Stories from Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Foreign visitors are often amazed when visiting America's heartland, both by the sheer size of the landscape, and by the vast cornfields and amber waves of grain. Foreigners and domestic visitors alike, however, might be surprised that much of that bounty doesn't make it to those who need it...

Sarah Irene Coe Sept. 18, 1928 - June 10, 2013 BEAVER CITY, Nebraska -- Sarah Irene Coe, 84, of Beaver City, Nebraska, died Monday (June 10, 2013), at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. She was born Sept. 18, 1928, at Beaver City to Harvey J. and Hazel E. (Jennings) Smith...

Mable Dewey Jan 17, 1928 - June 11, 2013 TRENTON, Nebraska -- Mable Leona Phelps Dewey, daughter of Milo C. Phelps and Marjorie L. Phelps, was born on a stormy morning Jan. 17, 1928, the doctor braving the storm to get there. She passed away June 11, 2013, at El Dorado Manor in Trenton, after a long illness at the age of 85...

Courtesy photo Tiffany Marie Pinkal Bailey graduated May 3 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a degree in Education Specialist/School Psychology. Tiffany graduated from McCook Senior High in 2003 and earned her bachelor's degree from UNK in 2008. ...

Courtesy photo r Allison Tolliver, a student at St. Patrick's School in McCook, was one of 59 eighth-grade students from 24 schools across Nebraska, who attended the University of Nebaska Medical Center's 21st annual State Science Meet June 6-8, for an educational and fun experience. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Authorities have released details of a Friday accident which killed a McCook woman. The woman, 70-year-old Patricia Peters of McCook, is believed to have exited her vehicle while it was in neutral and was either attempting to place items in the vehicle, or arrange something on the passenger side, when it began to roll backwards and pulled her under the vehicle...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A McCook High School teacher accused of unprofessional conduct will be able to keep her job in the district, after the McCook School Board met Tuesday night for a hearing and failed by a tie vote to agree on a motion. After hearing six hours of testimony and evidence and then meeting in closed session, the McCook School Board reconvened in open session and made the motion that the employment contract of Lana Egle, a high school special education teacher, should be continued for the 2013-14 school year, subject to a written reprimand and corrective action and improvement plan.. ...

The fountains in Barnett Park's ponds are back on for the summer, attracting geese and ducks to their cooling mists. The birds can be distracted quite easily, however, by promises of bread, as Vanessa Guthrie of McCook and her 20-month-old son Axton, and their buddy, eight-year-old Allen Holliday, discovered recently...

The good news is, you're not paranoid. That's how the fake news program the Daily Show put it Monday. The bad news is, the government IS keeping track of your telephone and Internet activities under the guise of national security. The National Security Agency, whose existence wasn't even acknowledged all that many years ago, is so committed to the effort that it's building a giant data center in Utah capable as holding as much as 5 zetabytes of data...

The Legislature has adjourned, but the work has just begun. This was the "long session," the 90-day first session that traditionally includes passage of a new two-year state budget. Done. Ernie Chambers failed in his 38th try to ban the death penalty. ...

Before we begin, a word from our sponsor ... well, not really, but this is a shameless commercial for the Nebraska Star Party. The Nebraska Star Party is an annual gathering of amateur astronomers from not just Nebraska; attendees come from many states and even a few foreign countries...

Dr. Robert M. McCosh Dec. 25, 1923 - June 12, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Dr. Robert M. McCosh, age 89, passed away Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at his home in McCook. He was born on Dec. 25, 1923, and was adopted at age eleven by Mac and Grace McCosh of Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Denver High School and then attended the University of Colorado in Bolder, Colorado. Robert served his country in World War II entering the US Army on March 28, 1946, and was honorably discharged March 27, 1947...