Stories from Thursday, April 14, 2016

As a busy mom, I am usually running on a pretty tight time frame most days. With three girls' schedules and a full-time job, I have to "try" and make sure I'm organizing my time in an efficient and effective manner. Last week I promised my oldest I'd get her a sub sandwich before she left town for her track meet by 10:30 a.m. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A spaghetti bar with noodles, sauces and toppings will help raise funds for Tori Tietz of McCook to take a mission trip to Zambia. It will be 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday April 23, at McCook Christian Church, 507 West B. A free will donation will be accepted...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A clone of a tree that barely survived the terroristic bomb explosion 21 years ago in Oklahoma City will spread its roots in McCook. An American Elm, cloned from the now-thriving tree at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building memorial in downtown Oklahoma City, Okla., will be dedicated Tuesday, 12:15 p.m. at the McCook City Municipal Building, by city staff and other representatives...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The City of McCook's ion-exchange water treatment plant is approaching 10 years without a violation after recording another blemish-free year in 2015. City leaders released the annual water quality report recently and touted it as the ninth consecutive year without a drinking water standard violation. The plant was brought online in early 2006...

OBERLIN, Kan. -- One newspaper's outdated paper racks are another reader's "portable library." John Barrett, a board member of the newly-formed "Friends of the Oberlin Libraries," loaded up four of the McCook Gazette's weathered newspaper racks recently, and the Friends will spruce them up and turn them into free neighborhood book exchanges...

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. -- Original sculptures by Cambridge artist Sondra L. Jonson have recently been featured in two unique Christian ministries. In December 2015, Jonson's life-size bronze group of St. Katharine Drexel with a young Native American girl was permanently installed at the Tobit Garden/Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. ...

Congressional candidates make all sorts of promises to win elections, then find out how little power they actually have once they arrive in Washington. As a result, they do what they can, where they can, usually by using earmarks. One example is the tax code, which is so loaded with special exemptions and incentives that just reading it is a lifetime occupation...

As a busy mom, I am usually running on a pretty tight time frame most days. With three girls' schedules and a full-time job, I have to "try" and make sure I'm organizing my time in an efficient and effective manner. Last week, I promised my oldest I'd get her a sub sandwich before she left town for her track meet by 10:30 a.m. ...

The very nice comments by Dick Trail were appreciated when his column mentioned my name in regards to the east end of Hillcrest property. I am thankful for the many hours of help provided by Councilman Bruce McDowell who is mainly responsible for rehabilitating the area with the lilac bushes that needed thinning and trimming...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook water treatment plant recently celebrated its ninth consecutive year without a drinking water standard violation, however, there are contaminants in the city water residents should be aware of. Two regulated contaminants with a health risk at any level, arsenic and uranium mass, are present in McCook's water system at levels close to the highest level allowed, according to the Annual Water Quality Report released last week. ...