Stories from Wednesday, December 17, 2003

NORTH PLATTE -- Floyd Lester Orman, 90, of North Platte, died Monday (Dec. 15, 2003) at Great Plains Regional Medical Center. He was born Aug. 15, 1913, to Fred M. and Delia (Ohlson) Orman in Hayes County. On July 27, 1937, he married Lillian Fichtner in Hayes County. He spent most of his life in Hayes County as a farmer and also with the agriculture office in Hayes County for over 40 years. The couple moved to North Platte in 1980...

LINCOLN -- Kent L. Bennett, 67, of Holdrege, died Tuesday (Dec. 16, 2003) at Bryan LGH-East Hospital in Lincoln. He was born June 16, 1936, to Harold and Hazelle (Broomfield) Bennett on the family homestead near McCook. He attended school at the Red Willow School and continued his education in Lebanon. After his education, he worked on the family farm...

ST. FRANCIS -- Joe Schwab, 43, of Oberlin, died Sunday (Dec. 14, 2003) in St. Francis. He was born Sept. 13, 1960, to Bill and Pat (Huff) Schwab in Norton, Kan. He was raised on a farm near Norcatur and attended Norcatur Grade School. He graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1979. He lived on a farm near Norcatur and then moved to Oberlin...

Lakeside Central and Culbertson schools are one step closer to coming to an agreement on a centralized junior and senior high school. According to an article by Jason Frederick in the Hitchcock County News a committee including board members from Culbertson, Trenton and Stratton met Monday night and recommended a realignment with one high school in Trenton and an elementary K-6 school in both Stratton and Culbertson...

Students from the newly formed Southwest School District have a better idea of where they will be attending school next year after a decision by the Board of Directors. According to the Indianola News, K-5 students will be attending school at Indianola, 6-8 graders will go to Bartley and 9-12 grades will attend school a Red Willow...

Economic development has to start somewhere and according to Rex Nelson, McCook's new Economic Development Corp. executive director, it needs to start at home. Nelson, who will take over his post on Jan. 12, said the first thing economic development must look at is the city's business environment...

The McCook Bison wrestling team split its two duals Tuesday night at its home triangular against Cambridge and Gothenburg. The Bison doubled up Gothenburg 48-24 and lost to Cambridge 42-33. Cambridge opened up the action at the McCook High School gymnasium with a 46-27 victory over Gothenburg...

Years of experimentation, careful planning, hard work and a touch of brilliance paid off for two brothers from Dayton, Ohio. Firing up a 12-hp., four-cylinder motor, hand-built in six weeks by Lincoln, Neb., native Charlie Taylor, Orville and Wilbur Wright flipped a coin, and Orville won the toss...

Hospitals are a world of their own. Once you walk through those doors, hear the whoosh behind you as the doors close, your entire reality undergoes a subtle shift. Gone are the mundane cares of the day. Your routine is taken from your hands and, even if you would want to, you cannot snatch it back...

MAYWOOD -- Despite a double-double by Maywood's Crystal Zwickl, Maywood fell to Twin Valley, 68-43, in girls basketball. Three Lady Rebels each scored a dozen points in the Tuesday night win. Amanda Weaver scored all of her 12 points in the second half, while 10 of Kim Starr's 12 came in the frist half. Kayla McConville spead her's throughout the game, including one three-pointer...

Just two years shy of the century mark, former Nebraska Gov. Frank Morrison remains one of the state's premiere storytellers. Tuesday night, he demonstrated his remarkable memory and his ability to spin a yarn, delighting members of the Buffalo Commons Storytelling Committee at the group's December meeting. ...