Stories from Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Lucille Grace Wilken Nov. 1, 1920 - March 9, 2014 HILDRETH, Nebraska -- Lucille Grace Wilken, the first-born child of Fooke and Minnie (Keiser) Hemje, was born on Nov. 1, 1920, at the family farm south of Hildreth. She entered eternal life on March 9, 2014, at the age of 93, at Bethany Home in Minden, Nebraska...

CHADRON, Nebraska -- Incoming student participants in the collaborative Rural Health Opportunities Program between Chadron State College and the University of Nebraska Medical Center have been named. Madison Aufrecht of McCook, Nebraska, will be studying nursing as an RHOP participant at CSC...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The National Weather Service in Goodland and Red Willow County Emergency Management invite the public to a Storm Spotter Class at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Heritage Senior Center, 1400 W. Fifth in McCook. The class is free of charge and open to anyone with an interest in High Plains weather. This program is conducted only once a year by NWS meteorologists so consider attending this fun and educational training in McCook...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The school calendar for next year that the McCook School Board approved will include a Christmas break that begins Dec. 24. Superintendent Grant Norgaard brought two options to the board Monday night at the regular meeting concerning the school calendar for the 2014-15 school year. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- One of two teachers hired Monday night by the McCook School Board is a McCook High School graduate. The board hired Tori Peters of Omaha, Nebraska, as a junior high science teacher, who has been working as a science teacher at Omaha Northwest Magnet High School from January 2013 to the present. Board member Diane Lyons said Peters, who attended MHS with her daughter, graduated in 2008 and would be a great addition...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Renovations in the McCook School District that will begin in the summer include improvements to the high school library and gym and new playground equipment at McCook Elementary. Superintendent Grant Norgaard told the school board at the regular meeting Monday night that the facilities committee recently toured sites in the district that were scheduled for upgrades...

Col. Tom Brewer visits with supporters at a meet-and-greet Tuesday evening at Loop's Brewery Co. in McCook, Nebraska. A Republican candidate to represent Nebraska's 3rd District in Congress, Brewer emphasized his desire to represent the desires of his constituency, rather than advance his own congressional career. ...

Russ Erpelding hangs hand-colored engravings by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer now on display at the Museum of the High Plains in downtown McCook. Portraits, watercolors and drawings by Bodmer chronicle travels into the interior of North America from 1832 through 1834 during which he and German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied documented the landscape, plants, animals and native people of the Upper Missouri River region. ...

MCCOOK, Nebraska--The public is invited to a two-day wellness fair hosted by Community Hospital, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 25 and 26 from 7-9 a.m. each day in Community Hospital's Prairie View meeting rooms at 1301 East H Street in McCook. The health fair will highlight Community Hospital's services, offer continental breakfast, and a variety of health screenings at a free or reduced rate. Other health-related businesses will also provide screenings and exhibits...

We've had some late-winter bitter cold, and a couple early spring- or summer-like days. Spring officially arrives next week, but long-time residents know some of the worst winter weather can arrive after the calendar says winter has departed. It will be great to get outside once spring weather arrives, but hidden irritants can make those of us with allergies long for a return to the clear air of cold weather...

We have all heard the little phrase that says if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. Many of you long- time readers know I have discussed this before, but it never hurts to go over it again. The basis of that phrase has its roots in astronomy. Just as Pegasus is an indicator of autumn, and Orion of winter, so Leo is an indicator that spring is at hand and his stars have been peeking over the eastern horizon these past few weeks...

Status quo. With only weeks remaining in the Second Session of the 103rd Nebraska Legislature, the Latin term meaning the existing state of affairs takes on an all-too-familiar presence. Filibustering and political posing have taken a toll on progress in the officially non-partisan body. It appears that a number of key issues could be left unresolved...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A pair of men sentenced to jail time in 2012 after forcing their way into several local homes, wearing bandanas to hide their identity and assaulting residents that they startled awake in many instances, were both back in court this month facing new felony charges...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A drunk driver who left his vehicle upside down in a drainage ditch near the intersection of East Fifth Street and East A Street last summer faced only a DUI charge stemming from the incident. The offender, 21-year-old Austin D. Ebert of 401 East 12th Street, was convicted of drunk driving during a Red Willow County Court hearing in January but an additional offense for leaving the scene of an accident was not pursued by Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood...