Stories from Tuesday, December 1, 2015

McCOOK, Neb. -- The annual Light Up the Bricks Christmas Lights Parade is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in downtown McCook. Entries are to line up at 5:30 p.m. south of H Street on East First. For more information, contact the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce, (308) 345-3200, email info@mccookchamber.org. Entry forms are available at the chamber office at 203 West 2nd or www.mccookchamber.org...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival planning committee will kick off the Christmas season with Santa and Elf stories at their First Tuesday event Tuesday 7-8 p.m. at the Bieroc Café. Local Santa and Father Christmas Tom Buresh will be the featured speaker...

STRATTON, Neb. -- The Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Pantry plans its second "Mobile Pantry," Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. until noon, at the VM Hall in downtown Stratton. The first Mobile Pantry was in August in Culbertson. The need was obvious, coordinators discovered, as volunteers distributed 3,712 pounds of food to 75 households (approximately 420 individuals) in about 1 1/2 hours...

McCOOK, Neb. -- "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, a 15-week class designed to mobilize the body of Christ in the United States toward God's global purpose, is set for McCook Sundays, Jan. 10 through May 1, 2016, 5 to 8 p.m. at McCook Christian Church, 507 West B in McCook...

Spotlight Studios Youth Ballet of McCook, Nebraska, will present "The Nutcracker Ballet" on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m., at Memorial Auditorium, West Fifth and C streets. Haiden Loop portrays "Clara" dancing with her new nutcracker gift; Maria Schaben portrays a friend dancing with her doll. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A good argument takes a good listener. That was one of the take-aways the McCook High School mock trial teams learned this year in their first year of competing. MHS competed in mock trials years ago but it then went by the wayside, said it's new sponsor, MHS teacher Jon Graff. He revived the competition, that's sponsored by the Nebraska Bar Association and with help from teacher Kristin Blume, organized practice sessions, helped kids prepare and drove kids to meets...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Derek Zipperlen is a veteran who served his country. Now, according to the slogan for his new business, " ... let me serve you." Derek and his wife, Emily, relocated to McCook from Denver, and Derek started "Veteran Heating & Air Conditioning" in McCook in March 2015. "Emily didn't like the big city," Derek said, "and her parents, Darrell and Natalie Mickey, live in McCook."...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The inaugural Reindeer Run 5K Run / Walk is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, and will start and finish at Barnett Park. It will feature a cross-country-style run over the hills and through the woods, around the ponds and across the soccer fields twice...

The pessimists among us never fail to find something to complain about, but those who lived through the "misery index" years of the 1970s should appreciate some recent numbers. In case you weren't there, or don't remember, an economist created the "misery index" as the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation indexes. It peaked at 16.26 percent during the Jimmy Carter presidency, dropped to 7.8 during Bill Clinton's years and is now at 9.41 percent...

Jerry Solomon, of Lincoln -- formerly of Culbertson, is a fellow who loves basketball. He has been a regular at the Cornhusker basketball games for many years, thrilling at the victories (all too few), and agonizing at the more frequent defeats. Jerry Solomon grew up on a dairy farm one mile west of Culbertson in the '30s and '40s. ...

Ronald Robert Heble Aug. 3, 1937 - Nov. 26, 2015 McCOOK, Neb. -- Ronald Robert Heble, 78, of McCook, died Thursday (Nov. 26, 2015), at his home. He was born and raised in Atwood, Kansas. He joined the Army Reserves. After his service, he took over the family farm north of Atwood. In 1960, he married Patsy Hakenkamp. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Church and the Army Reserves...

June E. Bahl Oct. 7, 1936 - Nov. 25, 2015 KEARNEY, Neb. -- June E. Bahl, 79, of Kearney, died Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, at Good Samaritan Society -- St. John's in Kearney. A gathering for family and friends will be Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. with a memorial service to follow at Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services in Kearney...

Oleta June Dodson May 14, 1920 - Nov. 28, 2015 HOXIE, Kan. -- Oleta June Dodson, 95, of Hoxie, Kansas, formerly of Maywood, Nebraska, died Nov. 28, 2015, at the Long Term Care Unit in Hoxie, Kansas. She was born May 14, 1920, in Maywood, Nebraska, to Manley John and Bessie Alice (Corlett) Shirley...

Iris Townley Godwin March 27, 1930 - Nov. 27, 2015 AMARILLO, Texas -- Iris Townley Godwin, 85, formerly of Tulia, died Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in Amarillo after a lengthy illness. She leaves her family and friends with countless memories, some of which include: magical Christmas gatherings, her contagious laughter, her great fondness of shopping and her daily example of a Christian lady...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The winner of the 2015 Region 3 Mock Trial Competition Monday, Nov. 23, was Eustis-Farnam High School. Teams that competed this year were Dundy County-Stratton High School (two teams); Eustis-Farnam High School; McCook High School (two teams); Perkins County High School (two teams); and Southern Valley High School (two teams)...

It's gonna get ugly, according to McCook Community College students, when the ugliest of ugly sweaters converge on the Peter and Dolores Graff Events Center Monday, Dec. 7. It's all part of "Fan Appreciation Night" and Phi Beta Lambda's "Ugly Sweater" Night. Free admission is offered to all fans and those wearing ugly sweaters are eligible for special holiday prizes. PBL members helping promote the fund-raising event include Nichelle Funk, from left and Rebecca Lorens...

*Dear Editor, Irrigators in the Frenchman Cambridge Irrigation District and News Media members: According to the McCook Gazette, a meeting of the Irrigation Board is scheduled for December 8, 2015 at the Cambridge City Auditorium beginning at 1:30 p.m...

News from the Chronicle of Philanthropy is not really news at all. Nebraskans, and Southwest Nebraskans in particular, are generous people. And that's not just today, Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. From the Walsh, Brady and Graff families, the McCook Community Foundation, to the Case family's gift of the Elks Club building to the college and the Evening For Hospice celebration, the Hormel and Harris families, Tom Kiplinger's gift of buildings for the fairgrounds and many other examples -- we're sure to have left many out -- Southwest Nebraskans are generous people.. ...

Quite a few years ago a friend, Wayne Boyer, kept a pack coyote hounds at his ranch a few miles south of McCook. Most of the pack were "hot blood" greyhounds he picked up at dog tracks. Wayne and his buddies would load their coyote hounds in a "dog box" in the back of their pickups then drive the pastures and canyons in search of the wily coyote. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- City leaders hope a new airline can reverse the decreasing trend in commercial passenger counts facing McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport in recent years. The Airport Advisory Commission unanimously supported awarding the bid for essential air service at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport to Boutique Air, Monday afternoon, after reviewing proposals from three airlines...

Members of the Southwest Nebraska Ministerial Association meet this morning to plan the annual Salvation Army bell ringing campaign. The pastors, from left, are Robert Putz of the Cornerstone Fellowship, Thomas Albertson of Peace Lutheran Church, Clark Bates of McCook Christian Church, Wayne Vogel of the Church of Christ, Steve Bails of First Congregational Church and Gary Brethour of St. ...

Carter, left, Jackson and Ellie Hartwell, the sons and daughter of Chelsey and Dan Hartwell of McCook, Nebraska, visited with Santa Claus at the McCook airport after the jolly old elf flew into town in 2014. Santa plans his 2015 flight Saturday, with a landing at 10 a.m. All youngsters and their parents -- with their cameras -- are invited. Santa will also be the highlight of the annual Christmas light parade Saturday, on the bricks in downtown McCook, starting at 6 p.m...