Stories from Thursday, December 21, 2006

The McCook-Philliposburg high school varsity and junior varsity boys and girls basketball games scheduled for tonight have been canceled because of ice and snow. It is not know whether the games will be rescheduled. The Bison varsity boys and girls teams will compete in the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference tournament Dec. 28-30 (Thursday-Saturday) at Hastings...

LINCOLN -- The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) is proud to announce the Fall 2006 Academic All-State Awards. This new NSAA program recognizes students who meet the criteria for nomination by their school in the season their activity takes place...

Although the foot of snow predicted for the area failed to materialize, city residents instead coped with power outrages and falling tree limbs. Freezing rain coated power lines and trees with thick ice Wednesday, causing tree limbs to snap off onto homes and vehicles and pulling down power and cable lines...

Check out today's "On the Record" and you get a pretty good idea what kind of day police, fire, ambulance, city and utility crews had on Wednesday. There were more than 70 "power line down" calls alone, and although the majority of them turned out to be cable television lines, every one of them had to be taken seriously. Many of them actually were power lines, and lives depended on a proper response...

It's hard to believe that the new year will begin in less than two weeks. With each new year, comes change, and this year, in the Nebraska Legislature, the change will come in the 44th District. While working at the Gazette, I had ample opportunity to get to know Sen. Tom Baker...

Aug. 28, 1916 - Dec. 18, 2006 ATWOOD -- Lucille Theresa (Martintzer) Solko, 90, died Monday (Dec. 18, 2006) at Good Samaritan Center in Atwood. She was born Aug. 28, 1916, to Joseph and Mary Martintzer. She grew up on the family farm west of Herndon...

March 12, 1920 - Dec. 19, 2006 ARAPAHOE?--?Melvin Charles Smith, 96, died Tuesday (Dec. 19, 2006) at the C.A. Mues Good Samaritan Center in Arapahoe. He was born March 12, 1920, in Dawson County to Arthur C. and Ella A. (Sutphen) Smith. He attended school at Lexington and graduated from Lexington High School with the Class of 1937...

July 1, 1914 - Dec. 19, 2006 LEXINGTON?-- Viola Monter, 92 of Elwood, died Tuesday (Dec. 19, 2006) at the Tri-County Hospital in Lexington. She was born July 1, 1914, northeast of Arapahoe to Henry and Bertha (Hinz) Helms. She attended Immanuel Lutheran Parochial School...

Painting portraits of soldiers who have died in the Iraq and Afghan wars is not a political thing for Richard Budig. "It's difficult to explain, but I get as much from doing it as do the families for whom I do these paintings," he said in a recent e-mail. "I call it psychic income."...