Stories from Monday, December 17, 2012

Richard 'Flash' Earl Nichols Sept. 16, 1953 - Dec. 14, 2012 BENKELMAN, Nebraska -- Richard "Flash" Earl Nichols passed away Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, at his home in Benkelman surrounded by his family. He was 59 years old. Richard was born on Sept. 16, 1953, to Herbert Earl and Ruby Ruth (Crooks) Nichols in Grant, Nebraska. He attended school in Imperial...

Jim Needham CAMBRIDGE, Nebraska -- Jim Needham, 81, former resident of Imperial, Nebraska, died Friday (Dec. 4, 2012), at the Cambridge Manor Nursing Home in Cambridge. Survivors include daughters, Linda Liebhart and husband, Ron, of Imperial, Debra Simms, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, step-daughter, Charlene Young, of Cambridge; step-son, Clarence Offner and wife, Ginger, of Palm Bay, Florida; brother, Harry Needham and wife, Alice, of Sidney, Nebraska; four grandchildren, six step-grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and eight step-great-grandchildren. ...

Nancy Gayle Brown July 11, 1937 - Dec. 13, 2012 TRENTON, Nebraska -- Nancy Gayle Brown, age 75 of Trenton, died at the El Dorado Manor in Trenton on Dec. 13, 2012. She was born in San Diego, California, on July 11, 1937, to Gale and Doris (Jewhl) Haase. ...

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...

Betty Jean (Norman) Carey April 3, 1924 - Dec. 14, 2012 DENVER, Colorado --Betty Carey passed away peacefully at Swedish Hospital in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 14, 2012, at the age of 88. She was born April 3, 1924, to Frank and Meta (Christensen) Norman in Chase County, Nebraska. She was the second oldest of eight children...

I'm not a gun guy. I had a .22 when I was a teenager, but hunting wasn't my thing. I was too lazy I guess. So I sold the .22 and except for some pheasant hunting when I was in my '20s, haven't fired a gun since. I'm telling you all this because -- although I'm not a hunter and I don't own a gun -- I support the National Rifle Association and the right for Americans to own and use guns...

During the summer of '48 I joined a crew of student and professional Anthropologists from the University of Nebraska who were unearthing an Upper Republican Indian site on Prairie Dog Creek, east of Alma. We were hurrying to complete work on that ancient village before the lake covered that site. Our crew was distinguished by interesting and colorful characters -- none more so than a senior student, Jim (Howie) Howard...

McCook, Nebraska --Community Hospital Board of Directors received updates at their November 28 meeting on the balanced score card, An Evening for Hospice and the Phase 2B project among other topics. Board of Director Election Elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors in November was Rose Remington, M.D. ...

Nebraska Public Power District representative Larry Linstrom and Terry Schutte of Wells Fargo Bank, the major sponsor of NPPD's annual Celebrity Golf Tournament, presented two checks for $7,750 each to Mid-Plains Community College at the Nov. 28 Board of Governors meeting. ...

Nine-year-old Reyce Dike and 6-year-old Jaylynne and 3-year-old Jacob Barber share the workload of scooping the sidewalk after three inches of soft, wet snow fell on McCook, Nebraska, through the night Saturday and early Sunday morning. Haylee Dike discovered a thin, slick sheet of ice under the snow on her dad's car windshield...

ARAPAHOE, Nebraska -- Ask Gabrielle Stephens about Gunner, and her dark blue eyes sparkle and a smile spreads across her face. Gabby's eager to talk about the horse -- an American Mustang -- who's stolen her heart and is helping her make decisions and choices about career opportunities...

Santa Claus trotted through town Thursday, with nary a sleigh nor reindeer in sight. Perhaps he was scouting his route in preparation for the big night.

The unspeakable tragedy of another mass shooting, this one even more tragic because of the killing of 20 small children and the six adults trying to protect them, gripped our attention over the weekend and immediately touched off a predictable debate over gun control...

CATTLE TRAIL INVITATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Tuesday, Friday-Satuday, Dec. 4, 7-8 at McCook GIRLS DIVISION Tuesday, Dec. 4 First-Round Results Southwest 43, Decatur Community (Oberlin, Kan.) 27 Hitchcock County 47, Hayes Center 27 Arapahoe 42, Medicine Valley 22...

GOODLAND, Kan. -- The McCook High School girls basketball "high" from the end of last year is carrying over to this season. The Bison girls improved to 4-0 on the young season after the Bison won three games in three days in the Topside Tip-Off Tournament played Dec. 6-8 in Goodland, Kan. McCook won the tournament title with a 59-52 decision over Ottawa, Kan., Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Max Jones Fieldhouse in Goodland...

GOODLAND, Kan. -- The McCook High School boys nearly pulled off a monumental upset and comeback Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Topside Tipoff Tournament. The Bison rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to nearly take the lead in the fourth quarter before Ottawa, Kan. pulled away for a 62-54 win in the tournament championship finals. Saturday's game was played at the Max Jones Fieldhouse in Goodland, Kan...

HOLDREGE, Neb. -- McCook High School had a tough day Saturday, Dec. 8. at the Holdrege Invitational wrestling meet. The Bison scored 22.5 points in the varsity division to finish ninth in the final team standings. McCook entered just five wrestlers in the varsity competition...

The McCook Community College women's basketball probably will replay the final minute of their Dec. 7 loss in their minds for days and nights to come. The MCC women dropped a 74-73 decision at Trinidad Junior College in the opening game of a Region IX South Division road trip to Colorado last weekend...

The McCook High School girls had little trouble with Cozad Tuesday, Dec. 11. The Bison girls built a big lead in the middle quarters and coasted to a 41-28 win at the Senior High gym. McCook remained unbeaten with a fifth straight win to start the 2012-13 season, while Cozad lost its third straight game to fall to 1-3...

Don't blame the McCook High School wrestling coaching staff for having optimistic thoughts about the future of the Bison program. McCook competitors lost just two matches in the annual McCook 9-10 Open Thursday, Dec. 13, at the McCook Senior High gym. One of those losses came when two Bison went head-to-head...

Find A Way. McCook High School boys basketball fans might not be surprised to see red and white T-shirts emblazoned with the Bison season slogan popping up. Especially after a weekend performance that saw the McCook boys earn a huge win over North Platte Friday, Dec. 14, followed by a battle against Holdrege Saturday, Dec. 15...

The McCook High School girls basketball team set up a showdown of unbeaten teams with a great performance at home against North Platte Dec. 14. Unfortunately for the Bison girls, they couldn't pull off an encore effort the following night at Holdrege...

Delores M. Kathka April 1, 1939 - Dec. 16, 2012 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Delores M. Kathka, 73, of McCook, formerly of Oberlin, Kansas, died Sunday (Dec. 16, 2012) at her residence in McCook. She was born April 1, 1939, to Clarence and Anna (Farber) Keith in Thatcher, Colorado. She was raised in Danbury, Nebraska and attended Danbury Consolidated School...