Stories from Thursday, November 8, 2012

LaVera Lucile Leeds March 28, 1924 - Nov. 6, 2012 MANHATTAN, Kansas -- LaVera "Lucile" Leeds, 88, of Manhattan, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, at Westy Community Care Home in Westmoreland. Lucile was born in Wilsey, Kansas on March 28, 1924, the daughter of the late Maggie Ella (McCreight) and Roy Hugh Schoof. She attended the local schools and graduated from Council Grove High School in 1941...

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, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners signed a contract Monday morning to continue its contract with the company that provides and updates property search, property tax search and mapping information for the assessor's and treasurer's computer webpages...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- After drought conditions led to concerns about Fourth of July fireworks, the McCook City Council advanced an ordinance to give the council authority to ban fireworks temporarily. The ordinance, which was passed Monday night on the second of three readings, would not prohibit local sales of fireworks, or the annual Fourth of July fireworks display put on at Red Willow County Fairgrounds...

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Phil Lyons, left) greets Ebenezer Scrooge (Don Harpst) in the upcoming McCook Community College production of "A Christmas Carol." The show will be performed at the Fox Theater on Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm. Tickets will be on sale at Schmick's Market and the Office of Student Life and the MCC Business office through the week of the play, or at the door the nights of the show...

MCCOOK, Nebraska -- With Thanksgiving right around the corner, McCook families, businesses, schools and churches are putting their gratitude in action and celebrating their blessings by giving back. Through Operation Christmas Child, locals are joining millions of people across the U.S. to fill empty shoe boxes with toys, school supplies and necessity items for impoverished children around the world...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Clerks should take a careful look at the bigger bills they receive, the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce warned today. A local business reported receiving two "fairly good fake" $20 bills through a drive-through, according to the chamber release...

Six-month-old Cyrena Smith, the daughter of Sterling and Brittney Smith of McCook, Nebraska, wears a hand-crocheted stocking cap and snuggles in a blanket donated to the 2012 "Coat Closet and Winter Clothing Give-Away." Outfitting Cyrena Wednesday afternoon in clothing warm enough for the on-coming cold Nebraska winter, Barb Ostrum -- community service coordinator of the McCook office of Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska and coordinator of the Coat Closet -- had to go like 60 to keep up with the hundreds of shoppers who came to McCook's Memorial Auditorium looking for warm coats, hats and mittens. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook Public Library announces that these new items arrived in October. ADULT FICTION Afraid To Die -- Jackson Better Than Chocolate -- Roberts Bared to You -- Day Return to Willow Lake -- Wiggs Last to Die -- Gerritsen Broken Harbor -- French...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Dena Beck, central and Southwest Nebraska Business Specialist with the Center for Rural Affairs' Rural Enterprise Assistance Project will hold office hours in McCook on Nov. 16, 10 a.m.-2:45 p.m. McCook Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) will handle the appointments; (308) 345-1200. MEDC office is located at 402 Norris Avenue, Suite 301 (Keystone Business Center - 3rd Floor)...

IMPERIAL, Nebraska -- Frenchman Valley Farmers Cooperative Inc. (FVC) provider of agricultural products, services and expertise in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, announced today the purchase of the petroleum and agronomy assets of Wheatland Co-op Assn. (WCA), a full service farm and ranch supplier in Wyoming since 1950...

Crew chief Sgt. James Nordman, explains a new LUH 72 helicopter that touched down on the McCook High School practice field Wednesday for a informational visit. Four of the new helicopters, which can lift about 3,000 pounds and are equipped for medical evacuation, are based in Grand Island. Four others, equipped for other missions, will soon be based in Lincoln...

INDIANOLA, Nebraska -- The latest Good Neigh-bear Award winner is Donna Behnke from Indianola. Donna was nominated by Calvin Feehling who wrote, "Donna is a very good, great, and generous person. She is very active in her church, St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Indianola. ...

City of McCook, Nebraska, ambulance personnel lower McCook businessman Ron Crowe onto a backboard, following a two-car accident about 9:20 a.m., today, in the 300 block of Norris Avenue. More information will be released after McCook police officers complete their investigation of the accident...

Members of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce and McCook Cordials joined staff members from Advance Services Inc. for a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning to herald the opening of the new ASI office. The Nebraska-based company, which offers businesses staffing solutions from 42 offices in 22 states, now houses its McCook location inside the former Springer-McGrath Co.building at the southwest corner of West Third and B Streets...

The way Nebraska takes care of its troubled youth and those forced into the system through no fault of their own has been a target of criticism and review over the past few years. The current focus in legislative hearings is how to best care for youths who "age out" of the current system...

Now that the way we count the time of day has returned to normal, we are suddenly noticing that it is dark a lot sooner. By the middle of next week, the sun will be dropping below the western horizon at about 4:30 p.m. MST. Now, while that may not be good for the average person, it is great for us astronomers. That means about another hour of dark that we can use for outside observation...

So I guess I was mistaken. Apparently, since I'm the only one in our family that carries a purse, I am, therefore, responsible for toting every family member's belongings when we are out and about. I guess I must have missed that chapter in the What to Expect When You're Expecting book, and I don't remember a memo being sent home from the hospital explaining that I will, from now on, be the pack mule of the family...

WAUNETA, Neb. -- Hollywood might not be able to script a better feel-good story than the 2012 Wauneta-Palisade High School football program. The Broncos will try to write a final chapter in their rags-to-riches saga in the Nebraska Six-Man State Football Championship Finals Friday, Nov. 9. W-P will face Sioux County in the six-man state title game at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m...

Disney's latest animated feature, "Wreck-It Ralph," is -- in a word -- delightful. Directed by Rich Moore, whose previous efforts include classic episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama," and co-written by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee, this is one of the better entertainments of the fall, and should be an instant front-runner for the Best Animated Feature Oscar...