Stories from Thursday, November 15, 2012

I genuinely enjoy going to movies -- I know, not a newsflash -- but there are those "regular" moviegoing experiences which happen 99 percent of the time, and then there are the ones where I can feel, as soon as the lights go down and the opening credits roll, that there's a confidence in every part of the filmmaking. ...

Fern Marie Wills CURTIS, Nebraska -- Fern Marie Wills, 83, of Curtis, Nebraska, died Monday (Nov.12, 2012) at Hilltop Estates in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Services are at First United Methodist Church in Curtis on Nov. 27, 2012, at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Bonnie Forney officiating. Interment will follow in the Curtis Cemetery...

60th anniversary The family of Ernest and Betty Jean Wicke of Ludell, Kansas, is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 60th wedding anniversary. They were married Nov. 16, 1952, at Trinity Church in Ludell. Their family includes children, Danny, Randy, Terry and Jon, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 27797 Road BB, Ludell, KS, 67744...

CONNIE JO DISCOE Regional Editor McCOOK, Nebraska -- Walk through the front door, and whose mugs do you see? James Dean ... Marilyn Monroe ... Betty Boop ... Audrey Hepburn ... On the shelves, Crosley radios ... tin toys. Tricycles, scooters ... They're not antiques. They're not all "reproductions" of antiques. The store's owner likes to refer to the merchandise in his new store -- "Retro Planet" -- as "assorted kitsch" with "retro styling."...

McCook city utility workers use a bucket truck to attach one of the community's holiday decorations to a West C Street lamp post Wednesday morning.

Cheri Schneider, seventh grade science teacher at the McCook Junior High, tries to stop a "shooter" (portrayed by Craig Loveless of the Nebraska State Patrol) along with John Smith, left, McCook Schools Resource Officer and Jim Stover, bottom, of the Nebraska State Patrol. ...

LORRI SUGHROUE McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- The audit report on the McCook School District recommended that more than one person review financial transactions. Business Manager Rick Haney told the McCook School Board Monday night at the regular meeting that the only "red flag" given in the report was the lack of segregation concerning financial transactions. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors reviewed upcoming activities such as the annual Santa fly-in to the McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport, set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, followed by the "Let It Snow" Christmas Light Parade that evening at 6...

HAYES CENTER, Nebraska -- This weekend up and coming country music singer/songwriter Easton Hamlin will be performing at the Hayes Center High School Gym as part of a free-will donation concert to benefit Justin Hamilton. Justin Hamilton is the 28-year-old rural Palisade, Nebraska, man battling a congenital skin condition that many have described as being similar to being allergic to sunlight...

Light up at your desk in at your work place, and you're probably violating a state law. Depending on your place of employment, you may have to leave the property to smoke. Some employers are even making non-smoker status a condition of employment. Nebraskans pay 64 cents a pack in excise taxes on cigarettes, and it's illegal for underage people to buy or possess them -- there are already plenty of penalties on the books to discourage smokers for whom such measures will be effective...

Okay troops, I have a fun-filled week of observing for you this week. Something to look for almost each night. First up is something you can't look for, a total solar eclipse, unless you are out in the South Pacific, or northern Australia. The new moon will totally cover the face of the sun causing it to be blotted out, eclipsed...

I picked up my 12-year-old from the Jr. High dance last Friday night and asked the usual question, "Well ... did you have fun?" To which I received the same less than enthused answer as always, "Yup." No emotion, no nothing. "Well, did you dance this time or just stand there and giggle with your friends?" That question at least got a little smile and then she said, "Ya, just stood there mostly. ...

Thousands meander in the mid-November sunshine warming the Red Willow County fairgrounds in McCook, Nebraska, during Star Expos' fifth annual "McCook Farm & Ranch Expo" Wednesday and today. Miss Nebraska Rodeo 2012 Sierra Peterson (left) and Miss Nebraska Rodeo Lady-in-Waiting Sam Chytka visited with Robert Harvey in his "Cowboy Up Tack" (McCook) booth; each wore an American brand hat. ...

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Brendan Liess, Matt Berry, Dillon Goltl, all former McCook High School football players who excelled on the gridiron during their respective Bison careers. All three have made their mark catching passes for the University of Nebraska-Kearney football team in the past few years. Another former Bison is hoping to add his name to the Loper list of pass catchers in the coming years...

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Some college quarterbacks spend three, perhaps four years honing their signal-calling and leadership skills before they finally get a chance to get in a football game and show what they can do. Matt Berry got about one week to polish his skills before he was thrust under center leading the University of Nebraska-Kearney offense...

The McCook Community College women's basketball team almost watched their home-opener spoiled Wednesday, Nov. 14. The Lady Indians saw a double-digit lead evaporate, but the hosts held on for a 64-61 victory over Eastern Wyoming C.C. of Torrington. The Region IX contest was played at the MCC Events Center...