Stories from Wednesday, May 1, 2013

As a U.S. Senator, I have the privilege and responsibility of nominating Nebraska students to our nation's service academies: the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Nebraskans have a long and proud history of military service. Since our state's founding, our sons and daughters have served our country with valor. This legacy, passed from one generation to the next, is foundational to America's strength...

Freda Conrad Sept. 21, 1916 - April 28, 2013 ARAPAHOE, Nebraska -- Freda Conrad, 96, of Riverton, Wyoming, died Sunday (April 28, 2013), at the C.A. Mues Good Samaritan Center of Arapahoe. She was born on Sept. 21, 1916, on the family farm near Iberia, Missouri, to Herbert and Bertha (Martin) Ferguson...

Robert 'Bob' Lee Shaffer Jan. 17, 1935 - April 29, 2013 ARAPAHOE, Nebraska -- Robert "Bob" Lee Shaffer, 78, of Edison, Nebraska, died Monday (April 29, 2013), at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. He was born Jan. 17, 1935, in Beardstown, Illinois, to Vernie Melvin and Velma Pearl (Millard) Shaffer. The family lived on a farm north of Arapahoe where he attended country school. The family moved north of Edison and he finished his education at Edison Public School...

McCOOK,Nebraska -- The Spring edition of the Bison Alumni newsletter was assembled and folded Tuesday, April 23 and mailed out the next day. Alumni, friends and members of the Junior High Student Council and TeamMates were on hand to send the 42nd edition of the newsletter to 7,262 alumni...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program has recognized Krista Buechler's fourth grade classroom at St. Patrick's Catholic School as a Top 100 reading classrooms for the 2012-13 school year. Thousands of classrooms tracked their students' reading progress with the BOOK IT! Minute Tracker, recording more than 120 million minutes. ...

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--McCook Clinic, P.C. and Southwest Nebraska Physical Therapy recently donated $3,930 raised from sports physicals to the McCook Bison Boosters program. McCook physicians, physician assistants and Community Hospital's physical therapy department, Southwest Nebraska Physical Therapy, conducted 262 athletic physicals last year for the McCook Public Schools student athletes...

Bruce Baker/McCook Daily Gazette City of McCook firefighter/paramedic Mike Schoenemann works out in the city weight room at the Municipal Center, Wednesday morning. Reprints available at mccookgazette.com

North Platte is dryer than Moab, Utah, according to a story in the Lincoln Journal Star, but McCook isn't far behind. While Moab averages 9 inches of precipitation a year, North Platte received only 7.87 inches since April 28, 2012. A check of Gazette records shows McCook has received 9.72 inches since the same date. McCook finished the year 2012 with 9.36 inches of rain, 13.17 inches below normal...

Roxy Lang of Wilsonville, Nebraska, captured this snowdrift April 18, on Highway 47, using these settings: f/4; 1/500; iso100; 70 mm. The forecast today calls for similar weather, with 2-4 inches of snow in the area by Thursday morning, pushed by strong winds. ...

As the clock ticks on the 103rd Legislature-First Session, lawmakers face a deadline for dealing with the Biennial Budget. Statute says that the nine-member Appropriations Committee has to have the document ready for consideration by the full Legislature no later than the 70th day of the 90-day session (May 1) and it has to be passed by lawmakers by the 80th day...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation has announced the two Nebraska recipients of its 11th annual NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards, including Jordan Paine, of Oxford, a senior at Southern Valley Junior-Senior High School. This is a scholarship program designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school students...

"Star light, star bright; first star I see tonight; wish I may, wish I might; grant the wish I wish tonight." You ever say that little verse when you were growing up, when you saw the first star of the evening in the sky? I must confess, I did upon occasion. However, the first star you see in tonight's sky won't be a star at all. It will be the planet Jupiter and I don't know about the power of planets for granting wishes...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Gail Lenhart has decided to follow her father's initiative and go after her dream of owning her own business. Lenhart's father passed away a year ago but he was focused and passionate about life, she said. "My dad did what he wanted to do, nothing held him back," Lenhart said. "If he wanted something, he went after it. It was very inspiring to me."...

A former McCook resident, Duane Acton, now living in California, wrote that a chance conversation at a department store resulted in him sharing not one, not two, but five acts of kindness qualifying as a Share Who Cares from our little town some 10 or 12 years ago...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Affordable Healthcare Act will have major financial ramifications for Hillcrest Nursing Home. Randy Dean, a Board of Trustee member and vice president of the board, updated members Tuesday at the regular meeting what kind of expenses Hillcrest could have when the mandated healthcare act goes into effect in 2014...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Three student athletes at McCook Community College were recently honored for their outstanding individual efforts in the classroom and the MCC golf team captured top academic honors MCC's recent Honors Convocation. Baseball player Isaac Carrel, was named the MCC Scholar Athlete of the year. Akia Davis, a standout on the MCC Women's basketball team was named MCC's Female Academic Athlete of the Year while Ben Vetrovsky was named MCC Male Academic Athlete of the Year...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The third annual "Cornhusker Community Book Drive" benefited greatly Tuesday from the donation of a couple of thousand books by the son of the founder of a long-time McCook business. Katie Rea, book drive co-chair, now definitely needs volunteers to help her sort and distribute books on Saturday...

Laura Ruggles, McCook Community College sophomore, displays some of the graphic design projects she's done in her time at MCC. She is one of several MCC sophomores whose portfolio works will be featured through May 10 at the Wrightstone Gallery on the MCC campus. In addition, students from other classes will also have their work on display. The Gallery is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Hillcrest Board of Trustees voted unanimously to keep the Hillcrest Foundation expenses separate from the nursing home. Currently, the policy is that salary and benefits of the foundation director are paid by Hillcrest, then reimbursed by the foundation...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of child care centers and changing the eligibility of families receiving assistance to use those centers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln, advanced on a 27-0 vote...

"Star light, star bright; first star I see tonight; wish I may, wish I might; grant the wish I wish tonight." You ever say that little verse when you were growing up, when you saw the first star of the evening in the sky? I must confess, I did upon occasion. However, the first star you see in tonight's sky won't be a star at all. It will be the planet Jupiter and I don't know about the power of planets for granting wishes...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Police Department has been alerted to a fraud or scam being committed in the McCook area involving automated calls to cellular telephones stating that the owners' debit cards have been deactivated. The person who answers the phone is then instructed to press 1 for an operator...

Sina K. Ruggles April 13, 1918 - May 1, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Sina K. Ruggles beloved Mother and grandmother, passed away Wednesday, May 1, 2013, at Community Hospital of McCook, Nebraska. She was 95 years old. Sina was born in Dejbjerg, Skjern, Denmark on April 13, 1918, to Jens and Mette (Axelsen) Jensen. ...

University of Nebraska Medical Center spring commencement ceremonies will take place May 2-4 in Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha and Scottsbluff. Diplomas will be conferred on 963 students. Area students earning their diplomas include: UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division...