Stories from Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Audrey Ann Fish Haberman Aug. 22, 2011 - March 13, 2014 IMPERIAL, Nebraska -- Audrey Ann Fish Haberman, age 2-and-a-half, passed away in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 13, 2014. Audrey lived a life much larger than her 3-foot stature would suggest. ...

L'Marie June Robertson Sept. 8, 1926 - March 16, 2014 GOODLAND, Kansas -- L'Marie June Robertson, 87, of Goodland, formerly of Oberlin, Kansas, died Sunday (March 16, 2014), at Goodland Regional Medical Center in Goodland. She was born Sept. 8, 1926, in Marion, Nebraska to Sidney "Ted" and Helen C. (Miller) Ambler...

Kenneth C. Stillman July 18, 1918 - March 14, 2014 ARAPAHOE, Nebraska -- Kenneth C. Stillman, 95, died Friday (March 14, 2014), at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. He was born on July 18, 1918, north of Arapahoe, Nebraska, in Gosper County to Ernest W. Stillman and Marie Haussler Stillman...

Vernice Maurine Degnan Leslie July 25, 1923 - March 14, 2014 GOODLAND, Kansas -- Vernice Maurine Degnan Leslie, 90, died Friday (March 14, 2014), at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook, Nebraska. She was born on July 25, 1923, in Scott City, Kansas, to Olga (Schmitt) and Jesse Gowin. She grew up in Scott City, Kansas, and graduated from Scott City High School in 1941...

McCook Nebraska ---- Today, organizers of McCook's Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival announced the lineup for the 18th annual event to be held June 13 and 14, 2014. A "Wild West Bus Tour" will kick off the event on Friday with a trip to Camp Duke Alexis and a discussion of the Last Buffalo Hunt. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The city's annual audit report once again provided a favorable evaluation and representatives from the auditing firm praised city department heads for their fiscal performance and holding expenses down. "You've done a very good job of holding down costs and expenses," said Terry Galloway of Almquist, Maltzahn, Galloway & Luth, Certified Public Accountants, during Monday's McCook City Council meeting...

Big, sloppy flakes of snow fall on a Nebraska State Patrol car heading north on wet Norris Avenue bricks in McCook late morning today. There were reports of slick roads toward Frontier County and North Platte, which were experiencing heavy snow and fog. High wind warnings -- gusts up to 60 miles an hour -- are in effect until late evening today...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Southwest Nebraska car owners who have driven to North Platte to get "Q-Tip clean" interiors and glow-in-the-sunlight exteriors can get the same look now in McCook. Yoshida Detailing has offered car detailing in North Platte for 20 years, and now, Serena and Jerry Yoshida, of North Platte, have opened a new detailing shop in McCook...

There's plenty to keep your attention this week if you like playing the odds. First, there's the Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge, in which you could win a billion dollars if you pick out all the winners in the NCAA basketball bracket. That's only the tip of the iceberg; numerous other brackets are floating around the Internet and American offices, costing employers millions of dollars in lost productivity...

Water issues Dear Editor, It may be time to clarify a few more issues surrounding the water in the Republican River Basin. First, several NRD publications indicate that if you shut down all the wells it will only increase the stream flows enough to irrigate less than 5,000 acres. ...

There are three major items taking place in our world today. First on the news is the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Then comes the Russian takeover of the Crimean Peninsula with the possibility of even more invasion of Ukrainian territory. The third? Well I am reminded President Obama's right hand man David Axelrod stating that this administration never intends to "Let a good crisis go to waste"...

The Legislature finished the 43rd day of a 60-day session last week. We are almost three quarters of the way through the 2014 session. This week in the letter back home, I would like to highlight some of the priority bills that were debated last week...

Elaine May Stevens Dec. 12, 1919 - March 18, 2014 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Elaine May Stevens, age 94. of McCook, passed away Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at Willow Ridge in McCook. Elaine was born Dec. 12, 1919, in Marion, Nebraska, to John C. and Mina (Drain) Peters. She attended and graduated from McCook High School in 1936...