Stories from Thursday, February 20, 2014

Elmer James Schaefers July 6, 1940 - Feb. 9, 2014 Beaver City, Nebraska -- Elmer James Schaefers, 74, of Beaver City, died Sunday (Feb. 9, 2014), at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge, Nebraska. He was born on July 6, 1940, in Clayton, Iowa, near Locking Dam 10 to Harold and Venita (Carpenter) Schaefers...

Gene O. Morris McCook Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska - Ah, what a wonderful new world we live in. Just ask Verity (Bishop) Gonzales, a vivacious young lass from Stevenage at Hertfordshire in England, who met Miguel Gonzales, an active, athletic soldier from McCook, Nebraska, on Facebook four years ago...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A search on a warrant for stolen property has led to the arrest of four subjects subsequently charged with a variety of drug violations. Red Willow County Sheriff Gene Mahon said this morning that the investigation continues and more arrests are pending following officers' search on Friday, Feb. 7, of the brick schoolhouse that was once the Republican Valley Junior/Senior High School between McCook and Indianola...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- State legislators aim to tighten up penalties against interlock mandated drivers while easing CDL requirements on farmers this session. Sen. Mark Christensen visited with McCook Area Chamber of Commerce representatives on both topics this morning, saying requests from law enforcement officers were behind one bill while the other was driven by new federal regulations...

ATWOOD, Kansas -- A seat belt violation led to the arrest of three adults on drug charges and the placement of a baby in protective custody. The Rawlins County Square Deal newspaper reports that Atwood Police Chief Brian Withington stopped a car on Jan. 30 because the front-seat passenger was not wearing a seat belt. The vehicle stop led to further investigation by Withington and Undersheriff Jim Schroeder and charges filed against the adult occupants...

A City of McCook, Nebraska, streets department employee places safety cones around a trailer that seems to have locked up -- and lost -- a wheel after turning north off of B Street and onto East 11th around noon Wednesday. The burned rubber tire track had followed the truck and trailer all the way through McCook, and witnesses told a McCook police officer that it started near the Perry elevator, about three miles west of McCook. ...

Missouri police are coming under criticism for the length of time it took to issue an Amber Alert in connection with the abduction of a young girl Tuesday. Hailey Owens, 10, was kidnapped by a stranger at about 4:48 p.m. when a 911 call was received, and officers arrived on the scene 12 minutes later...

By the numbers, progress in the short session of the 103rd Legislature may seem slow. With more than a third of the 60-day session already expired, one questions whether all that has been broadcast and printed really amounts to much. Daily talk of filibusters and threats of filibusters and the actual filibusters themselves make news. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- City staff said they are pleased with how the project to construct three cation waste disposal lagoons near the waste water treatment plant was progressing. McCook Utilities Director Jesse Dutcher told the McCook City Council Monday evening that the project was ahead of schedule and moving along very well...

HOLBROOK, Nebraska -- On the evening of Feb 11, 2014 Deputies of the Furnas County Sheriff's Office went to a residence located in the 300 block of Norwich in Holbrook, Nebraska to attempt to serve a Red Willow County arrest warrant of a person believed to be at the residence...

Blanche Wilma Weidner Jan. 22, 1928 - Feb. 19, 2014 TRENTON, Nebraska -- Blanche Wilma Weidner of Trenton passed away Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, at Community Hospital in McCook. She was 86 years old. Blanche was born Jan. 22, 1928, to Willie and Emma (Poertner) Wendelin, on the family farm east of Crete in Lancaster County...