Stories from Wednesday, May 2, 2007

FREMONT -- Marc Klima, a senior at Wauneta-Palisade High School, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont A first team Class D-1 All-State performer (Omaha World-Herald, Lincoln Journal-Star, Huskerland Prep), Klima averaged 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.8 steals per game his senior season...

HASTINGS -- Hastings College men's basketball coach Lance Creech has announced the signing of 10 new players to the men's basketball program for next season. The recruiting class is comprised of eight high school athletes and two transfers. The class consists of seven players from the state of Nebraska and three from Colorado...

The McCook High School girls tennis team won 8-of-9 varsity matches Tuesday against Lexington in the final home dual of the season. Tuesday also marked the final time the Bison Courts will be played on because the new tennis courts on campus are nearly ready to be used...

SUTHERLAND -- Area track athletes competed in the Best of the Midwest Tuesday in Sutherland. Heather Wills took home two first place wins for Medicine Valley. Wills won the long jump and triple jump. Celeste Pankonin of Chase County posted a new meet record in the high jump with a leap of 5 foot 7 inches...

GRANT -- The Chase County girls track team won the SPVA meet Friday. North Platte St. Pats girls took second, Perkins County was third and Hershey took fourth. Cara Kunnemann and Erica Pirog led the Chase County girls. Kunnemann won the 1600 and 3200 and Pirog took the 400 and 300 and 100 meter hurdles...

GOTHENBURG -- McCook seventh and eighth grade boys and girls and McCook St. Pats boys and girls track teams competed in the Dutch Zorn junior relays Friday. The McCook eighth grade boys posted a new school record in the distance medley relay taking second place with a time of 13:05...

The 2007 McCook Bison tennis camp begins June 11. The camp is open to all ages and playing levels and is designed to promote better understanding of the game and the strokes of tennis. The camp will be at the new McCook High School Bison courts, with instruction by MHS coach Matt Wiemers...

Oct. 26, 1921 - May 1, 2007 CHASE, Kan. -- Mildred J. White, 85, died Tuesday (May 1, 2007) at Ralph Thorne Care Center in Hutchinson, Kan. She was born Oct. 26, 1921, in Boonsboro, Md., to Foster Beard and Effie Catherine (Cline) Kephart. She married LeRoy Kirsch in 1941, he preceded her in death on Jan. ...

A McCook High School business instruction has received recognition for writing computer software that a former fellow teacher will use to help fight the war in Iraq. Dan Hilton received a civilian commendation medal, commemorative coin and commissioned flag at an assembly today from Sgt. First Class Dean Reicks, who was wrestling coach and business instructor before he deployed with the Nebraska Army National Guard...

Producers are fond of saying we have the safest food supply in the world, and they're correct. For food produced in this country, that is. It's common to hear that Japan has again suspended import of Nebraska beef because of a minor technical infraction -- shipping of perfectly safe products to Japan which are not included on the "approved" list -- Americans are much more lenient with products coming this way...

There was a time when my earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln seemed unlikely. My dad was an auto mechanic. He was a good person but had limited means and little understanding of the value of a college education...

I enjoyed reading Walt Sehnert's story about the life of H.C. Clapp. And here is a bit of trivia about the Clapps that was told to me years ago by someone that claimed it was true. When they were older and were tired of climbing stairs, the Clapp's built a single story house next door to the house mentioned in Walt's story. (That much of the story I know is true.) But supposedly, the plumbing fixtures throughout the house had HC's initials embossed on them. Can anyone confirm this? ...

I have noticed children playing various games; soccer, running games, skating or bike-riding in our parks. Three or four adults play with them and teach them the rules of the game. The adults give of themselves and keep the kids safe, not to mention the sunshine and fresh air everyone involved is getting. The children appear to be 6 to 10 years old...

On one of my tree seedling planting trips, my wife and I stumbled over a homestead. Only a few bricks were left and they were not even on top of each other. Still, one rock, and only one, was sticking out of the ground, and yes I tripped over it. (I was too busy watching for rattlers, since a big one had already gotten away.) The rock caught my eye enough to make me bend down and dig it out...

The family of Barrnett "Barney" Leitner is hosting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday May 5. His children are Royce and Vicky Leitner of Oberlin, Laney and Judy Leitner of North Platte and Dennis and Linda Leitner, also of North Platte. He has nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulation will reach him at 1500 E. 11th, McCook, NE 69001...

Friends of ours decided it was time to upgrade several years ago and made arrangements to have a second bath with a walk-in shower added to their cozy country home. The main bath had an over-sized garden tub, so a second tub would have been superfluous and would have placed unnecessary strain on the water heater...

In the end, it's all about water. Where it lives, where it lands and what it leaves behind. A project started 10 years ago by the late Carl Smock continues at the McCook cemeteries, this year at the hands of members of the McCook High School Science Club...