Stories from Friday, January 15, 2016

BEATRICE, LINCOLN, MILFORD, Neb. -- Southeast Community College in Nebraska has released its Dean's List for the quarter recently completed on the Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford campuses. To be recognized on SCC's Dean's List, a student must complete at least six quarter credit hours of the term with a minimum grade-point average of 3.5. Classes with a grade of "P" (Pass) do not count toward the six-hour minimum...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two students from Southwest Nebraska were nominated by Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) to the U.S. Service Academies for the 2016 class. Taylor Wilson of Imperial, son of Doug and Tonya Wilson, is a senior at Chase County High School. He has been nominated to the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado...

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Central Community College has announced the names of full-time students who earned spots on the President's and Dean's honor lists for the 2015 fall semester. The students were enrolled at one or more CCC locations, which include the Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings campuses; Holdrege, Kearney and Lexington centers; and learning centers in about 50 central Nebraska towns...

CHADRON, Neb. -- Darian Krysl of McCook, Nebraska, was one of 387 named to the Chadron State College dean's list for fall 2015. The dean's list requires a 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Students must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours of coursework during the semester to qualify...

McCOOK, Neb. -- First semester honor roll students for St. Patrick Catholic School in McCook include: ST. PATRICK SCHOLARS (Must have "A" in 6 core subjects and no core grade below 95 percent. Students cannot have any grade in any subject C- or below)...

104th birthday The family of Elsie Becker is requesting a card shower in honor of her 104th birthday on Sunday, Jan. 24. She was born in 1912, the sixth living child and second daughter of Carl and Doris (Fortkamp) Bartels, on her parents' home site on the Ough Divide in Dundy County south of Enders, Nebraska. ...

Alexander Keith Johnson Jason and Danielle Johnson of McCook announce the birth of their son, Alexander Keith Johnson, born Nov. 19, 2015, at Community Hospital of McCook. He weighed 9 pounds, 1.3 ounces and measured 21.75 inches long. He has one sister, Jillian, 5, and brother, Gavin, 3. Grandparents are Denis and Doris Stritt of Indianola, Nebraska, and Ron and Julie Johnson of Elsie, Nebraska. Great-grandparents are Alyce Mae Stritt and Ruth Stewart, both of McCook...

90th birthday The family of Faye (Traphagan) Korell of McCook is hosting a card shower in honor of her 90th birthday on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Her children include Bradley and Dianna Korell of Lincoln, Nebraska, Kerry (Korell) and Mike Chrisman of North Platte, Nebraska and Kip and Kristi Korell of McCook. She has nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Please send cards to Faye at 1500 East 11th, Apt. 313, McCook, NE 69001...

Wright, Smock Stacee Katrina Wright of Palisade, Nebraska, and Richard James Smock of McCook, Nebraska, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the bride-to-be are Brian and Heidi Wright of Hamlet, Nebraska. Parents of the prospective bridegroom are Ree Smock of McCook and the late Carl Smock...

45th anniversary The family of Ron and Alana Hoyt of Culbertson, Nebraska, is requesting a card shower in honor of the couples' 45th wedding anniversary Saturday, Jan. 23. They were married at the Methodist Church in Bladen, Nebraska, in 1971. Their family includes children, Paul and Sarah Hoyt of Culbertson, Anna Hoyt of Los Angeles, California, and Tammy and Ramsey Harders of Trenton, Nebraska; and six grandchildren, Beth, Erica, Grace and Sam Hoyt and Moriah and Julia Harders. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- State legislators began the 2016 session in familiar fashion, with a lengthy filibuster from Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers. The outspoken legislator took issue with the first bill introduced and promptly set out on a six-hour filibuster, according to District 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes...

We've had some unseasonably warm, sunny days, but rest assured we will have some dreary weather before spring arrives. With it will come cabin fever from being cooped up indoors, and worse than that, potential harm from indoor pollution. The Nebraska Poison Center warns that calls concerning carbon monoxide poisonings increased nearly 13 percent last year, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Nebraska as one of the states with the highest mortality rate from carbon monoxide...

Drifting ice creates dramatic sand sculptures when it pushes into the shore of Swanson Reservoir near Trenton.

McCOOK, Neb. -- City leaders hope increasing the number of keno operations in town will bring more money into city coffers. The McCook City Council will consider a resolution Monday evening approving TJ's Family Fun Center to become the third location offering the game of chance within city limits. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A Culbertson man who stole a pickup from an Indianola couple, and was arrested on burglary charges after the vehicle was tracked down at a nearby school building, was sentenced to jail time last week in Red Willow County District Court...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Stacie Sandall apologizes for the behavior of her family's black Lab. She really does. It's just that he's... he's -- in her words -- "a kleptomaniac," with "the mental capacity of a dishwasher." Stacie and her kids -- Connor, Isabella and Elisabeth -- really do love their Labrador retriever "Flame Rocket." "He's just so silly," Stacie says, grinning. "He has no common sense." And he has sticky fingers -- huh, paws. He steals...

During my time campaigning, and now serving in the Legislature, one of the concerns I heard most often was how property taxes have increased dramatically. Your concerns haven't fallen on deaf ears, and there have been several bills introduced this year to ease the property tax burden. ...

Susan Doak Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society The DNA results are back and I am 71 percent certain I'm who I think I am. As I mentioned in an earlier article, my cousin (daughter of my father's sister) had submitted DNA from her mother, father, son, and her own DNA. She and I are considered first cousins and yet her DNA results had shown a higher percent of German lineage than Irish or Great Britain. I suspected mine would be quite different, and it was...