Stories from Thursday, October 18, 2001

I've always enjoyed standing back and watching children play. I like it a lot better when they are under the age of 30. Have you ever noticed when you get a large group of adults together it begins to take on the air of a grade school playground? First you have your bully and his contingency of "yes" men. You know the group. They are the ones that want everything to go their way. If it doesn't, they come up fighting: banging heads and slapping down the little guy like a pesky fly...

Kenneth L. Meguire STRATTON -- Kenneth L. Meguire, 61, died Monday (Oct. 15, 2001) at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. He was born Jan. 15, 1940, at Stratton to George Henry and Letha (Golding) Meguire. He grew up at Stratton and attended Stratton Public Schools...

Patricia Rose (Marintzer) Riener HERNDON, Kan. -- Patricia Rose (Marintzer) Riener, 50, died Tuesday (Oct. 16, 2001) at her home in rural Herndon. She was born Oct. 23, 1950, at McCook to Hubert William and Doris C. (Janousek) Marintzer. She attended St. Mary's Parochial School, and graduated from Herndon Rural High School in 1968. She attended business school at Brown Mackie in Salina, Kan., and worked for 10 years as a secretary at Allison Drilling Company in Denver, Colo...

Carol J. Matson Carol J. Matson, 58, died Wednesday (October 17, 2001) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. She was born Nov. 14, 1942, at McCook to William H. and Neva Wardine (Otis) Lepper. She attended McCook Public Schools. On May 2, 1966, she married Donald Matson at McCook. She was employed at Mac's Drive Inn until her health prevented her from working...

I've heard on TV, and seen in this Open Forum, that the reason we had the World Trade Center and Pentagon terror incidents is because of America's sins. Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell, on the Sept. 13 broadcast of the 700 Club said, "this is God's punishment, and the people to blame are the pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, people for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say, you helped this happen.". ...

Even though I live over a thousand miles from McCook and have been gone for 15 years I read the McCook Gazette on-line every morning. I still get a taste of home and collect topics for phone conversations with my parents and siblings who still live in McCook...

Dear Editor, Spaceships, space travel to the moon and now soon our first manned mission to Mars and then where? Tremendous breakthroughs in medical science and every other branch of science. What does it all mean. When I was a boy, my brothers and I helped our father pick corn by hand with a team of horses and wagon. ...

EDITOR's NOTE -- Former Wauneta resident Linda Parson Fraunfelder of Alexandria, Va., who works in the Washington, D.C., wrote on Oct. 6 to a friend of her experiences Sept. 11. Part of her letter is reprinted here: I am assigned to the Pentagon, but because of the renovations, they had moved us to other spaces. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE -- The following e-mail did not include a name, but because of the nature of the letter, it is published here: Hello to whom it may concern, I am a 1st Fast Marine (Fleet Antiterrorist Security Team) based in Virginia. I want to say thanks for all the support from family and townspeople, not just centered to me of course but the whole military. ...

A suspicious letter at the McCook post office turned out to be harmless, but we should all be thankful that the postal employees and emergency officials took it seriously. Wednesday night's incident at the post office may have turned out to be a false alarm, but it gave everyone a chance to work through the details of responding to such an emergency, should one arise again...

Robert P. Young ELWOOD -- Robert P. Young, 91, died Tuesday (Oct. 16, 2001) at the Elwood Care Center in Elwood. He was born July 26, 1910, on a farm southeast of Culbertson to Francis Paul and Dora Anne (Leffler) Young. He graduated from Hayes County High School in 1928, and attended the University of Nebraska for one year...