Stories from Thursday, March 18, 2004

With three weeks left in the Nebraska Legislative session, low-level radioactive waste disposal and a property tax levy limit increase are the chief concerns for State Sen. Tom Baker. In his regular Thursday morning conference call, Baker said waste disposal is not as dangerous as many people think, but people are not educated the way they should be about it...

It was not a surprise that Trojans would win Nebraska Class C-2 state title Greetings to all. All I can say is that I'm not surprised one bit by the Cambridge Trojans winning the Nebraska Class C2 boys basketball championships on Saturday. After Cambridge handed out a 95-58 shellacking to a Republican Valley team that advanced all the way to the district finals in Class D1 on Jan. 30, I could tell that this Trojan team possessed some magic on the basketball court...

Sept. 27, 1921-March 14, 2004 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Lois E. Haase, 82, of Oberlin, died Sunday (March 14, 2004) in at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. She was born Sept. 27, 1921, to Homer and Vida (Parks) Nicodemus in Decatur County, Kan. She was raised on a farm and attended Villonia School. She graduated from Decatur County High School in 1940...

Nov. 11, 1927-March 16, 2004 OBERLIN -- Willard D. Noren, 76, of Oberlin died Tuesday (March 16, 2004) at his home. He was born Nov. 11, 1927, to David T. and Esther Amanda (Carlson) Noren on a farm southwest of Oberlin. He attended rural grade school and graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1946...

April 28, 1916-March 16, 2004 MITCHELL -- Harvey Nichols Brown, 87, of Mitchell, died Tuesday (March 16, 2004) at the Mitchell Care Center in Mitchell. He was born April 28, 1916, to Joseph and Gladys Nichols Brown south of Curtis. He graduated from the Nebraska School of Agriculture in 1936...

The family of Ardis Gilliland is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday March 20. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 508 Frontier Village, Curtis, NE 69025.

CULBERTSON -- Paul and Sarah Hoyt announce the birth of their daughter, Grace Elyse, Feb. 29, 2004. She weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 191/2 inches long. She has a three-year-old sister, Beth, and two-year-old sister, Erica. Grandparents are Dennis and Sue Chipman of Curtis and Ron and Alana Hoyt of Culbertson. Great-grandparents are Carrol and Antonette Turner of Bladen and Don Richeson of Melbourne, Iowa...

Craig and Stacy Olsen of McCook announce the birth of their daughter, Corynne Alexis Olsen, March 1, 2004, at Community Hospital of McCook. She was 7 pounds, 5.4 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. She has a brother, Calen Mitchell, 3 1/2 years-old. Grandparents are David and Connie Spilker of DeWitt and Keith and Doris Olsen of Grant...

Maybe some good can come from a scary situation.

Dear Editor, I'd like to share some thoughts on your front page article "Making Room," about the demolition of buildings in Indianola. The story was short and lacking in detail. Ms. Discoe's interview with Cliff Lord was wonderful. The man is a wealth of information. He's lived in this town all his life, active in community and business affairs. He's a good man to ask. However, I am sorry she did not go farther to tell the history of these buildings...

When Ben was just a baby, I took a temporary babysitting job for a little 3-year-old boy while his mom trained for a new job. It was just for three weeks and the extra money was welcome. His name was Marcus and a more inquisitive little fella you'd be hard-pressed to find. Every other question from his lips was "Why?" He was exceptionally bright for a 3-year-old and received each reply to his "why" question with a nod that indicated it was satisfactory and then he would ask anew, "Why?"...

Husband already received 17 years

HOLBROOK -- An almost-warm late-winter wind blew and blew, filling the air with fine dust and crispy blades of dry grass. Neither seemed to deter the hundreds and hundreds of buyers and "just-lookers" who attended the 31st annual Holbrook Lions Club consignment sale March 13...

Two items donated to the McCook Fire Department for a raffle to raise funds for the McCook Fire Department's exhaust system will be on display at three McCook banks beginning Friday. The helmet, adorned with artwork by Michelle Lytle and a wooden fire truck made by Darrell Banzhaf and Brad and Gloria Masoner, all of McCook, will be available for public viewing at AmFirst Bank on Friday, Wells Fargo Bank on Monday and McCook National Bank, Tuesday through Friday...

"We had to fight it the hard way .... string hose and fight it with shovels," Red Willow Western Fire Chief Bill Elliott said about the fire that roared through trees and underbrush along the Republican River near the Harry Strunk Memorial Rest Area, east of McCook, late Wednesday morning...

Now that Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings are cooperating on a "Tri-City Initiative" for air service, where does that leave McCook? Will there be an increase, or a decrease, in scheduled airline service to this Southwest Nebraska community? "It shouldn't affect us," said Doug Vap, a member of the Nebraska Aeronautics Commission and an active worker for McCook air service interests. ...

**Dear Editor, In a recent issue of the McCook Daily Gazette, Connie Jo Discoe came to Indianola to take the beautiful pictures, which the newspaper had printed in color, to give our little town and its citizens a big boost. We were all pleased and appreciative of your interest in these surrounding towns in the heart of our country!...

After spending a couple of days with Nebraska Sen. Tom Baker at the State Capital, I now have an understanding of why several references were made to bees while I was there. The first occasion was when Kevin O'Hanlon of the Associated Press walked by and told me the final reading of several Legislative Bills by the Legislative Clerk was known around the capital as "the bee in the bottle."...