Stories from Tuesday, May 20, 2003

As one staff member likes to put it, we have "words and pictures on every page," every day. Newspapers have systems and people to handle just about any story that comes along. That variety, in fact, is one of the rewards of working in the news business...

ARAPAHOE -- Grace Ellen McComb, 96, died Monday (May 19, 2003) at C.A. Mues Good Samaritan Center in Arapahoe. She was born May 10, 1907, at Norton County, Kan., to Isaih and Sarah C. (Thompson) Michals. She was raised in Norton County and attended school at Norton Public Schools. After her schooling, she worked at the Norton Sanitarium at Norton, Kan...

McDONALD -- Donald Charles Schwerdt, 79, died Monday (May 19, 2003) at his home northeast of McDonald in Rawlins County. He was born Jan. 2, 1924, at Creston, Iowa, the adopted son of Theodore W. and Charlotte (McDonald) Schwerdt. He graduated from Brownville High School near Brewster, Kan., and served during World War II in the U.S. Navy...

BELLEVILLE, Kan. -- Kelsey Leann Congdon-Vacha, 1 month and 2 days old, died Saturday (May 17, 2003) while visiting grandparents in Beaver City. She was born April 15, 2003, at Concordia, Kan., to Desiree Congdon and Kasey Vacha. Survivors include her parents; grandparents, Louie and Shirley Congdon of Belleville, Kan., and Don and Barb Vacha of Beaver City; and great-grandparents, Charlotte Ganser of Beaver City and Philomena Vacha of Madison...

BEAVER CITY -- Lester "Bus" M. Phillips, 83, died Saturday (May 17, 2003) at a Lincoln Hospital. He was born Dec. 22, 1919, at Edison, to Lloyd and Lora (Marts) Phillips. He was a long-time resident of Furnas County. He grew up in the Edison area. He graduated from the Nebraska School of Agriculture at Curtis with the Class of 1939...

Lila P. Shafer, 78, formerly of Nebraska City, died Monday (May 19, 2003) at Community Hospital of McCook. She was born Oct. 19, 1924, in Rulo, to Dewey E. and Leah E. (Ely) Zimmerman. In 1943 she married Leonard Smalley at Nebraska City. To this union three children were born...

IMPERIAL -- Darryl E. Moore, 63, died Thursday (May 15, 2003) at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial, following a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was born April 30, 1940, in the family home in Culbertson, to Harvey and Eileen Moore. ...

ARAPAHOE -- Grace Ellen McComb, 96, died Monday (May 19, 2003) at C.A. Mues Good Samaritan Center in Arapahoe. She was born May 10, 1907, at Norton County, Kan., to Isaih and Sarah C. (Thompson) Michals. She was raised in Norton County and attended school at Norton Public Schools. After her schooling, she worked at the Norton Sanitarium at Norton, Kan...

HAIGLER -- Fay Lenoia McVey, 84, died Saturday (May 17, 2003) at Heritage of Wauneta in Wauneta. She was born Sept. 17, 1918, at Talmage, to Hartly and Cornelia (Meyers) Bryan, and was a graduate of Nebraska City High School. She attended Peru State Teacher's College where she received her teaching degree, and taught elementary grades in the Nebraska City vicinity, including Baker's School, for several years. She moved to the Haigler area and continued teaching throughout the early 1940's...

After all McCook's been through in its long search for a safe and abundant water supply, it would be foolish to proceed without fully exploring all options. That being said, it is possible there is a middle ground in the McCook City Council's decision about developing a new water well field...

I think the money from the city sales tax can be used for something other than air conditioning the city auditorium. I don't think it's used often enough to put that much money into it.

If our governing body in Nebraska keeps cutting aid to schools and colleges, there won't be any small schools left. Johanns says he doesn't want to raise taxes, but cutting aid to schools is causing the districts to need to raise property taxes, so he is endorsing raising taxes...

Dear Editor, On May 16, my husband and I took flowers to both the Arapahoe and Holbrook cemeteries. We were appalled by the condition of both cemeteries! The Arapahoe cemetery appeared to have at least been mowed this spring, but weeds around gravesites nearly hid the stones from view. Conditions at the Holbrook cemetery were even worse! My dad's gravesite was completely covered with weeds nearly two feet tall; the flowers we placed there in May 2002 were still on his grave!...

The contrived spectacle of Bush's visit to the plastic factory in Omaha was almost laughable, considering the poll taken at that time showed that Nebraskans felt 87 to 13 percent he was doing a lousy job on the economy.

Dear Editor, On May 16, my husband and I took flowers to both the Arapahoe and Holbrook cemeteries. We were appalled by the condition of both cemeteries! The Arapahoe cemetery appeared to have at least been mowed this spring, but weeds around gravesites nearly hid the stones from view. Conditions at the Holbrook cemetery were even worse! My dad's gravesite was completely covered with weeds nearly two feet tall; the flowers we placed there in May 2002 were still on his grave!...

If our governing body in Nebraska keeps cutting aid to schools and colleges, there won't be any small schools left. Johanns says he doesn't want to raise taxes, but cutting aid to schools is causing the districts to need to raise property taxes, so he is endorsing raising taxes...

I think the money from the city sales tax can be used for something other than air conditioning the city auditorium. I don't think it's used often enough to put that much money into it.

After all McCook's been through in its long search for a safe and abundant water supply, it would be foolish to proceed without fully exploring all options. That being said, it is possible there is a middle ground in the McCook City Council's decision about developing a new water well field...

Sitting quietly on her nest, this mourning dove peeks through her vine cover. Plants, animals and people are enjoying pleasant May weather, with temperatures expected to climb into the 80s for the Memorial Day weekend.

Battlefield commanders in the next war will rely on software field tested in Southwest Nebraska's extreme weather, under $3 million in spending included in a Department of Defense authorization approved by a Senate committee last week. The Senate Armed Services Committee, of which U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson is a member, requested inclusion of the project in Fiscal Year 2004 military spending...

After about an hour of discussion, the McCook City Council voted 3-2 to move ahead with its plans and hire W Design and Miller & Associates as engineers for a new water well field north of McCook. The decision to treat the city's water was laid aside in April on a vote of 4-1, with Councilman Phil Lyons voting against the idea, when a diesel plume was discovered under the city's 4 million gallon water storage facility...

OBERLIN -- The Atwood High School boys golf team edged out Hoxie 353-355 to capture the Kansas Class 2-1A Regional Tournament Monday. The tournament was played at Oberlin Country Club. Atwood and Hoxie will send their teams to the Kansas Class 2-1A state tournament May 27 at Junction City's Rolling Meadows golf course...

OAKLEY, Kan. -- The Cheylin High School girls finished sixth with 57 points and Jennings was ninth with 10 at the Western Kansas Liberty League track meet Friday at Oakley. Golden Plains won the girls league title with 128 points, followed by Tribune 90, Triplains 77, Weskan 62 and Grinnell 60...

The contrived spectacle of Bush's visit to the plastic factory in Omaha was almost laughable, considering the poll taken at that time showed that Nebraskans felt 87 to 13 percent he was doing a lousy job on the economy.