Stories from Thursday, April 17, 2003

To honor the heroes stationed both at home and abroad, the McCook Daily Gazette is asking troop members and their families to submit correspondence and photos for publication in a special edition to be printed May 16. Submissions may be emailed to cityed@ocsmccook.com, sent to PO Box 1268, McCook, NE 69001 or dropped off at the Gazette office. All submissions will be edited for content and grammar...

The flag pictures in the Gazette last week were beautiful, but I feel that there are a lot of people who have no respect for the flag, including the people who put a flag on their vehicle and let it whip to pieces. Also, there is a flag in the old ... store in east McCook that is all faded out. Then there are the people, like my neighbor, who leave the flag out in all kinds of weather and at night, without a light...

Dear Editor, During the film "Images of Life" I beheld and contemplated a most excellent photograph. This photograph was of the Berlin Wall being smashed by a man with a hammer (or similar such item) and is displayed during the introductory theme to the video...

McCook interests are working hard to see that the Work Ethic Camp receives funding in upcoming state budgets, and rightfully so. The facility is just now coming into its own, and deserves a chance to prove itself. We believe the WEC will pay for itself many times over in monetary savings compared to traditional incarceration, as well as benefits in the form of lives redirected into productive activities, and overall quality of life for Nebraska...

The annual Stations of the Cross procession is only one of many activities commemorating Holy Week in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. The procession will leave St. Alban's Episcopal Church, West First and F Streets, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, as part of the Community Lenten Service...

With only 20 to 21 working days left in the 2003 session of the Nebraska Legislature, State Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton said this morning that lawmakers "are getting down to the nitty-gritty" of decision making. And -- because of the budget challenges the state faces -- that task mainly boils down to money matters...

An empty semi truck was blown off the road, one mile east of Trenton, by high winds Wednesday afternoon. The truck is owned by an Oklahoma company, and the driver, from Arkansas, said it would take five to six weeks to repair the vehicle. The truck was towed away about 11 o'clock that night...

The Nebraska State 4-H Muzzleloaders Championship will be May 30, 31 and June 1 at the Pawnee Free Trapper Range five miles west of McCook. Classes are planned for 4-H and non-4-H youth 11 through 18 years old, using traditional and modern guns. The range is located on the Dick and Kathie Cappel farm...

McCook Fire Chief Marc Harpham reminded farmers today to watch their anhydrous tanks carefully for tampering. The reminder came as a result of a public assist call at 2:38 this morning to the railroad service road where the fire crew found an anhydrous tank that had been tampered with...

An early morning fire destroyed a trailer house at the Good Life Marina south of Swanson Reservoir at Trenton today. The Trenton Fire Department was called at approximately 3:30 a.m. and, with the help of the Stratton Fire Department, had the fire put out around 6 a.m. Trenton Fire Chief Tom Hovey said the cause of the fire is still under investigation by the State Fire Marshal. According to Hovey, the trailer, owned by Virgil Littrell and Dick Baumfalk, appears to be a total loss...

My husband and I had stopped by the local drinking establishment last weekend in order to recover from the final stages of removing the remnants of a garage from our back yard. The lounge was nearly empty. We were sitting at the bar, quietly discussing our plans for the newly cleaned backyard and trying not to let our heads drop to the cool wood surface in exhaustion...

OBERLIN -- Alvin C. Uehlin, 83, died Tuesday (April 15, 2003) at the Decatur County Hospital in Oberlin. He was born Aug. 18, 1919, in rural Oberlin, to Charles C. and Julia May (Tacha) Uehlin. He was raised on a farm northeast of Oberlin. He attended Vallonia Country School and graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1937...

Wilma Alice (Farr) Ward was born Dec. 12, 1948, at Cambridge, to Albert and Doris (Houser) Farr. She passed away April 16, 2003, after a short bout with cancer. During her childhood years she lived north of Cambridge on her parents' farm. She attended Prairie Bell School District No. ...