Stories from Thursday, July 18, 2002

The McCook City Council has spent two nights -- and plans to spend one more -- hearing from city department heads on a proposed budget totaling nearly $20.8 million. The city of McCook is facing an increase of nearly 37 percent in employee health insurance costs from, $443,000 to $700,000...

Dust off your hat and shine up your buckle 'cause the rodeo's a comin' to town. In addition to the bull riding, barrel racing, calf roping, steer wrestling and bareback bronc riding, the rodeo will feature the professional promotional work of Houston native Rodney Gaston...

The Red Willow County Fair shifts into top gear with entries and judging continuing, and buildings opening at 5 p.m. today. Stock car races highlight tonight's activities, with driv-ers taking the green flag at 7 p.m. Friday night's activities include church, with the Advocates performing at 8 p.m., and Significant Light performing Christian rock at 9:30 p.m...

Dear Editor, Does the book of Revelation mystify you? Does it frighten you? Would you like to get a working knowledge of it so that you will understand what will come to pass shortly on this old earth? The most frightening time that this world has ever seen is within an eyelash of taking place. Let me walk you through this book. Lets call it Revelation 101...

Dear Editor, Do you have space for yet another view of religion? My book, LETTERS FOR THE LITERATE, is now in bookstores and available through Barnes and Noble on the Internet. It urges people to write at a level above e-mail-- personal letters which are useful, letters to the editor, book reviews, et. ...

Can something good come out of September 11? Unfortunately, it often takes something horrible to make us re-examine our way of life, take stock of our values, and begin again to do the things we should have been doing all along. Such is the message of the 2001-02 "Pride Survey," released Wednesday, which shows that drug, alcohol and cigarette use among 6th-12th graders is at the lowest level in years. Ironically, the survey credits the actions of Osama bin Laden:...

Dear Editor, The United States Constitution serves as the law of the land and unequivocally states the intent of our Founding Fathers, as they didn't include a single mention of God, Christianity, Jesus, or any supreme being. The government is derived from the people (not God) as stated in the preamble. The 1st Amendment is very clear: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

Funny things have been going on around the office of the McCook Daily Gazette. It seems that someone came up with the brainy idea that employees need to start paying for the use of the restroom. "A Dime a Time" reads the placard on the little can setting on the back of the toilet. Its just too bad they aren't using that money to add more stalls but they have other plans...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- James B. Kircher, 72, died Saturday (July 13, 2002) at his home in Cheyenne. He was born May 4, 1930, in Red Willow County to Joe and Hazel Kircher. He served in the U. S. Army in the Korean Conflict. Following his discharge, he worked as a surveyor for the Department of Interior, United States Bureau of Reclamation. He retired in 1977...