Stories from Monday, June 27, 2016

Members of the City of McCook Fire Department gathered recently to celebrate Robert (Bob) Allen's retirement from the department. Allen spent 24 years with the City of McCook Fire Department, with the last 20 being full-time. He served the community of McCook and surrounding area exceptionally well, said McCook Fire Department Chief, Marc Harpham. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook Community College is inviting anybody interested in theater to join them on the May 2017 theater trip to London to be led by a Stratton native. While dates and times are not finalized, MCC's "Not Your Average Theater Group" is tentatively planning to arrive in London around May 14, 2017...

McCOOK, Neb. The Nebraska National Guard's 43rd Army Band will perform in Norris Park on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. There is no cost to attend and citizens are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and bug spray. As the only musical unit of the Nebraska National Guard, the 43rd Army Band represents the National Guard at a variety of civilian and official military functions throughout the State of Nebraska. ...

Jade Krutsinger of Cambridge stretches across a stream through the Republican River Sunday afternoon during the 32nd annual Holbrook Days "River Rat Volleyball." She and "Worst Team Here" teammates Rhiley Fiene and Garrett Huxoll joined 40-some other teams in the yearly tournament in the water, sun and sand...

Volunteers, from the left, Dennis Chambers, Seth Hare, Sarah Kinne, Bethany McKillip and Glen Weaver help unload pallets of food for a "Mobile Pantry" in McCook Saturday morning. The Hitchcock County Pantry coordinated the one-day pantry event for the "Food Bank of Heartland," which provides food where there is a high need but limited resources. Early estimates show that 273 families received food from the 15,000 pounds delivered from the Food Bank warehouse in Omaha...

The smokey haze that drifted over McCook and central Southwest Nebraska starting mid-morning Saturday came from grassfires near Douglas, Wyo. A cold front that shifted across the country's midsection Saturday shoved the smoke south and southeast. The Wyoming wildfires started Tuesday, June 21, with lightning storms...

The onlyinyourstate.com website cited some history about Oxford, Neb., that is shared by many towns along the railroad and contrasts with today's conditions. Once a division point for the old CB&Q Railroad, Oxford had a large roundhouse and, nearby, a high river bank that quickly became a "hobo haven" for men who were down on their luck...

(Note: Recently, the City of Cleveland celebrated their first National Championship in any sport in over half a century, when the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in a thrilling 7-game series. One fellow, who would have dearly loved to see that championship was my wife's Uncle Hugo Leisy. ...