Stories from Friday, March 7, 2003

IMPERIAL -- The Chase County Area Arts Council, in conjunction with The Republican Valley Renaissance Project, presents J.S. Bach and Friends on Sunday, 3 p.m., (MST) in Imperial at the Chase County High School Auditorium. Specializing in the music of J.S. Bach, the Collegium Musicum Concordia offers two different programs, both led by Charles Krutz, Professor Emeritus of Concordia University, who portrays Bach in period costume and with an array of 18th Century instruments...

Dear Editor, Yes! Tony Perkins, ABC weatherman on Good Morning America, has been invited, even challenged, to come to Southwest Nebraska to experience personally the effects of a severe drought. Why? Tornadoes and hurricanes are anticipated on weather broadcasts and the disasters they cause are shown on TV in dramatic photography. Four years, the fifth year in the making, is spoken of in this way: "The drought continues." How does that inform the public?...

Dear Editor, I would like to respond to the disparaging comments in the Gazette that Crinda McConville made concerning lack of discipline in the McCook School System "as evidenced by the police in the schools." I am a teacher at McCook Senior High School and I am very proud of the conduct of our students. ...

Dear Editor, Rep.Valley and Twin Valley school board members, superintendents and principals: You have crossed the line; no you completely left the game. If you felt that threatened by a group of area farmers voicing their opinions and asking questions to obtain information, that you had to attack us personally, then you obviously have a lot more things you are hiding than I even realized...

Dear Editor, I have read with interest the opinions on the possible war with Iraq. I have watched the protesters on TV. I have two sons in the United States Navy. My son, Dennis, returned last August after 6 months of duty aboard the USS Kennedy. He was over in the Arabian Sea when Profiles From the Front Line was taped...

One single, solitary word stands out in the debate over whether the Work Ethic Camp in McCook should stay open or be closed. You need to brace yourself because this is one of those two dollar words. Are you ready? OK, here it comes. The word is "recidivism."...

DANBURY -- The Republican Valley superintendent and the Twin Valley principal Thursday night explained classes and programs that could be added if voters in the two school districts agree to a merger at the elections polls Tuesday, March 25. RV Superintendent Brent McMurtrey said, during a joint school board and community meeting in Danbury, he would like to add foreign languages, advanced placement classes and even dual-credit high school/college credit courses...

Area ag producers, crop insurance agents and bankers were given some reassurance Thursday that their concerns would make it back to Washington. "There's only so much that can be done, but we appreciate them coming. At least we feel like you've had your voice heard," local farmer-rancher Jay Schilling said, following the meeting...

TWENTY-NINE PALMS, Calif. -- Kyle S. Kunkee of Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., has been promoted to the rank of Corporal in the United States Marine Corps. He is an 81mm Mortorman with the 1st BN 7th Marine Weapons Company and is currently in Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom...

A hay rake frames farm implements to be sold Saturday at the 30th annual Lions Club consignment sale at the ball park and city park in Holbrook.The sale starts at 9:30 a.m. The sale bill includes everything from a wicker baby basket to a box of wheel weights -- cars, trucks, coins, irrigation equipment, machinery, mowers, household items, antiques and collectibles...

For many high school seniors, they have made their last layup and caught their last pass. Others have extended their season into the state finals, but realize it will all be over in less than two weeks -- win or lose. While spring sports still loom and some will continue onto college sports, most athletes are ending 12 years of morning and afternoon practices, countless home games and hours on the way to road games. ...

Many baseball fans and so-called experts were collectively scratching their heads (if that's physically possible) when Lou Piniella left a successful gig as the manager of the Seattle Mariners to manage the woeful Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That was simple, Piniella thought. Even though the Mariners are a perennial contender, he wanted to stay at home and be with his family...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- LeRoy J. Wacker, 77, of Raleigh, N.C., passed away peacefully in his home on Tuesday (Feb. 25, 2003). He is survived by his wife, Eileen, of 55 years; two daughters, Cynthia Nelson of Raleigh and Lynette Johnson of Rio Rico, Ariz.; one son, Steven Wacker of Moorpark, Calif.; one grandson, Matthew Johnson of Creston, Iowa; three granddaughters, Alexis Nelson of Atlanta, Ga., Whitney Nelson of Raleigh, and Stephanie Wacker of Moorpark, Calif.; one aunt, Henrietta Fahrenbruch of Cheyenne, Wyo.; and two sisters, Genevieve Lovell of Memphis, Tenn., and Marjorie O'Brien of Scottsdale, Ariz.. ...

DENVER, Colo. -- Irma "Kayee" Thomason, 80, of Denver, formerly of McCook, died Jan. 6, 2003, in Denver. She was born Sept. 28, 1922, in Denver, to Sallie O. (Wierman) and Arthur H. Scaggs Sr. She married Emmett Thomason Jr.; they later divorced. She graduated from South High School in Denver in 1940, and lived in Boulder, Colo., from 1940 until 1941, while attending the University of Colorado...