Stories from Thursday, December 20, 2012

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...

Mother Nature has helped alter the McCook High School boys and girls basketball schedules. The Bison were scheduled to host Phillipsburg, Kan. Thursday, Dec. 20, in junior varsity and varsity games. But the winter storm that hit Nebraska and Kansas one day earlier caused cancellation of classes at both schools Thursday, and therefore Thursday's games have been called off...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The drought that swept across wide areas of the United States in the past year was historically unusual in its speed, its intensity and its size, climatologists at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said this week...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners Wednesday afternoon signed a resolution to expedite a federal aid project that will help pay for a six-inch-thick asphalt overlay on County Road 386 from the north end of East 11th at the City of McCook limits to the county's four-way intersection 2 1/2 miles north...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The owner of JLB Welding in McCook, Jeremy Bain, presented the McCook Parks Advisory Board with a proposal that could supply new steel benches to various locations at no cost to the city. Bain said during the board's Tuesday afternoon meeting that he would work with city staff to identify 12 ideal locations for the benches and then sell one marketing spot per bench to a local business to cover expenses...

Sisters Shelby Rowe, 15, and Sydney Rowe, 10, of McCook, Nebraska, fashion a blizzard-proof snowman Wednesday afternoon while the winds howl and the snow flies in a full-fledged, white-out blizzard. Out-and-about the town, Greg Holthus tried to keep up with the snow using a snow-blower at the Red Willow County fairgrounds...

Something about it just wasn't kosher. At least it fell short of the true spirit of Hanukkah, let alone Christmas. Twenty-three Salina, Kansas, shoppers thought they were having a friendly encounter with Santa, when it turned out they were being busted for seatbelt violations Tuesday night...

The outdoor temperature seem to be catching up with the season. We can definitely say that winter is on its way; as if two inches of snow wasn't a good enough hint. But, as we have discussed before, the seasons are an astronomical event, not a meteorological one...

I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music this month, trying to get in the spirit, ya know. However, this week, I decided to change up the words a little to one of my favorite carols. Sing along so you catch my drift and use your best Bing Crosby voice:...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Laboratory confirmed cases of influenza have been reported to Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (SWNPHD). Influenza is highly contagious and is caused by the influenza virus. The virus is spread from person to person primarily through droplets, which are released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. We highly recommend regular handwashing and covering your cough, especially during this holiday season...

Boy, 2012 just zipped by, didn't it? I reviewed a baker's dozen movies in this space over the now-concluding year; here are my thoughts about them, encapsulated. My first review of 2012 was of the Dec. 2011 release of "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," starring Tom Cruise. ...