Stories from Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Bruce Lybarger Dec. 27, 1947 - Aug. 27, 2015 BARTLEY, Neb. -- Bruce Lybarger of Bartley, beloved brother and uncle, passed away Aug. 27, 2015, at his home in Bartley at the age of 67. He was born in Wichita, Kansas, and lived in both Boulder and Denver, Colorado, before his move to Bartley in 2013. As a young man, Bruce was an accomplished gymnast and a skilled craftsman in wood and metal...

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, Neb. -- During the Community Hospital Board of Directors meeting on Aug. 19, directors heard the fourth quarter 2015 balanced scorecard report. The overall score surpassed goal at 6.50 out of ten. Of the 16 measures, two were up, four were down and ten remained the same. Reports from the four seed champions, People, Service, Quality and Finance, were also presented...

CURTIS, Neb. -- Student enrollment at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis is up 33 percent from a year ago, a record for NCTA enrollment with 512 students, NCTA Dean Ron Rosati announced Tuesday. The 102-year-old school, the only two-year college degree program of the University of Nebraska system, issued its count after the first full week of classes began on Aug. 24...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The number of commercial passengers boarded at the McCook airport dipped to an all-time monthly low last year when only two passengers were boarded for the month of March. The inactivity prompted a Gazette headline at the time claiming passenger numbers had "No way to go but up." A review of 2015 passenger counts raises concerns the optimistic headline may have been wrong...

From the second-floor balcony of the new Nebraska Building, Bob Haag of rural Indianola, Nebraska, looks over the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Grand Island. Haag, president of the Red Willow County Fair Board, is a new State Fair director/manager, representing the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers's District 4, 15 counties from Webster County on the east to Dundy County on the west. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Red Willow County Public Defender Ryan Wilcox was found not guilty of a speeding violation after taking the case to trial last week. Wilcox was cited for speeding 76 mph in a 65 mph zone in April and pleaded not guilty to the offense in May. According to court documents his speed was tracked by Nebraska State Patrol officers using an airplane...

"Blue and Brave" read one of the signs held by a Fox Lake, Ill., college student who came out today in support of law enforcement officers conducting an intense manhunt to find the three men who killed a popular police lieutenant Tuesday morning. Friday, a Texas sheriff's deputy was gunned down as he refueled his patrol car. ...

September, wow, where has the year gone? Sort of like watching the stars and constellations pass overhead from east to west. In three weeks we will be observing the Autumnal Equinox -- the beginning of autumn -- and a few days later a total lunar eclipse. Talk about anticipation...

Gertrude H. Fox March 4, 1912 - Sept. 1, 2015 ELWOOD, Neb. -- Gertrude H. Fox, 103, of Elwood, died Tuesday (Sept. 1, 2015), at Elwood Care Center in Elwood. She was born on a farm south of Elwood on March 4, 1912, to Fred H. and Rose A. (Berndt) Harm...

Throughout McCook's history, carpenters and contractors have been in demand, building and remodeling houses, apartments and duplexes to keep pace with McCook's changing population. Starting in 1882, when McCook was founded, and continuing until the present day, builders have constructed more than 2,500 places to live in what has become the largest town in Southwest Nebraska...