Stories from Tuesday, April 27, 2004

I too want to thank and congratulate the soldiers returning from Iraq. We're all grateful for the sacrifices they have been making. And, thanks also to their support network, spouses and parents who are forced to imagine flag-draped coffins returning home, but have continued to support soldiers anyway. Welcome home...

CURTIS -- The Wauneta-Palisade golf team captured the Great Plains Athletic Conference team title Monday by 22 strokes over Culbertson. The GPAC tournament was played at Arrowhead Meadows in Curtis, The Broncos posted a team score of 368, followed by Culbertson with 390, Southwest 406, Maywood 417 and Lakeside Central 451...

The McCook High School Red squad captured the boys team title Monday at the McCook Junior Varsity Invite, and the Bison girls placed second. In the boys team standings, McCook Red rolled up 154.5 points, easily outdistancing Chase County, which scored 92.5...

Mary Horendeck of McCook, a resident at Hillcrest Nursing Home, welcomes Heath Hamilton home, Hamilton and five fellow soldiers from the 1057th Light/Medium Truck Co. of the Nebraska Army National Guard pulled into McCook Monday afternoon, after returning Tuesday from more than a year's service in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in Iraq. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)...

For most of the 1990s and part of the 2000s, SITEL Corp. was a major contributor to the McCook area economy. Employing up to 90 people during its time here, SITEL pumped a million or more payroll dollars into the area economy every year. But just as quickly as the contact center arrived amid much fanfare in the early '90s, the customer support center in McCook is closing. ...

**Dear Editor, My husband and I recently took on the job as caretakers of the Holbrook cemetery, and it's been a learning experience, to say the least! It has taught us that we will never place a foot stone on a loved one's grave ... have above-ground corner markers, nor will we plant anything next to a headstone ... or between rows (they truly hamper the (already tedious) mowing process!...

**Dear Editor, Here is the truth about partial-birth abortion: It is nothing more than a cold, heartless murder. 1. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps. 2. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal. 3. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head...

At the risk of being politically incorrect, I have to admit being as Scotch as they come, at least about a lot of things. It's especially true this week, when we find ourselves ready to pay our real estate taxes in time to beat the May 1 deadline. I have to admit being a little tight when it comes to voting for more taxes. The prospect of adding to the burden is not something I enjoy. We all have things we need, yet do without, just because we can't afford them...

Red Willow County commissioners plan to complete about $150,000 in armor-coating projects on county roads this summer. Commissioners and Road Superintendent Gary Dicenta created a list Monday of six and possibly seven or eight projects that will be let for bids the end of June...

Mike Karr, laborer foreman at the McCook Water Department submitted his resignation on April 19, to become effective at the close of the work day on April 30. Mike has worked for the city water department since 1989. This leaves the top two positions in the five member city water department vacant. Jim Hager, water superintendent resigned on Feb,13, 2004...

March 11, 1938-April 16, 2004 Harold M. "Shorty" Gonshor, 66, died Monday (April 26, 2004) at his home southwest of McCook. He was born March 11, 1938, to Jerome M. and Norma (Mackey) Gonshor in Carnagie, Okla. Survivors include one daughter, Katherine Schneider and husband, Larry of Kennasaw; one son, Harold M. ...

May 3, 1924-April 25, 2004 COLDWATER, Kan. -- Elizabeth L. "Beth" McFee, 79, died Sunday (April 25, 2004) at Pioneer Lodge in Coldwater, Kan. She was born May 3, 1924, to Jean and Pauline (Correll ) VanAlmen in Atwood. In 1942, she married James Edward McFee in Wichita, Kan. She was a resident of Atwood for the majority of her life; lived in Colorado Springs from 1966 to 1990; and in the last several years, lived in Coldwater...