Stories from Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Darrel W. Messersmith Oct. 22, 1938 - July 2, 2016 McCOOK, Neb. -- Darrel W. Messersmith, age 77, of McCook, passed away Saturday, July 2, 2016, at Community Hospital in McCook. Darrel was born Oct. 22, 1938, in Hayes Center, Neb., to parents, Lewis Ivan and Annabella (Kugler) Messersmith. He was one of five children who grew up in Hayes Center, graduating from Hayes Center High School in 1957...

LeRoy Kenneth Cook March 6, 1930 - July 3, 2016 CULBERTSON, Neb. -- LeRoy Kenneth Cook, age 86 of Culbertson, Nebraska passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 3, 2016, at home. He was born on March 6, 1930, to Elmer and Laura (Walker) Cook. He graduated from Culbertson High School in 1947. He married Betty Schmidt on Oct. 2, 1949. To this union three children were born: Linda, Laurie and Coni...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook emergency responders were grateful for an uneventful 4th of July weekend and reported this morning there were no injuries and only one firework related call. "I would like to thank the community for being diligent about safety," said Fire Chief Marc Harpham...

PALISADE, Neb. -- The wheat harvest in Hitchcock and Red Willow counties is off to a sensational start, with early yields ranging from 60 to 110 bushels an acre. Those kinds of yields -- if they continue -- could make the 2016 wheat harvest the most productive in Southwest Nebraska history...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Barnett Park was closed Sunday for safety reasons after a significant number of dead fish were discovered in the north pond. The cause is likely reduced oxygen levels stemming from cloudy weather, although the possibility of a toxin will not be ruled out until further testing is done, according to Game and Parks officials...

Rockets, comets and thunderfalls light up the sky over Indianola to celebrate America's 240th birthday on July 4. Indianola's firefighters treated the community and visitors to a nearly 1-hour-long display of red-white-and-blue American spirit.

It was a wet and wild July 4th in Culbertson Monday. Firefighter Nick Weiss drenched parade spectators, and 5-year-old Jeremy Bollig of Hays, Kan., the great-grandson of Ramona Kotschwar of Culbertson, giggled all the way down the water slide. The community and all its vacationers and guests celebrated America's 240th birthday with a "Freedom Run," free ice cream and swimming, horseshoe tournament, sand volleyball, bingo and fireworks...

One of our staff members at the Gazette who has O negative does his best to show up for local blood drives, but he has selfish reasons. Yes, O negative blood is much in demand because it can be given to anyone who needs it. But when someone with O negative blood needs a transfusion, it can't come from just anyone. It has to be O negative blood...

Independence Day and a good one it was. So 240 years and counting. Grannie Annie and I drove our 1925 Model T through the parade and enjoyed lunch and activities after. Culbertson knows how to celebrate the 4th. Culbertson, at least a major manufacturing company located there, received some unwanted attention lately in the form of a $101,808 fine. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- As Cameron and Jayme Foster of McCook cleaned Jayme's brother's headstone this spring, they realized that a business that cleans headstones would provide an uncommon professional service, and maybe the only one of its kind in Southwest Nebraska...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Mother Nature teamed up with the Baseball Gods to hold off the clouds and rain long enough Friday night to allow the American League to defeat the National League 5-4 in the 2016 Majors Division All Star game to be played. The All Star game is an annual Felling Field tradition that features select players from the 5th and 6th grade kids pitched division to face off against one another in a light-hearted contest to close out the Felling Field season...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook teams won the 18 and under and 12 and under divisions at the Optimists Firecracker Softball Tournament over the weekend at the Jaycees Complex in McCook. The Lincoln County Diamonds took first in the 14-and-under division, followed by the McCook Rebels and North Platte Bandits Black...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The MNB Seniors play Kearney in the Mid-Nebraska League championship game at 7 p.m. today at the Jaycees Complex in McCook. No passes will be allowed for this game. They will also play Alma at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Wednesday in McCook. The MNB Seniors played Garden City in the Hays, Kan., tournament Sunday. Garden City won a close one 5-4, and the MNB Seniors went 2-3 in the tournament...

I am Chaplain (Capt.) Keith Saare of the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion stationed at Fort Bliss, TX, in the City of El Paso, and I wish to thank you for your generosity in supporting our troops throughout the duration of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...

Leo Leonard Rousselle March 5, 1929 - July 4, 2016 CULBERTSON, Neb. -- Leo Leonard Rousselle passed away Monday, July 4, 2016, at Community Hospital in McCook at the age of 87 years old. Leo was born in Hayes County, Neb., to Robert and Rachel (Cook) Rousselle. Leo attended country school until high school, and then graduated from Culbertson High School in 1946. Leo started farming right out of high school and was employed erecting steel buildings...