Stories from Monday, March 13, 2017

Donna Jean Brott April 13, 1935 - March 11, 2017 SUTHERLAND, Neb. -- Donna Jean Brott of Sutherland passed away Saturday, March 11, 2017, at her daughter's home in McCook, Neb. She was 81 years old. Donna was born April 13, 1935, in Sutherland to parents Wesley and Christine (Bussemer) Emery. ...

Charles E. Johnson March 25, 1935 - March 10, 2017 KEARNEY, Neb. -- Charles E. Johnson, 81, of Kearney, died Friday, March 10, 2017, at Mount Carmel Home. Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 16, 2017, at First United Methodist Church. The Reverend Melody Adams will officiate. According to his wishes, Mr. Johnson was cremated. Interment of ashes will be at Kearney Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at O'Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home...

Shary Skiles Publisher McCOOK, Neb. — Elegance and sophistication are on tap Saturday night as the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce hosts a celebration of Nebraska’s 150th and McCook’s 135th birthdays at the Founder’s Ball. Billed as a “black tie affair,” Chamber Director Jamie Mockry assures attendees that formal tuxes may not be necessary, but the event is an opportunity to get gussied up and share a special meal and entertainment with neighbors and friends. ...

LINCOLN, Neb. — On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court sided with a Furnas County District Court ruling that dismissed a case filed by Frenchman Cambridge Irrigation District water users who claimed that water taken from them to help Nebraska comply with the 1943 Republican River Compact deprived them of economic benefits of their irrigated land...

McCOOK, Neb. — Participants in the “Southwest Nebraska Leadership Institute” learn what contributes to the high quality of life in Southwest Nebraska. On Wednesday afternoon, members of the 2016-17 class learned what protects that quality of life. Red Willow County sheriff’s deputy Lt. ...

Lexi Hauxwell, from left, Ellisa Kaps, Malcolm Hinze and Olivia Koetter, all eighth graders at McCook Junior High, get in character for roles they play in the upcoming production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Presented by the Southwest Nebraska Community Theatre Association, the classic tale also includes Lanie Overton and Avery McConville of Southwest Elementary and several students from McCook High School. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — An Oberlin woman received jail time last month in Red Willow County District Court on misdemeanor convictions for attempted possession of a controlled substance and disturbing the peace stemming from an arrest more than six years ago...

McCOOK, Neb. — A McCook man received jail time last month in Red Willow County District Court on a misdemeanor conviction for attempted possession of methamphetamine. The man, 46-year-old Robby J. Carfield formerly of 602 West 3rd Street, accepted a plea agreement in November reducing a Class IV felony alleging possession of methamphetamine to a Class I misdemeanor for attempted possession. ...

How much does the public need to know about the judicial system’s activities or where the government is using its tax dollars? It’s an age-old battle but one that’s more important than ever as more and more information becomes too easily hidden behind a wall of governmental self-interest...

(Note: McCook’s, Jerda Thompson Gary Vickers, Ed.D has recently published an important new book, “Creating Visions, Meeting Challenges”, a historical view of the Republican Valley Conservation Association. In Jerda’s history she recognizes men who worked to tame the waterways in our part of the country and change the landscape from “The Great American Desert”(which Major Stephen Long called the area), with its recurring devastating floods, to the prosperous agricultural, recreation area that we know. ...