Stories from Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Randy C. Roberts Nov. 2, 1955 - May 14, 2017 OBERLIN, Kan. — Randy C. Roberts, 61, died Sunday (May 14, 2017), at his home in rural Oberlin. He was born Nov. 2, 1955, in Norton, Kan., to Bobby and Charlotte (Posson) Roberts. He attended Norton Community High School. He was a produce manager at Rayes Grocery in Oberlin...

Bruce baker City Editor McCOOK, Neb. — Court officials are scheduled to visit a dog kennel operation in McCook Wednesday as a civil suit brought by neighbors progresses through the courts. District Court Judge Donald E. Rowlands II sustained a motion from the defendants, Dan and Lizann Miller and Rebecca Eiler, in late April. ...

Bruce baker City Editor McCOOK, Neb. — Nebraska public schools are generally funded better and perform above average when compared to their national counterparts, however, committing each student will be able to read by the fourth grade might be asking too much, at least according to opponents of a bill introduced at the state level...

The historic Stone Church, eight miles south of Culbertson on Highway 17, plans its annual cleanup 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 22. The annual meeting will follow, on Sunday, May 28 at 6 p.m. The Stone Church observes its 117th anniversary this year. To replace a sod church built in 1892, Hitchcock County pioneers built a new church, in 1900, using stone quarried by hand five miles away and transported by horse and wagon to land donated by early settler Rebecca Hart. ...

A new memorial monument to the now defunct Bartley High School will be dedicated over the Memorial Day Weekend, on Saturday, May 27, at 4 p.m., in Bartley’s main street park. The ceremony will be conducted before the alumni banquet. The 89-year-old red brick high school was demolished in 2012 after the new consolidated Southwest Public Schools Junior/Senior high opened in Bartley in 2009...

HOLDREGE Neb — Director of the Nebraska Tourism Commissioner John Ricks will speak on Nebraska tourism at the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce quarterly meeting Tuesday, June 13 in Orleans. The director’s visit is part of a tour of attractions in the South Platte region. SPUCC will take Director Ricks from Aurora to Red Cloud and west to Orleans, with stops at popular attractions in Red Cloud, Superior, Republican City and Alma...

The City of McCook Public Works Department will charge about $1,000 for the hourly use of two front-end loaders and a street sweeper and operators’ overtime in the clean-up of the spill of 200-300 gallons of used motor oil at the west junction of Highways 83 and 6& 34 in McCook at 3:45 p.m., May 11. ...

Last week the legislature debated the 2017-2019 state budget bills and gave the final approval on May 9. LB 331 was one of the last three components of the state’s two-year budget, which would create/make funds transfer and lower the minimum cash reserve requirements from 3 to 2.5 percent for the current biennium. ...

Catherina Hettinger patented a small spinning toy with bearings back in the early 1990s but got tired of paying fees required to maintain her rights to the invention more than a decade ago. Had the Winter Park, Fla., native sold those rights to a major toy company, she might be a billionaire today...

GOTHENBURG, Neb. — Sprinter’s speed propelled the McCook Junior High girls’ 400-meter relay to a top five state finish at Saturday’s Nebraska Championship Meet. Alyssa Secord, Kaylie Puckett, Ainsley Taylor and Zoey Pace finished the race in 52.91 seconds for their fifth-place medals. They ran against teams from all classes which included outrunning rival Gothenburg (sixth, 53.26) along with Class A North Platte, Norfolk and talented Chase County (ninth, 54.05)...

The McCook Optimist Club is again sponsoring the Nebraska U.S.A. Track & Field Junior Olympic developmental track and field meet. Time: 1:00 p.m. Date: June 11. Place: McCook High School track Registration deadline is June 8. Entry Fees are more after this date...

CURTIS, Neb. — Medicine Valley’s golfers are moving on to state after a strong second-place team finish among 15 competing in Monday’s D-4 district tournament. Medalists Sheldon Johnsen (85, third) and Joseph Chancellor (88, sixth) will lead the Raiders on to North Platte’s Lake Maloney Golf Course...

Class B state finals will be buzzing with McCook Bison if the tennis pre-tournament seedings hold true this weekend. The mighty Bison girls have earned No. 1, 2 and No. 3 seeds when Class B’s best collide at Lincoln’s Woods Tennis Center starting Thursday morning...

OGALLALA, Neb. — Graduation quickly led to another day of great achievement for McCook senior golfer Kade Gray and junior teammate Gabe Vielma. The duo led McCook’s golf team into Ogallala on Monday where — once again — Bison conquered that pressure-packed B-6 district tournament...

I don’t know about you but I’m certainly getting tired about all the news on TV talking about Comey. So the guy, the head of the FBI, got himself fired. Right or wrong elections have consequences. Donald Trump won the presidential election. Deal with it. I’d much rather receive reports of what our troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa and around the world are doing, laying their lives on the line, in order to make our world safe for the democracy that we enjoy here back home...