Stories from Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The McCook Bison softball team came away with a 4-1 victory over the Lexington Minutemaids Tuesday night at Jaycee Sports Complex. McCook leadoff hitter Austin Wilson drove a ball over the left-fielder's head for a three-base hit to start the game. Jess Einsphahr followed with a walk and stole second base. Both Wilson and Einspahr scored on a base hit by Kirstie Hiatt...

HERSHEY -- The McCook Bison boys tennis swept all nine varsity matches Tuesday at Hershey and claimed five of the six junior varsity matches. Winning varsity singles matches were Connor Larson, Nate Crick, Asher Brooks, Austin Larson, Scott Friehe and Tony Bieck. Winning at Nos. 1-3 doubles were the duos of Brooks-Austin Larson, Friehe-Bieck and Connor Larson-Crick...

GOTHENBURG -- Southwest's volleyball team helped coach Dennis Troester earn his 600th win Tuesday in Gothenburg. The Roughriders beat Gothenburg for Troester's accomplishment in two sets 25-16, 25-20. Southwest also played Sutherland, but came up short in two sets 25-23 and 25-14...

Ten-year-old Riley Loop made a hole-in-one Monday at Broken Tee Par Three Golf Course in McCook. Riley, son of Jason and Valerie Loop, used an eight-iron club and Top Flite ball for his ace on the 81-yard par three fourth hole. When he saw the ball roll into the cup, Riley screamed. It was the first hole-in-one for the fourth grader at Central Elementary...

The McCook Community College campus will have a tailgate party at the student union following tonight's MCC volleyball game. The Indians take the floor at 6 p.m. against Southeast Community College-Beatrice. The tailgate party begins in the MCC student union immediately following the match. At 9 p.m. the party kicks into high gear with the music of Michael Kelsey...

The McCook High School junior varsity football team blasted Holdrege 40-6 Tuesday night at Weiland Field. McCook rolled in its season opener, thanks to a 24-point explosion in the second quarter. Quarterback Mike Grabowski started the onslaught when he connected with Ryan Hardin on an 15-yard touchdown pass. Deon Allen scored on an 18-yard run, Shane Wallen kicked a 28-yard field goal and Andy Smith added a 12-yard TD run...

CAMBRIDGE -- The Cambridge cross country teams competed in the Lexington Invite on Tuesday. A medal was presented to the boys and girls who placed in the top 15. Cambridge's Terry Mowry finished seventh with a time of 19:20.88, Brian Custer finished ninth with a time of 19:30.42, Thomas McHale finished 13th with a time of 19:38.57 and Doug Malchow finished 48th with a time of 23:19.33...

Sept. 8 -- Hitchcock County Invitational Sept. 11 -- at Maywood Sept. 13 -- Medicine Valley Sept. 17 -- at Maywood Invitational Sept. 20 -- at Cambridge Triangular Sept. 22 -- at Arapahoe JV Tourney Sept. 25 -- at Wauneta Sept. 29 -- at Dundy County Tourney...

The McCook City Council voted by three to one to deny a special exception for a dog breeding kennel on the outskirts of the city, although the kennel is already up and running. "I'm disappointed how the council came to their decision," said Dan Miller after the meeting, who with wife Lizann is operating the kennel on their property at 71363 Road 385, within the two-mile radius of city zoning laws. ...

The McCook City Council cleared the way for a special election on the city sales tax, voting unanimously to have the election Nov. 13. Yet one McCook resident asked for clarification on what the ballot would actually say and disputed the need for an additional half-cent tax...

Hot air balloons inflate during last year's McCook Balloon Fest. About 14 balloons are expected to start arriving Friday for this year's event, which includes launches at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, weather permitting. Commercial balloon rides will be offered by Scenic Wind Balloon Tours. ...

Balloonists are expected to start arriving Friday for this weekend's McCook Balloon Festival, but the fun may be tempered by the knowledge that a former participant is missing. "We're going as full-bore as we can," said organizer John Kugler, who taught missing adventurer Steve Fossett to fly balloons...

John Edward Ralston Feb. 12, 1945-Sept. 2, 2007 MAYWOOD -- John Edward Ralston, 62, died Sunday (Sept. 2, 2007) at Great Plains Medical Center in North Platte. He was born on Feb. 12, 1945, to George and Frances (Murray) Ralston in Curtis.  He attended school at Stockville graduating from Stockville Public Schools in 1963. ...

Jay and Darlene Markwith will celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on Aug. 29, 1957. Jay's 70th birthday is Sept. 6, 2007. Their family is hosting an open house on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007, at the First Church of God, 1211 Norris Ave., from 4-6 p.m. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 811 East 2nd St., McCook, NE 69001...

About 320 feet of concrete poured on J Street had to be torn out and repoured -- due to soybeans. The trucking company that provided the aggregate to mix with the concrete had soybeans on the bottom of the truck and the beans were inadvertently mixed in with the concrete, Greg Wolford of W Designs told the council Tuesday night at its regular meeting...

The ready-to-serve fee for city water users will be increased $1.50 a month, with the base fee for sewer increasing $1.034 per month. The increases will generate about $51,745 for the Water Enterprise Fund and about $41,442 for the sewer fund. The combined increases would amount to a total increase of $2.53 per month in city utility bills...

I would like to comment on an article written by Mike (Hendricks) in the weekend edition Sept 1 of The Gazette with regards to Casino Gambling. First, I would like to compliment Mike, for the general reality that all of the issues of life contain some element of potential mystery and surprise that provide us with some cognitive balance of risk and reward ratios. ...

The Friends of the River are challenging the constitutionality of the property tax being levied for compact compliance with Kansas regarding the Republican River.  They are basing this challenge on the idea that the Nebraska Constitution prohibits the use of property tax dollars for state purposes.  Most agree that compact compliance is a state responsibility.  This seems to imply that the use of property tax dollars, as permitted in LB701, is unconstitutional...

TI have tried to come up with a reason that the vehicle in this accident had to be put in the paper at all...let alone that it was hot off the press before some in Hayes County even knew who was killed. ["Sisters undergo treatment in Kearney hospital; brother killed in accident" (http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1250414.html)]...

The loading dock at the Gazette is inset, allowing big rigs to back down to the deck of the paper storage area. We receive approximately 55 700 pound rolls of paper each month, so the dock is a necessity. As an added feature, it also provides a catch basin for rain water and loose soil. ...

FFA is a great activity for boys who want to follow their fathers into farming, right? Well, yes, but anyone who accepts the statement, and its limitations at face value, has a lot to learn about FFA. They should have that chance, now that what many have seen as a serious shortcoming at McCook Senior High School has been corrected. It was such a shortcoming, in fact, that at least two of the current board of education members campaigned on the issue...

LINCOLN -- Vincent Sis of Stratton won a $4,000 travel prize playing the $1 Scratch game Vegas from the Nebraska Lottery. Sis received his winning Vegas ticket in a prize package of 25 tickets from KICX radio in McCook. The winning ticket contained three matching "plane" symbols for the corresponding trip prize. ...

LINCOLN -- Lora Pavlin of Culbertson won $17,000 playing the $2 Scratch game Sapphire Blue 7's from the Nebraska Lottery. Pavlin purchased her winning Sapphire Blue 7's ticket at The Spirit Shop, 503 West B St in McCook. The ticket contained one winning "7" symbol with a corresponding prize of $17,000. ...