Stories from Thursday, September 24, 2015

There are four pages of advice for farmers in the National Farm Safety Week edition in today's paper, but they are not the only ones who should be careful this time of the year. As a matter of fact, those of us who use rural roads have a special responsibility to look out for those who are hurrying to get their crops out of the fields this harvest season...

Nebraska's taxes and tax rates are a lot like our geography -- right in the middle. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, released in 2012, Nebraska ranks 26th in terms of combined local and state taxes as a share of personal income. By the same measure, our state's personal income taxes rank 29th, sales taxes rank 26th and property taxes rank 15th...

I'm pretty sure my older two girls have secretly become good buddies with the evening maintenance personnel at the Junior High and High School. In fact, they must be covertly assisting them after hours with various projects or maybe just helping shut off lights and lock up classrooms because that's the only reason I can figure why they're always the last ones out of the school building each day. ...

HAIGLER, Neb. -- An 8-year-old Haigler, Nebraska, boy died late Sunday afternoon in an ATV-pickup accident on a private drive about 20 miles north of Haigler. Dundy County Sheriff Justin Nichols told the Benkelman News that the child was on the four-wheel ATV with a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old when it collided head-on with a 3/4-ton flatbed pickup. Nichols said the ATV was on the wrong side of the private road...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook's 2015 Heritage Days Honor Family is the Kugler family, which includes Diane Kugler and sons, John and Mike. Through the generations beginning in the mid-1920s, the Kugler family has operated several different business ventures in the area, including a service station, a zoo, a dance hall and a motel...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Masons and McCook, Nebraska, Senior High students will cooperate on a "CHIP" program in McCook Saturday, CHIP is the nationally-recognized program designed to aid in the identification and recovery of missing children. The services will be offered free to everyone between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday, on the first floor of the Masonic Temple, 322 Norris...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Nebraska is relying on a flawed formula to determine which school districts receive state aid, at least according to District 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes who hopes to build support for a change. "The state budget is being balanced on the backs of local property tax payers," said Sen. Hughes during a legislative breakfast at McCook Community College Wednesday morning...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A Cambridge, Nebraska, man was sentenced to probation in Red Willow County District Court on felony tampering with physical evidence. The offender, 43-year-old David A. Clements, took the plea, admitting guilt to the Class IV felony tampering charge and was sentenced to 30 months probation. ...

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...