, 2012, at Regional West Hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska,. He weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20 1/4 inches long. ...

Gabriella Mae Gomez John and Nicole Gomez of McCook, Nebraska, announce the birth of their daughter, Gabriella Mae Gomez, who was born June 18, 2012, at McCook Community Hospital. She weighed 7 pounds, 8.9 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches long. She has one brother, Logan, 14-years-old and sister, Angelina, 6-years-old. ...

Susan Doak SW Nebraska Genealogy Society McCOOK, Nebraska -- The mystery of the second great-great-grandfather's death, William Joseph Coady, was solved when I traveled to Alma to meet the cousins I didn't even know existed. One of their mothers had actually obtained a copy of the death certificate and a letter written by his wife, Ann, after being notified that he had died...

Valta Mae Cruse McCOOK, Nebraska -- Valta Mae Cruse, 70, of McCook, formerly of Maywood, Nebraska, died Oct. 14, 2012, at her home in McCook. Register book signing will begin from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, at Blasé-Wetzel-Strauser Memorial Chapel in Curtis...

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...

CHADRON, Nebraska -- Voting for Chadron State College's homecoming royalty competition began Monday, Oct. 22. The contest, which is decided by an online vote of the student body, features a total of 48 candidates -- 25 for queen and 23 for king. The winners will be announced during the spirit rally in Armstrong Gym on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m...

Dear Friend, INTRO Are you blissfully unaware of the great peril our nation and the world is in? Just as the passengers on the Italian cruise ship had no idea the captain of the ship was about to take an excursion close to shore, that would capsize the great ship and cost many people their lives, injure many others and cause great anxiety to the rest. ...

For those who grew up in the revivalistic tradition, we heard the same basic sermon every Sunday: "You are sinner. Repent or you're going to hell. And you better get to it, because Jesus could return at any second and catch you unprepared." I can't tell you how many times I heard a preacher say something like, "The Lord Jesus could return at any moment! He could return before I finish preaching this morning!" And then the speaker would preach for so long, I thought that's exactly what he was trying to achieve: Preach till Jesus got there.. ...

OK, I have nothing: at what point does the mind become so full of distress, anger and confusion that there is no response? We see political upheaval as people argue over positions that are based more upon party positions than truths and needs. If there is no position to stand upon one simply resorts to name calling. ...

Work is progressing quickly on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints meeting house in northeast McCook. Concrete work is mostly done, landscaping will be done soon and bricklayers will soon be at work.

Masons complete the entry way to the Evangelical Free Church's new sanctuary in east McCook. The new auditorium will seat 525 people.

The ingredients, bags and boxes for more than 200,000 meals arrive this morning at the McCook Armed Forces Reserve Center. The long-awaited McCook MobilePack begins today at 2:30 p.m., and continues throughout the day and all day Saturday. Organizers report that open slots are available for each scheduled packing session: Friday, 2:30-4:30 p.m.; 5-7 p.m., and 7:30-9:30 p.m. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Nebraska -- The Furnas County, Nebraska, "Tumbleweeds" 4-H Club earned one of 25 "Governor's Agriculture Excellence Awards" for 2012, and with its $500 award, members were able to assemble 120 backpacks for foster children and homeless people...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Following action by four Natural Resources Districts in the last week, a purchase contract has now been signed that officials hope will bring the group a step closer to launching a stream flow enhancement project expected to aid and protect the Republican and Platte Rivers, local schools and other political subdivisions that rely on property tax revenues, and both agricultural and municipal water users...

DAWN CRIBBS Associate Editor With the completion of the two new, state-of-the art hospice rooms in the new wing at Community Hospital and the Healing Garden defying the drought to bring forth fragrant bouquets and vibrant colors, the hardworking hospice committee has set aside the 15th annual An Evening For Hospice as a celebration of what has been accomplished with the $370,000 raised since An Evening For Hospice began in 1997...

John Reeves of Beaver City, Nebraska, visits with fellow McCook Community College student, Zoe Budge, while she awaits American Red Cross Phlebotomist Michelle Lindsay during a blood drive at the MCC Events Center Thursday afternoon.

Freeman Clark was on his deathbed. We don't know for sure what his ailment was, but the year was 1844, and it could have been any number of things. Perhaps even Freeman wasn't sure just how sick he was, but he knew one thing for sure, he had to get to the county seat of Switzerland County, Indiana, to vote for his friend, David Kelso, for state senator...

Both my mother and my former wife thought their doctors were gods. They would do anything they were told to do, would submit to any procedure and take any medicine that was prescribed because of their heartfelt belief that the doctor could do no wrong. I criticized them often for their messiah perceptions but the criticism always fell on deaf ears. And I know many other people who feel the same way...

Last week I shared with you the statewide reading, math, science and writing assessment results for Class C-1, C-2, and smaller schools. This week I want to share the results for our Class A and B schools. This data allows parents, citizens, school boards, superintendents, principals, teachers and elected officials to compare results from one district to another in order to improve student and school academic achievement performance...

McCook saw its gridiron season come to an end with a 26-21 loss to Norris Friday, Oct. 26, in the first round of the Nebraska Class B state high school football playoffs. The Bison could not overcome two key turnovers in the second half in the playoff battle at Weiland Field in McCook...

Dawn Cribbs/McCook Daily Gazette Anita Lytle, from left, McCook Daily Gazette circulation accounting clerk and hardcore Husker fan, wears a Michigan t-shirt while Karry Coburn, McCook Gazette advertising director and Michigan Wolverines fanatic, wears a Nebraska shirt, in a friendly concession to each other's team. Although they wore the shirts on Friday, it is safe to asssume they will be wearing different shirts on Saturday when Nebraska plays Michigan...

Miley Marie Schafer Clint and Kayla Schafer of McCook, Nebraska announce the birth of their daughter, Miley Marie Schafer, who was born July 24, 2012, at Great Plains Regional Hospital in North Platte, Nebraska. She weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 19 1/2 inches long. ...

Kay Reedy HOXIE, Kansas -- Kay Reedy, 62, of Hoxie, died Wednesday (Oct. 24, 2012), at St. Anthony's Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado. Services are pending with Pauls Funeral Home in Oberlin, Kansas.