Stories from Monday, May 14, 2007

Barbara Roberts of McCook and Gary Whitehead of Garden City, Kan., were united in marriage on May 4, 2007, in Red Willow County. Parents of the couple are Alice Raile of Oxford and the late Joseph and Sharon Whitehead. Grandmother is LaVera Beringer of St. Francis...

Amy Woodring of Moorefield and Harry Myers of McCook announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Donald and Bonnie Woodring and Joann Austin. The bride-to-be is a 2001 graduate of Medicine Valley High School and is employed at Wal-mart...

Ashley Walkington of Kearney and John Foley of McCook announce the birth of their son, Brighton Joseph Walkington-Foley on Jan. 12, 2007, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. He was a 1 1/2 year old brother, Deacon. ...

Richard and Claudia Stanton of Cambridge announce the engagement of their daughter, Suzanne Michelle to Joshua David Graves, the son of David and Vicki Graves of Volga, S.D. Grandparents of the couple are the late Donald and June Stanton. the late Marion and Norma Gotchall, Dwight and Karen Johnson and the late Glenn Graves and Bernice Graves...

Tessa Smolik and Derek Deyle of Omaha announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Paul and Karen Smolik of Kearney, Don and Londa Kost of Kearney and Tom Deyle of Odessa. The bride-to-be is the granddaughter of Pauline Frecks of Culbertson...

Maryann and Brad Sides of Nebraska City announce the birth of twin girls, Madison Grace and McKenna Hope, on May 6, 2007. Madison weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. McKenna weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. Grandparents are Pat and Janice Sides of Bartley and Dave and Margaret Ruf of Wilsonville...

Kristin Montey of McCook and Wade Hunter of Lusk, Wyo., announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Jerry and Anna Montey of McCook and Allen and Debra Hunter of Torrington, Wyo. The prospective bridegroom is a 2001 graduate of Torrington High School. He received his Associate of Arts Degree from McCook Community College in 2004, and is working as a Port of Entry Officer for the state of Wyoming...

Joshua and Regina Lewis of North Platte announce the birth of their daughter, Savannah May, who was born April 15, 2007 at North Platte Regional Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19 inches long.  Her grandparents are Robert and Ruth Zaruba of Bennington and Pat and Ronda Lewis of Trenton.  Great Grandparents are Noel and Claudia Schnabel and Dessie Lewis, all of Trenton.  Great Great Grandmother is Iva Schnabel of Federal Heights, Colo.  ...

Dayle Erin Johnson and Michael Lynn Morningstar, Jr. were married at Eden Gardens, Fla., March 23. The bride is the daughter of William and Karmon Johnson and Maureen and Lonnie Wood of McCook. The bridegroom is the son of Bonnie and Michael Morningstar, Sr. of Faifield, Ohio. The couple honeymooned on the Isle of Capri, Italy. They are residing in Fort Walton Beach, Fla...

Ron and Doris Friehe of McCook announce the engagement of their daughter, Valerie Friehe, to Brionn Tonkin, son of Jeff and Nana Tonkin of Fort Collins, Colo. The bride-to-be is a 1999 graduate of McCook High School and received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She works at Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Englewood, Colo...

The family of Owen Eugene and Sharon Kay (Morgan) King, formerly of McCook, is hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary. They were married May 13, 1957. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 365 Hillcrest Drive Southeast, Rio Rancho, NM. 87214...

Jenny Miller of Culbertson and Jeff Baker of Pender announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Lee and Barb Miller of Culbertson and Denny Baker and Lynn Baker of Pender. The bride-to-be is pursuing her degree at Wayne State College. ?The prospective bridegroom is farming east of Pender...

KEARNEY -- The McCook Bison girls tennis team placed second at the GNAC Tournament Friday in Kearney. Kearney won the tournament with 38 points, followed by McCook 30, North Platte 22, Hastings 18, Norfolk 17, Lexington 16, Scottsbluff 16 and Columbus 11...

Sept. 25, 1945 - May 10, 2007 ARAPAHOE -- Jerry Dale Horton, 61, formerly of Arapahoe died Thursday (May 10, 2007) at Cherrelyn Health Care Center in Littleton, Colo. He was born on Sept. 25, 1945, at McCook to Van H. and Lora C. (Taylor) Horton. He graduated from Arapahoe High School with the class of 1964...

Aug. 19, 1917 - May 13, 2007 OBERLIN -- Irel Lohoefener, 89, died Sunday (May 13, 2007) in Oberlin. She was born Aug. 19. 1917, in Oberlin, to Clarence and Florence (Nitcher) Muller. She was raised near Kearney and Oberlin. She attended school in Olive Branch near Newark, Fort Kearney near Kearney and Addleman near Oberlin...

Sept. 26, 1915 - May 12, 2007 Rachel Clifton Odenbach, 91, died Saturday (May 12, 2007) at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook.  On Sept.26, 1915, she was born at Osakis, Minn., to Ellis B. and Christine M. (Christensen) Clifton. She attended schools in Minnesota and North Dakota. ...

Graduation speaker Emily Geschwentner told her fellow seniors at McCook High School's commencement exercises Sunday that, "Grad-uation is the beginning, not the end ... it's the beginning of the rest of our lives."...

At first blush, there's something appealing about Sen. Chuck Hagel's suggestion that he and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg might mount an independent presidential campaign. Southwest Nebraskans have had a independent bent since the earliest times, solidified by Sen. George W. Norris and continuing through Sen. Ben Nelson's membership in the Democratic Party while maintaining one of the most conservative voting records in Congress...

Regarding Mr. Desautel's letter concerning the activities tolerated at McCook High: ["Defining deviancy down" (http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1203860.html)] the vast majority of transvestites are completely heterosexual males according to any legitimate study on the subject...

Don't giggle. This is for real. I'm talking about the new title for Southwest and South Central Nebraska which is spreading across the the Internet. The name takes a little getting used to, but once you see what the name's originators are driving at, you begin to understand the reasoning...

KEARNEY -- The McCook Bison girls tennis team placed second at the GNAC Tournament Friday in Kearney. Kearney won the tournament with 38 points, followed by McCook 30, North Platte 22, Hastings 18, Norfolk 17, Lexington 16, Scottsbluff 16 and Columbus 11...

LAMAR, Colo. -- The McCook Community College baseball team went 1-2 at the Region IX Tournament and finished the season with a 24-28 record overall and a 12-18 mark in Region IX play. The Indians lost to Northeastern Junior College 10-2 on Thursday, but rebounded with a 6-5 win over Otero Junior College Saturday...

Ernest Hemingway is acknowledged to number among the elite of America's great writers. He was also a "larger than life" personality himself, as complex as any of the characters in the books he wrote. Hemmingway was born in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago in 1899. ...