Stories from Tuesday, November 5, 2013

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The City of McCook is researching the construction of a new eight-plex hangar at the airport. According to city staff, the city already has 10 aircraft owners on a waiting list for hangar space at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport and they believe the project may qualify for funding or financing assistance...

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...

Roofers from CTE Construction in McCook and AA Roofing in Holdrege, Nebraska, take a short break from repairing a porch roof in McCook on Friday morning. An anonymous individual, together with the roofing companies, donated the time and funds for the repairs. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook City Council granted preliminary approval for a group to use city property, located between two of the area's largest retail businesses, for the construction of a memorial paying tribute to the Rural Electrification Administration and former U.S. Senator George W. Norris. The city owned property, nestled between Plains Equipment Group and Walmart, borders the busiest intersection in McCook, the junction of U.S. Highway 83 and U.S. Highway 6 & 34...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Monday morning, Janelle Carter of McCook won the McCook High School's Senior Parents' "Senior Celebration Fall Raffle" grand prize, a seven-night stay for four in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Other winners were: Funds raised are for a drug-free, alcohol-free graduation party for the McCook High School 2014 Senior Class scheduled May 11, 2014...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Leaving prison was almost as frightening as going in, according to Brandon Kreuger. The 25-year-old remembers the sense of dread he felt when he was released from a Nebraska penitentiary. After being incarcerated, easing back into a community can be terrifying, Krueger said, if there is no sense of purpose or goal...

Concrete work nears completion on an East 11th building which is being expanded to house Community Hospital's accounts, public relations Community HealthCare and Hospice and Community Hospital Health Foundation departments. Below, a crane lifts one of 3,500 large concrete blocks into place to construct the three- to six-foot-thick walls which house the linear accelerator for the hospital's new Radiation Oncology Center. ...

Katelyn Kinne tears up the clarinet during a Benny Goodman jazz medley at the McCook Senior High fall concert at the MHS auditorium Monday night. Kinne was chosen for All-State band again this year, an honor not usually seen in the Western part of the state, said Donita Priebe, McCook band instructor. ...

India has a rocket on its way to Mars, it hopes, and it's doing it at a fraction of what it is costing NASA to do the same thing. The red-and-white-striped rocket carrying the Mars Orbiter Mission into orbit lifted off from the southeastern coast of the Indian subcontinent earlier today, and was to orbit the earth six or seven times to build up momentum before sling-shotting itself toward Mars, where it will go into orbit to study the red planet's minerals and atmosphere...

The public is often busy grading and evaluating the words and actions of leaders like Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mitt Romney. "They may pass or fail or even get an incomplete. Let's pretend that they are taking an oral exam on military action...

Community: We just want to take a moment to thank everyone who was involved in making our recent "Light Up the Fox" concert a rousing success. We'll try to be brief. To Charles Coleman and the Fox Theater Alliance-you have done a wonderful job in the restoration of the Fox Theater. We were fortunate enough to perform in the theater before the renovation and then last week after, and we all said that you didn't change the "feel" of the room. Congratulations!...

My beloved alma mater, the Air Force Academy, received unwanted attention from the national news media this past week. The headlines read something like "Academy Makes God Reference in Honor Oath Optional." There is a proud history of the honor code at the school and your columnist lived it...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The Nebraska Music Educators Association is please to announce that the All-State Children's Choir will again be performing as part of the 2013 Nebraska Music Educators Conference. The choir, consisting for 350 fourth and fifth grade students, representing 93 schools across the state, will be under the direction of internationally known choral director and composer Emily Crocker...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Community College Theatre's production of "Leaving Iowa" will open Nov. 15 and run through Nov. 17 at the Weeth Theater on campus. Performances are set for 7 p.m. Nov. 16 and Nov. 16 with a 2 p.m. matinee Nov. 17. The play, written by comedians Tim Clue and Spike Manton, is a testament to the "greatest generation." It is a toast to the idealism and character and also roasts their undying dedication to the classic family road trip...

MANHATTAN, Kansas -- Nearly 630 students, including Marcus Cahoj of Atwood, Kansas, completed degree requirements from Kansas State University this summer. He received a Bachelor of Science degree.

McCOOK, Nebraska -- COMETRY, an exciting, energetic new art form that blends performance poetry and stand-up comedy into clean, clever, observational entertainment is coming to the MCC campus Wednesday. The performance is set for Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Weeth Theater...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook Community College will welcome more than 200 high school students Wednesday on campus for an FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) conference. The students will spend their morning at the MCC Events Center and then breaking into mini-sessions for the afternoon primarily using spaces in McMillen Hall and Walsh-Brady...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook Junior High School has released the honor and merit rolls for the first quarter of the 2013-14 academic year. Honor roll students maintain a grade point average of 87-93.9 percent, with no single grade lower than 78 percent...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is selling tickets for the "Best Seat In The House; for the home-opening game Saturday for the MCC women's basketball team. This raffle is for the chance for two people (thanks to Samway Floor Covering and Furniture) to sit on a courtside recliner with complementary concessions...

Eighth graders in Deb Goodenberger's art class at McCook Junior High created their own "street art" in the halls of the junior high, using masking tape, creativity and a little bit of humor. Shown top left with "Neverending Hallway" are Jack Vogel, from left, Noah Peters, Kelli Glennemeier and Kenneth Far. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The award-winning photography Nebraska native Bill Ray is on display at the Wrightstone Fine Arts Gallery on the McCook Community College campus through the end of the semester. The Wrightstone Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. There will be extended hours Saturday from 1-6 p.m...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Each year, approximately 3,000 of the best high school musicians in the state audition for the Nebraska All-State Band, Chorus, Jazz Band and Orchestra which are sponsored by the Nebraska Music Educators Association. Selection as a member of one of these groups is one of the highest musical honors attainable in Nebraska. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The award-winning photography Nebraska native Bill Ray is on display at the Wrightstone Fine Arts Gallery on the McCook Community College campus through the end of the semester. The Wrightstone Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. There will be extended hours Saturday from 1-6 p.m...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Students at McCook Junior High recently took part in a Career Exploration Program with MCC Career Specialist, Brandon Lenhart and materials provided by Mid-Plains Community College. This was a fun program in which students learned more about their personalities, likes, and dislikes. Students then matched up their unique interests to possible career choices. Finally, the students had the opportunity to research potential careers of interest using internet-based resources...

Amber Madigan, a McCook Community College freshman pre-med major from Peyton, Colo. heats a copper-bromide solution in Jim Garretson's general chemistry class. The task for these 24 students in this lab was to isolate the copper as well as learning proper procedures and techniques in a lab setting. ...

Photographer Roxy Lang of Wilsonville, Nebraska, opines, "The wheat looks so fresh and green after the rain." She took this photograph Oct. 9, using these settings: f/9, 1/400, iso1000, 191mm. This morning's rain is undoubtedly as welcome as that which fell before this photo was taken. ...

Betty June Johnson Feb. 11, 1926 - Nov. 4, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Betty Jane Johnson, age 87, died at the Community Hospital in McCook on Nov. 4, 2013. She was born on Feb. 11, 1926, at Hamlet, Nebraska, the only child of John and Amanda (Scriven) Zumhingst. ...