Stories from Thursday, September 21, 2006

No. 1 Bison can expect nothing less from Gering, coach added The No. 1-ranked McCook football team has been challenged by their first three opponents of the 2006 season. The Bison have met every challenge with defense, defense and more defense. McCook, ranked No. 1 in Nebraska Class B in four polls (Omaha World Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, Huskerland Prep Report and Associated Press), has outscored the opposition 55-6...

Jan. 1, 1930 - Sept. 19, 2006 BIRD?CITY --?Oscar Emmanuel Johnson Jr., 76, died Tuesday (Sept. 19, 2006) at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was born Jan 1, 1930, in Republic County, Kan., He married Elaine (Goltl) Johnson. They lived in Bird City, where he was a retired farmer and rancher...

Heritage Days 2006 is in full swing with the naming of royalty, honor family, parade and grand marshals Wednesday night at the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce's mixer at McCook National Bank. Ashley Huffman, top, second from right, was named Heritage Days Queen, while Brittanie Simmonds, second from left, was named princess, and Tiffany Jacob, left, and Morgan Pearson, right, are attendants. ...

Peter Coulter of Vail and Sheridan, Colo., the owner of McCook's former West Ward Elementary School, has filed an appeal of Red Willow County officials' decision in July 2006 to deny his request that the valuation of the school property be increased from $127,030 to $385,680...

Red Willow County has been awarded a $167,233 federal Homeland Security grant to help enhance its communications systems. Sheriff Gene Mahon, who directs the county's Emergency Management with Diana Wilkinson, told county commissioners during their weekly meeting Monday morning that the grant includes $62,000 for a chemical identification/det-ector devise for use by the county's hazardous materials response team...

The bottom line and the future of Community Hospital improved when it underwent what the McCook hospital's CFO called "a rigorous and swift process" to change its license during FY2006 and became licensed as a "Critical Access" type hospital on Dec. 1, 2006...

Over the last eight years, Brad and I have taken on dozens of home-improvement projects. We started out by re-plumbing our entire home, and replacing all the old wiring with new. We've taken out old walls and put up new. We turned our basement -- which was once a mechanic's garage -- into a finished floor with an office, family room and laundry room...