Stories from Friday, December 6, 2013

'Tis the season of giving - and Hot Chocolate on a Stick is a fun and thoughtful gift that will warm hearts and taste buds alike. A creative twist on hot chocolate, it's easy to make with kids and sure to please the "hard to shop for" recipients on your list...

Shortly after rousing Declan from his usual slumber earlier this week and directing him towards his outfit for the day, I noticed he was having trouble getting his pajama shirt off. I offered him what I thought was my usual early-morning brilliance...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- Graveside services scheduled Friday for Frances Elaine Neiman have been relocated to the Masonic Temple on Norris Avenue at 2 p.m., due to weather. Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore in North Platte is in charge of arrangements...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Effie Arlene Carlson age 98, of McCook, died at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney on Dec. 4, 2013. She was born near Cornell in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, on Sept. 10, 1915, to William and Ada (Terrell) Hay. She attended rural school until the fifth grade when her parents moved to Trenton...

ULYSSES, Kansas --Vicki Kirby, 68, died Saturday (Nov. 30, 2013) at The Legacy at Park View in Ulysses. She was born Sept. 27, 1945, in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, the daughter of Russell and Mary Lou (Johnson) Ryser. Vicki grew up and graduated in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. She married Carl David Kirby in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was a bookkeeper and had lived in various places including Alaska for ten years, and 13 years in Mora, New Mexico...

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. 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 -- Freda Clapp of McCook is the latest winner of the Linda Maiden State Farm Insurance Good Neigh-bear Award. Freda was nominated by her sister Shirley Stapp of Billings, Montana. Shirley writes, "My sister is always driving friends to North Platte or Kearney for doctor's appointments. She helps at the Helping Hands. She is always there for ones that need something done. I live in Billings, Montana, but I talk to her often and she is always going and doing for others."...

The Rev. R. Samuel Williams and Ms. Margaret A. Lucas will be united in Holy Matrimony at the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, Dec. 29, at St. James Memorial Episcopal Church, in Titusville, Pennsylvania. A modest reception will follow in the parish hall...

The children of Irene Schneider are requesting a card shower in honor of her 85th birthday. She was born on Dec. 15, 1928, in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. Irene's family includes children, Lynda Jollensten and husband, Barry, Deb Stoney and husband, Larry, and Scott Schneider and wife, Audrey; six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations and best wishes will reach her at 803 West J St., McCook NE 69001...

The family of Leland Rippen are requesting a card shower for his 98th birthday on Dec. 13, 2013. Cards will reach him at Hillcrest Nursing home-Room 429, McCook, NE 69001.

Davin and Shoni Doyle of Yuma, Colorado, announce the birth of their son, Merrick William Doyle, who was born Nov. 19, 2013, in Wray, Colorado. He weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Grandparents are Todd and Jan Deatrich of Maywood, Nebraska, Dave and Candice Haddon, of Bartley, Nebraska, and...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School Board of Education will be asked to approve the resignation of a long-time administrator and accept a donation for the wrestling program, at its regular meeting Monday, 6:30 p.m. at the Junior HIgh conference room...

ATWOOD, Kansas -- When Tim and Diana Treon moved to Atwood, Kansas, 11 years ago, they brought with them at least 500 pieces of toy trains. "We've bought lots of toys since then," Diana says, with a laugh. Tim now has an extensive collection of train sets, toy firetrucks, ride-on trucks, airplanes, wind-up circus toys, railroad lanterns, bells, horses and horse-drawn wagons, pedal cars ... the list goes on...

McCOOK, Nebraska --Representatives from the George W. Norris Foundation and the Norris Institute will travel to Lincoln Monday, January 6, for Norris Day ceremonies in the Capitol Rotunda. The McCookites will be warmly and generously received. Thanks to the efforts of Kristen Gottschalk of the Nebraska Rural Electric Association, the Norris/REA Eternal Light Display campaign will receive a $10,000 contribution from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association...

Today's column title is what I told my ex the other night when I was explaining my latest physical malady to her. I went for 62 years without having anything more serious than a cold or the flu and then, all of a sudden, it feels like the bottom has fallen out...

Garrison Keillor's fictional hometown is described as "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve." We're sure even Lake Wobegon has a community improvement committee to make it a better place to live, but preservation is high on their list of priorities as well...

I have said this before, but when I visit a coffee shop, restaurant, the barber shop, or a ballgame, I hear people say they want a better and stronger economy in Southwest Nebraska. Yet often when called upon to help the community improve, we fail to act. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Police Department has received several complaints about citizens receiving text messages or phone calls having to do with their Wells Fargo bank accounts, with a number the citizen is supposed to call. This is a scam and recipients of such messages are urged not to call the number provided. However, if you have a question, contact your bank directly and speak to an account representative there...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program will be at St. Alban's Episcopal Church Parish Hall in McCook Tuesday through Dec. 17. It provides free food and nutrition information to help keep pregnant women, infants and children under 5 healthy and strong. To be eligible for WIC, participants must live in Nebraska, be a pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding woman, an infant or child under 5 years of age and have a household income that meets specific guidelines...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Brotherhood of St. Andrew affiliated with St. Alban's Episcopal Church plans its annual soup supper Monday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at 108 West F, serving homemade vegetable beef and chili soup along with desserts. A free will donation is all that will be asked, and everyone is welcome...

PALISADE, Nebraska -- A Christmas Craft Show is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Mihm Hall 103 N. Vennum Street, Palisade. Tables are $15 each or two for $25, with only one vendor per company. Lunch will be served. Call (308) 286-3388 for more information...

PALISADE, Nebraska -- Santa Claus will arrive at the Palisade American Legion Hall at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. Prize tickets for the drawing will be limited to children infant to 16.

Amy Blomstedt of McCook shares this "up close-and-personal" picture of her sister Melissa Powell's cat, Butter. Also known as Mantequilla by friends and relations, Butter's a sweet-natured and playful fella who was adopted by Powell, a Kansas City resident. Share your favorite Whisker photo with readers of the McCook Gazette. Bring photo and information to the Gazette offices at West First and E Streets, mail them to PO Box 1268, McCook, NE 69001, or email them to editor2@ocsmccook.com...