Stories from Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Ronald E. Prascher June 26, 1939 - Sept. 15, 2015 BRUSH, Colo. -- Ronald E. Prascher, 76, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015, at his home in Brush. He was born June 26, 1939, in Sarben, Nebraska, to Hubert S. and Pauline E. Prascher. He graduated from North Platte, Nebraska, High School and received his bachelor of science degree in math and science from the University of Nebraska - Kearney in 1962. ...

Donna Ruth Carlson Jan. 13, 1949 - Sept. 21, 2015 GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Donna Ruth Carlson, 66, of Grand Island, passed from this life Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. Celebration of Life Service is 11 a.m. Thursday at Peace Lutheran Church in Grand Island. Reverend Michael Reiners will officiate...

Terry L. Rouse McCOOK, Neb. -- Terry L. Rouse, 66, of McCook, died Tuesday (Sept. 22, 2015), in Lincoln, Nebraska. Services are pending with Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook.

Donna L. Butler April 12, 1931 - Sept. 23, 2015 McCOOK, Neb. -- Donna L. Butler, 84, of McCook, died today (Sept. 23, 2015), at Cambridge Manor in Cambridge, Nebraska. Services are pending with Herrmann Jones Funeral Chapel in McCook.

It's a rainy morning in McCook as we write this, but any Nebraskan who complains about rain probably hasn't lived in Nebraska for long. The weather promises to dry out and warm up for this week's big Heritage Days observance, but there's going to be a hole in community celebrations from now on...

Every once in a while Earth will slide between the Sun and moon and we here on Earth experience what is known as a total lunar eclipse -- that is where the shadow of Earth not only crosses the face of the moon, but totally engulfs it. We almost had one on the Aug. ...

Former Husker football rush end Demoine Adams speaks to a group of students, parents and TeamMates mentors about post-secondary education scholarship opportunities available for TeamMates mentees who graduate while in the program. "Stop texting, start nexting," or "plan your future now," was Adams' inspirational message at last week's visit. ...

HAYES CENTER -- Today, Governor Pete Ricketts announced that Hayes County has become the newest county in the state to become designated as a Livestock Friendly County through a program administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. "Hayes County's location and abundance of natural resources makes it a perfect fit as part of the Livestock Friendly County program," said Gov. Ricketts...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Community Hospital of McCook will be conducting a mock active shooter incident at McCook Community College at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. The drill is a way to test collaboration between all responding agencies, said Dari Olson, safety director at Community Hospital...

CULBERTSON, Neb. -- In this age of the Internet and downloading books in seconds, a library seems almost obsolete. But that didn't stop the village of Culbertson, population 500, from pulling together to build a new library of its own. Ground was broken Monday on the site where a brand new, almost 3,000 square feet library will be built, with cheers from village officials, library board members, contracting representatives and about 170 students from the local elementary school, Hitchcock County Elementary.. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The city sewer fund is just a few years removed from analysts calling for sizable annual rate increases but now looks to be financially stable, with no rate increase expected for years to come. In 2008, the McCook City Council considered a 7.5 percent residential sewer rate increase before allocating the use of $150,000 in local-option sales tax funds to minimize the hike. ...

The Byway 136 -- Heritage Highway 136 Association has announced an upcoming Trail of Treasures event Oct. 2, 3 and 4. This is the fourth year for Trail of Treasures and it now includes several towns in Red Willow County which is on west of Edison (the westernmost town designated as Byway 136). The Trail extends from McCook to Brownville...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A plea agreement was reached with a North Platte man last week in Red Willow County District Court admitting guilt to sexually assaulting a Danbury child. The offender, 32-year-old Jeremy L. Wilcox, was subsequently scheduled for sentencing at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2015...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Nebraska is both a business-friendly and a high-tax state, according to representatives of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry. State chamber officials Joseph Young and Jamie Karl visited with members of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce this morning during a legislative breakfast today at McCook Community College. ...

Lorri Sughroue McCook Gazette McCOOK, Neb. -- No offense to Omaha, but Abby Sedlacek and her family look forward to not seeing it for awhile. That's because for the past two and half years, since Abby was four and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood, they've made numerous trips to Children's Hospital in Omaha for treatments...