Stories from Wednesday, July 2, 2003

Loud bangs and booms will be heard exiting from the Jaycees Sports Complex during the Fourth of July afternoon. The explosions heard will not be from the usual fireworks. Instead, the "McCook American Legion 1993 State Championship team versus the McCook American Legion alumni team" will be the culprit of all the noise...

Gayle Hileman (left) of McCook pauses with two South African friends during a stop in McCook on Monday. John and Gail Alldrick live in Umhlanga Rocks, 20 miles north of Durban on the Indian Ocean in South Africa. John, who owns a precision scale business, and Gail, a registered nurse, said they have been impressed with American hospitality, the appearance of towns like McCook and the "idyllic way of life." They noted that South Africa is about the same size as Texas, about the same age as the United States, but has only 2 million people of European descent out of a population of 34 million.. ...

The Republican River Valley has a way of stirring up national attention about water issues. The valley's unrelenting demand for action started 68 years ago when Harry Strunk and the Republican Valley Conservation Association led a campaign for flood control and irrigation following the devastating -- and deadly -- Flood of 1935...

The family of Dick and Kaylene (Redfield) Luedtke is hosting an open house in honor of their 25th anniversary July 7, in Columbus. They were married July 1, 1978 in Palisade. The couple has one son, Tad. Kaylene is the daughter of Dwaune and DeVeta Redfield of Palisade. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 712 E. 83rd St., Columbus, NE 68601...

The family of Gary and Barb Wiemers is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 40th wedding anniversary July 6. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 1002 Norris Ave., McCook, NE 69001.

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Jason and Kelly (Cacy) Herrold of Beaverton, Ore. announce the birth of twin sons, Michael Taylor and Jacob Warren, born Saturday (June 28, 2003). Michael weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. Jacob weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. They have one brother, Zachary...

Timothy Lee Davis and DeAnn May Davis of Palisade announce the birth of their daughter, Haylee JoAnne, June 18, 2003. She weighed 7 pounds and 5.1 ounces. Grandparents are Dean and Jo Howard of Palisade and Cecil Davis of McCook and the late JoAnn Davis. Great-grandparents are Ron and Pat DeWester of Benkelman and LaVeta Howard of Palisade and the late Johnnie Howard...

One of the things students dread on their return to school in the fall is the requisite essay, "How I spent my summer vacation." At least, I did. We never did anything remarkable, never went to Disneyland, or the ocean, or to camp .... none of the really fun things that my classmates would report on...

Many of us are thinking about the dangers of fire this time of year. Fireworks are an obvious fire hazard, but there are aspects of fire safety that many of us don't consider until we receive a jarring reminder. One of them is the surprising fire danger associated with boating...

Get plenty of sleep this week because Friday night you need to be prepared to stay up late for the most spectacular fireworks displays in this region's history. "It will be awesome," said Kevin Urbom of Arapahoe, the area's premiere pyrotechnic authority and one of the state's leading distributors of fireworks...

Dear Editor, For 15 years, my husband and I have carried property and auto insurance with a local company. In all of those years, we never missed or were late with premiums that total more than $20,000. During late 2000 and mid-2001, we made three claims, two of which were weather induced, and the other was water damage...

If you have trouble with your insurance company, or think you have been treated unfairly, call the Nebraska State Insurance Commissioner. The number is conveniently not listed in the phone book, but you can get it from information. Calling your senator or complaining to your local agent will do you no good, but contacting the state commissioner of insurance will get you results, and answers...

ARVADA, Colo. -- Leon Conrey Keyes, 65, died Friday (June 27, 2003) in Arvada, Colo. He was born Nov. 2, 1937, in North Platte. On June 26, 1985, he married Shirley Walkenshaw in Golden, Colo. He owned a construction company and numerous nightclubs in the Denver, Colo., metropolitan area, including Thornton, Colo. He was a country-western singer and was inducted in the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame. Later in life, he owned a car dealership in Trenton and Lexington...

Southwest Nebraska Habitat for Humanity volunteers hung sheetrock Saturday at the Habitat for Humanity house at 805 West K Street. According to Ernestine Smith, chairwoman of the Habitat executive board, crews are about a week ahead of schedule so there will be no work done Saturday, July 5. ...

Nathan Morgan and his dog Bouncer enjoy a refreshing swim at the Harry Strunk Lake. With the Fourth of July weekend approaching and temperatures expected in the upper 90s, boaters, swimmers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts are expected to hit area lakes in droves. Nathan is the son of Michael and Jill Morgan of Indianola...

The McCook National Bank Seniors dropped an 8-0 decision to Ogallala Tuesday night at the Jaycees Sports Complex. Coach Tye Hallowell sent Derick Lorentz to pitch for MNB. Lorentz (3-4) allowed eight runs on nine hits and struck out six Ogallala batters in a complete game seven innings...

A city spends several years looking at different ways it can address water supply problems. Its initial step is to blend the water from the city's well field in order to lower the nitrate content. When that solution has outlived its usefulness, the city begins looking at other ways to improve its water...

Combines of all makes and models are taking to the field as the 2003 winter wheat harvest begins in Northwest Kansas and Southwest Nebraska. Al Holub of the Culbertson elevator said they took their first load of wheat June 23, while Frenchman Valley Coop in McCook didn't take their first load until Thursday, according to Jan Mahon...

Michelle Calvin of McCook polishes a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse entered in the McCook Police Department's summer show-and-shine car show Friday. The car belongs to Devon Eschliman, also of McCook, who couldn't bring it to the car show because he was attending his wedding reception, Michelle said. The Eclipse was one of about 10 cars entered in the show exclusively for owners 25 years old and younger...

Once again, the McCook Public Library is asking for more money from Red Willow County. Library officials will go before the Red Willow County Commissioners during a regular meeting Monday at 10:30 a.m. to seek an increase in funding from $1,000 in the 2002-03 budget year to $1,500 for 2003-04...

Marty Hughes (above) and his son, Christian, build a bug house at the Republican Valley Cub Scout Day Camp on Saturday. Fifty-three scouts from eight Southwest Nebraska communites attended the event. Scouts were given instruction on BB gun safety, crafts, archery and fishing. Kyle Rotherman (right) prepares his pole for fishing...

McCook National Bank is displaying historical photos from the Bostock Studio through Thursday in the lobby of the main bank at 220 Norris Ave. The display, titled "Who, What, When, Where" is part of a donation received by the Nebraska State Historical Society from Palisade residents Frank and Betty Potthoff. Displayed are selections from a collection of more than 2,000 glass plate negatives taken in the Palisade area...

The next few days will be the true test for McCook kids. With temperatures to be near or above 100 degrees and no outdoor swimming pool available, kids must become creative. The opening of the McCook swimming pool has once again been delayed from Friday, July 4, to Tuesday, July 15, as work on the a new bathhouse continues, according to public works director Marty Conroy...

Benkelman canceled fireworks last year because stray sparks could have started fires in the dry, parched countryside. But fireworks are back in Benkelman, and everywhere else in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, to celebrate the country's 227th birthday...

The McCook Main Street farmers market will open Saturday with some of last year's venders as well as new venders and new products, according to officials. Some of the products expected to be available include potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, melons, cantaloupe and much more produce...

LINCOLN -- The Nebraska State Patrol is prepared for a busy Independence Day weekend with the equivalent of 38 extra troopers on the road, thanks in part to a $15,600 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety. In addition to the extra troopers on the road, Nebraska State Patrol pilots will be monitoring traffic from the air. ...

The power was out in south McCook for nearly four hours earlier this morning after trees knocked out power lines. When high winds moved through the area around midnight, trees went through the power lines on the west side of South U.S. Highway 83, said Brian Buhr, operations team manager with the Nebraska Public Power District in McCook. ...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- LaVonne Gail "Vonnie" Sappenfield, 58, formerly of Atwood, died Wednesday (Feb. 5, 2003) in San Antonio, Texas. She was born July 26, 1944, at Kansas City, Kan., to Delbert Fay "D.F." and LaVergne (King) McClelland. She graduated from Atwood Community High School in 1961. ...