Stories from Monday, October 11, 2004

Feb. 19, 1921-Oct. 9, 2004 CURTIS -- Richard Elbert Hammond, 83, died Saturday (Oct. 9, 2004) at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. He was born Feb. 19, 1921, to Merlen Wright and Hazel Davis Hammond in Lincoln County, north of Moorefield. He grew up on a ranch and he graduated from the Nebraska School of Agriculture in 1940...

Feb. 14, 1936-Oct. 7, 2004 CAMBRIDGE -- Wilford V. "Bill" Brown, 68, died Thursday (Oct. 7, 2004) at his home in Cambridge. He was born Feb. 14, 1936, to Thomas and Anna (Kaveny) Brown in Cambridge. He attended school in Cambridge and graduated from the high school in 1954. He attended the University of Nebraska, Doane College and Wayne State College, where he received his degree in business education. He played football while at the UNL and Doane...

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Jeff and Julie Smith of Chandler, Ariz., announce the birth of their daughter, Madison Joy, Sept. 24, 2004. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 20 inches long. She has one brother, Samuel. Grandparents are Jerry and Jenene Smith of Palisade, Merle and Cathy Cox of Hayes Center and Jerry Potter of McCook. Her great-grandmother is Dessa Phares of Wauneta...

Another species left its attire on a McCook clothesline, just in time for the fall cicada fashion season. Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas were receiving light rain throughout the morning, with less than .10 of an inch in most areas. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)...

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Longtime Southwest Nebraska physician Emanuel C. Beyer died Sunday in Council Bluff, Iowa. Recently named Outstanding Rural Health Practitioner of the year, Beyer began his practice in McCook in 1978 and later moved to the Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman...

George A. Hormel was born in 1860, in Buffalo, N.Y., the son of John George Hormel and Susanna Decker. John was a wool puller and tanner from Germany. The family soon moved to Toledo, Ohio, "The fastest growing city in the west." Growing up in the aftermath of the Civil War, and living through World War II, George A. felt that his generation had experienced the greatest changes that mankind had ever witnessed...

When we think of the Golden Plains of Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, the first images which come to mind are those of harvest-ready fields of corn and vast expanses of wheat land, stretching over the horizon. Already impressive, the golden glory is enhanced each October when the region's tree leaves turn from green to multiple shades of yellow and gold. It's a reminder, repeated every autumn, that the seasons are changing...

**Dear Editor, In reply to the letter by the incumbent for District Seven, University of Nebraska Board of Regents, I hope to make things more clear so everyone understands what his vote for the Recommendations for Human Stem Cell Research Report means...

KEARNEY -- The McCook High tennis team took second place at the Kearney Catholic Invitational on Saturday. The Bison had a team score of 32 points, one point behind first place Elkhorn Mt. Michael. McCook got a first place effort from Brandon Crick in singles competition...

The election should prove to be the most argument-provoking election ever. No I'm not talking about all that political Bush/Kerry stuff, I am referring to the MVP race in Major League Baseball. The National League poses an interesting question, should someone besides Barry Bonds win the Most Valuable Player award?...