Stories from Thursday, September 5, 2002

The new house going up on the corner of Norris and West I in McCook will be made not only with recycled and recyclable products, but with building materials and practices that are environmentally friendly. The $200,000 house was the grand prize in a "America Recycles Day" nation-wide contest in early 2001. The winner was Judith Mahoney of McCook...

OK, OK, so I missed the goldarn Second Coming or Going. I predicted 3 a.m. July 15, and the reason I missed is because the Devil messed up my calculations, which have now been recalculated by my Intelligence Sources in Screwball Okla., based on Jerusalem rainfall (1,870 feet) times the width of the Ark (120 cubits) divided by the number of goats eaten by Jesus (17, which is a prime number)...

Dear Editor, I read Gloria Masoner's article in the Friday, Aug. 30, paper about the accuracy of the weather forecasts. I am a retired meteorologist having worked for the Weather Bureau, now called the National Weather Service, with 36 years total federal service. I am sure the the forecasters have a better average of being right more that 10 to 20 percent of the time...

Dear Editor, An article titled, "An encounter with Joe Lewis" appeared in the Gazette in July. This story, written by Richard Budig, needs to be addressed to set the record straight. First of all, the boxer, known as the "Brown Bomber," was Joe Louis, not "Joe Lewis," as Mr. Budig wrote. Mr. Budig supposedly had a chance meeting with Joe Louis in the McCook depot. That is the basis for his story...

The new Kiplinger Equestrian Arena on the Red Willow County Fairgrounds is an example of personal desire and public betterment coming together. Thanks to the generosity of rancher Tom Kiplinger, hundreds of horse enthusiasts and thousands of fans will have a new center where they can enjoy their favorite sport...

After the item was pulled from the Tuesday night's consent agenda, the McCook City Council unanimously approved a recommendation to award TECO Inc. a $113,339.40 contract for repair of the municipal swimming pool. The work includes trench excavation and backfill, a new concrete deck, new inlets and line, new drain lines, removal of pool lights, general pool repair, sandblasing and painting, and mechanical room repair. ...

HAIGLER -- A St. Francis truck driver was injured about 6:30 a.m., Aug. 30, when the drive shaft went out on the loaded wheat truck he was driving and it went through a highway intersection near Haigler and across the railroad tracks. The Benkelman Post reported that Chuck Henderson of St. Francis was injured but crawled out of the truck on his own power. The Haigler ambulance transported Henderson to the Wray, Colo., hospital, and he was then flown to a Greeley, Colo., hospital...

DENVER -- The "Mirastar" gas station at the Wal-Mart Superstation in McCook has plans to open Wednesday. Mirastar gas stations are owned and operated by Tesoro Oil, and are located at 70 Wal-Marts throughout the western United States. Tina Thomas, office coordinator of Tesoro's Denver office, said the McCook facility will have eight pumps and will offer convenience items such as candy, cigarettes and Lottery scratch tickets...

Atwood and Eustis have been added to the list of communities that plan September 11 remembrance ceremonies. Eustis-area residents are encouraged to attend a ceremony Sept. 11, at 10 a.m., to remember the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America and to honor military personnel who have died in the fight against terrorism...

Brenda McMurtrey has announced her desire to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Chris Overman, who recently resigned after taking a new job in Kearney. "I have demonstrated my willingness to serve on the McCook City Council through my candidacy for the City Council," McMurtrey said. ...

Mamie W. Shields, 89, died Tuesday (Sept. 3, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. She was born Nov. 4, 1912, to Henry C. and Lena S. (Haase) Kisker in McCook. She grew up in the Ash Creek Community and graduated from Red Willow High School in 1930. She was employed as a bookkeeper at First National Bank for many years...