Stories from Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Rated PG-13 "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" was a puzzle to me, one that I was grappling with for quite a while after seeing it. It's not a particularly terrible movie, but it's not a particularly good one either. As I sat at my desk here at the Gazette, I wished I had someone at hand to help me figure this picture out .....

Annita K. Frew May 12, 1951 - March 23, 2013 GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska -- Funeral services for Annita K. Frew will be conducted from the First United Methodist Church at Holdrege, Nebraska on Saturday, March 23, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Dale Lambert officiating. Interment will be in the Prairie Home Cemetery at Holdrege...

Police activity Activity log These items are taken from reports filed by the McCook Police Department. The locations refer to block numbers, not specific addresses. If you have information about any of these reports, call the police department at (308) 345-3450...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Several bills being debated by the Nebraska legislature this session pertain to gun regulations and according to Sen. Mark Christensen they appear to be gaining more traction than usual. "There is a chance we will get more gun bills out this year than we've ever seen," Sen. Christensen said this morning, during the weekly McCook Area Chamber of Commerce legislative conference call at the Keystone Business Center...

Dr. Sam, Ziteck, conductor of the Wesleyan Symphonic Band, gives band students at McCook High School a taste of college music, at the MHS band room Thursday morning. The symphonic band was on tour across the state and stopped at MHS to "practice" before their next performance. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook area businesses are reminded that the deadline for renewing Chamber membership is March 31. According to Executive Director Tacie Fawver, there are many advantages to being a chamber member. "When you become a chamber member, you are hiring the chamber staff to work for you," she told the Gazette. ...

Samantha seems just a little dazed after the vehicle she was riding in Monday afternoon left Highway 6-34 about 11⁄2 miles west of McCook, Nebraska, and rolled in the north ditch. Dr. Jamie Kotschwar DVM, right, and Mary Hammond, veterinarian technician, from Red Willow Animal Clinic, checked Samantha at the accident scene and took her to the clinic while her owner took care of paperwork with Nebraska State Patrol officers investigating the accident. ...

It's expected to snow and blow over the next couple of days, but once the snow melts there will be no doubt spring has arrived. Early-spring flowere are already arriving and lawn and garden products are already sprouting in the stores. But if last year is any indication, it's possible precipitation will be short again this year and now is a good time to prepare for the continuing drought if it arrives...

"Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the flowers is?" Or so goes the old saying. And spring has sprung, or at least it did yesterday, Wednesday, March 20, at 5:02 a.m. MDT. For those in other time zones, adjust the time accordingly. Technically, spring--or the vernal equinox--is when the sun crosses the celestial equator moving north along the horizon...

The State Chamber's Leadership Nebraska program has extended the application deadline for Class VII of Leadership Nebraska. Interested candidates should apply by April 16, 2013. Applications can be found online at www.LeadershipNebraska.com. Created by the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Leadership Nebraska program builds a sense of statewide community by identifying and training individuals with a commitment to become personally engaged in issues, programs and activities aimed at better serving Nebraska.. ...

Roxy Lang captures snow eddies Feb. 20, before too much of the white stuff had accumulated. The forecast calls for another storm to come through Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas Friday night through Saturday. Early snow estimates range from 5-8 inches. ...

They served during the war, now they serve the less-fortunate

OBERLIN, Kansas -- Dylan Coryell, the Oberlin, Kansas, man accused of felony murder, identifies himself to a 911 dispatcher in the very early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, explaining, quietly, "We need an ambulance." There's a female's high-pitched screaming, slightly muffled, in the background...