Stories from Monday, October 4, 2004

SCOTTSBLUFF -- The McCook High School softball team posted a 1-2 record Saturday at the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference Tournament at Scottsbluff. McCook opened the tournament with a 5-4 loss to Columbus after leading the game 2-0 for four innings...

LEXINGTON -- The McCook High School boys tennis team placed third at the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference Tournament at Lexington Saturday. The Bison tallied 27 points. Columbus and Kearney tied for first with 36 points. McCook's Brandon Crick finished second at No. 2 singles...

GERING -- The McCook High School volleyball team went 2-4 in Gering on Friday and Saturday. McCook picked up wins over Lexington and Alliance, while dropping matches to Wheatland, Gering, Waverly and Sidney. "We played all quality teams. We beat Lexington in two (sets) and Alliance in two," said McCook coach Krystal Weber...

IMPERIAL -- The Chase County-Imperial football team remained unbeaten with a 35-6 win over Gordon on Friday. The Longhorns are ranked seventh in Class C1 by the Omaha World Herald. Chase County racked up 362 total yards of offense, including 309 on the ground...

BEATRICE -- The McCook Community College golf team took third place at the Southeast Community College Invitational on Thursday and Friday. Missouri Western won the team title with a two day team score of 618. MCC was third with a team score of 682...

March 30, 1943-Sept. 30, 2004 EL RENO, Okla. -- Lyle D. Fikan, 61, died Thursday (Sept. 30, 2004) in El Reno, Okla. He was born March 30, 1943, to Reno Ray Fikan and Gladys Eileen (Kyte) Fikan in Atwood. He graduated from Atwood High School in 1961 and attended college at Fort Hays State College in Hays, Kan. He joined the Army in 1964 and served for over seven years, including a tour in the Vietnam War...

Nov. 6, 1907-Sept. 30, 2004 IMPERIAL -- Violet Nichols, 96, died Thursday (Sept. 30, 2004) at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial. She was born Nov. 6, 1907, to Ed and Stella (Rowley) Ellison in Wauneta. On Oct. 11, 1924, she married Fern Nichols of Wauneta. He died Sept. 25, 1974. She spent her life on a farm south of Wauneta being helping her husband. She later moved to Wauneta before moving to an assisted living facility in North Platte and Imperial...

May 23, 1909-Sept. 29, 2004 IMPERIAL -- Opal Lucille (Ireland) Eaton, 95, died Wednesday (Sept. 29, 2004) at Imperial Manor in Imperial. She was born May 23, 1909, to Robert L. and Delilah Susan (Sides) Ireland on her grandfather's farm near St. Elmo, Ill. The family moved to Colorado and homesteaded in 1911. She graduated from Julesburg High School in 1928...

Sept. 3, 1929-Oct. 2, 2004 PHILLIPSBURG, Kan. -- Darrell D. Beins, 75, died Saturday (Oct. 2, 2004) at Harlan County Hospital in Alma. He was born Sept. 3, 1929, to Lawrence and Yvonne (Bundy) Satter in Stamford. He was adopted by Gilbert Beins. He then lived with his grandparents, Guy and Florence Bundy. His mother later married Gilbert Beins, who in turn adopted him. He grew up on a farm south of Precept. He graduated from Almena High School in Almena, Kan., in 1949...

Jamie Lee Harris and Daniel Austin Stitt were united in marriage June 26, 2004, at McCook Christian Church with the Rev. Clark Bates officiating. Parents of the couple are Gary and Karla Harris of McCook and Marilyn and Dick Stitt of McCook. Grandmother of the bride is Jane Hester of McCook...

BENNINGTON -- Kelly Anne Weberg and Craig Nathaniel Stockhaus were united in marriage April 24, 2004, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Bennington with the Rev. James Price officiating. Parents of the couple are Albert and Marcia Weberg of Bennington and Barbara Stockhaus of Indianola and the late Stanley Stockhaus...

Kimberly Fichtner and Eric Ryan Gipe announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Dean and Charlene Fichtner of Maywood and Larry and Jody Gipe of North Platte. The bride-to-be is a graduate of Hayes Center High School, Hastings College and Mayo School of Allied Health Professionals in Rochester, Minn. ...

Steve Tomicic of Ladder Co. 115 of the NewYork Fire Department (back), Bob Kummelehne (front from left), a retired Los Angeles Fire Fighter, Sean Kissttne of NYFD Ladder Co. 18, and Marc Zabata of NYFD Engine Co. 258 make their way out of Oberlin this morning on their portion of 3,336 mile trek across the United States. ...

The family of Ben and Ginny (Walz) Bortner of McCook is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 30th anniversary Oct. 4. The couple married in 1974 at St. Catherine's Church in Indianola. Their children are Jill, Carl, Wayne, Lisa, Kyler, Riley and Blaine. They have two grandchildren. Cards will reach the couple at 72142 Drive 388, McCook, NE 69001...

The family of Larry and Marge Hamilton is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th anniversary, Oct. 2. They were married in 1954 at the St. Patrick's Catholic Church in McCook. Cards will reach the couple at 1410 Crestview, Beatrice, NE 68310...

Several years ago we made a trip to Europe with my wife, Jean's, parents. They were good sports about visiting museums, the Olympic site at Munich, and Vatican City in Rome, and really anything we would suggest doing, but the one thing they really wanted to see was the village of Friedelsheim, near Ludwigshaven, in Germany...

Tough love may be OK in some situations, but it's not the the right way to help a battered woman. Those words of advice come from Donna Goad, the executive director of Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services for the McCook area. Speaking out at the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Goad says, "A battered woman has been so hurt and emotionally beaten down by her abuser, the last thing she needs is someone else treating her the same way. ...

Fire Prevention Week is here. The McCook City and Volunteer Firefighters and I, along with thousands of firefighters across North America, are visiting schools in various communities teaching the basics of fire safety and prevention. The nonprofit National Fire Protection Association has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922. The theme for this year's campaign is "It's Fire Prevention Week: Test Your Smoke Alarms."...

I have been watching a lot of Major League Baseball, and its subsequent analyst shows, on television lately, and the "experts" have given me an idea. I can predict the winners and losers of the MLB postseason. Of course, I did predict the Chicago Cubs to "win it all" 162 games ago. They didn't even make it to baseball's "second season"...