Stories from Monday, January 28, 2008

The children of Ronald and Lila Cook are hosting an open house in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary Saturday, Feb. 2, 4-7 p.m., at the Culbertson Fairgrounds Community Building. They married Feb. 9, 1958, in Culbertson. Cards of congratulation will reach them at PO Box 457, Culbertson, NE 69024...

The family of Milton Hegwood of Culbertson is hosting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday. He was born Jan. 30, 1928. His family includes his wife, Florence (Harrison) Hegwood of Culbertson; children, Jim Hegwood of Curtis, Jeanette Peters of North Platte and Jerry and Janet Hegwood of Aurora, Colo. He has nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach him at PO Box 336, Culbertson, NE 69024...

Josh and Kirby (Schmidt) Smith of Olathe, Kan., announce the birth of their son, Bryson Isaiah Smith on Jan. 15, 2008, at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He weighed 10 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. His grandparents are Les and Nancy Schmidt of Indianola and Robert and Linda Smith of Olathe. Great-grandparents are Don and Mariann Ogorzolka and Peggy Schmidt of McCook, Nettie Voorhees of Cambridge, Glenn and Ruth Clark and Pat Smith of Des Moines, Iowa...

Jeremy and Elizabeth Yilk of McCook announce the birth of their daughter, Camryn Elizabeth Yilk on Jan. 3, 2008, at Community Hospital in McCook. She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 21 1/4 inches. Her grandparents are Kyle and Michele Hoehner of Lexington and Dan and Donna Yilk of Gothenburg. Great-grandparents are Frank and Andrea Bower of McCook, Patricia Hoehner of Kearney and Roy Christensen of Edison. Dorothy Nicholson of McCook is her great-great-grandmother...

Vonda Doak, formerly of McCook, will celebrate her 75th birthday Jan. 30. Cards of congratulation will reach her at The Ambassador, 4405 Normal Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68506-5551.

The family of Evelyn Kincaid Richards of McCook, is requesting a card shower in honor of her 90th birthday Feb. 2. She was born Feb. 2, 1918, at Danbury. Her children are Shirley Morris of Omaha, Deanna Lehl of Des Moines, Iowa, Larry and Linda Richards of McCook, Ron and Candy Richards of Big Springs and Steve Richards of North Platte. She has 10 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 1214 W. Fifth, McCook, NE 69001...

The family of Velma Steinke is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday on Feb. 1, 2008. Cards of congratulations will reach her at P O Box 97, Trenton, NE 69044.

The family of Melvin Werkmeister is requesting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday Jan. 29. His children are Alvin and Jo Werkmeister of Maywood, Allan Werkmeister of Maywood, Julie Werkmeister of Niwot, Colo., and Verneta Werkmeister of Cordova, Tenn. He has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulation will reach him at RR1 Box 322, Maywood, NE 69038...

Amanda and Nathan Nielsen of McCook announce the birth of their son, Aaron Christopher Nielsen on Jan. 16, 2008, at Community Hospital in McCook. He weighed 8 pounds, 8.4 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. He has a older sibling, 2-year old Alexander Blake. ...

LEXINGTON -- It was a good night for the McCook High School varsity and junior varsity boys and girls basketball teams, who swept four games from their rivals Thursday at Lexington.

CAMBRIDGE -- Hayes Center's boys and Cambridge's girls earned the Republican Plains Activities Conference basketball tournament championships Saturday in Cambridge. Cambridge won 48-34 against Wauneta-Palisade's girls. The Hayes Center boys also played a close game with Alma, winning 68-52...

Sept. 19, 1921 - Jan. 25, 2008 Bernice A. Kircher, 86, died Friday (Jan.25, 2008) at Community Hospital in McCook. She was born in Giltner Sept. 19, 1921, to Oscar and Anna (Kindvall) Oberg. She attended McCook Schools. She married Lyle Graves. They were divorced March 27, 1974...

June 9, 1930 - Jan. 24, 2008 OBERLIN -- Doris L. Miller, 77, died Thursday (Jan. 24, 2008) at Decatur County Hospital. She was born June 9, 1930, in Russell County, Kan., to William and Mary (Heil) Tittel. She grew up in Russell, Kan., and graduated from Russell High School in 1948...

Special to the Gazette To some, she's the pistachio lady. To others, the homemade cookie lady. One soldier calls her his adopted mom. Ernestine Smith, 32-year veteran of Wells Fargo in McCook, has earned all those titles through the emails, letters and care boxes she sends to soldiers overseas. She spends three hours each night writing words of encouragement and providing war-weary soldiers glimpses of home...

Nebraska's public television network recently aired a locally produced program that brought back a lot of memories. It featured celebrities with Omaha roots like Johnny Carson, Tom Brokaw and Floyd Kalber, and ancient kinescopes -- films made by aiming a movie camera at a TV screen -- of the first television broadcasts in Nebraska...

Your recent editorial about Norfolk's Johnny Carson was interesting, although not fully informed. According to the writer, we Nebraskans who pronounce the name of Carson's home town exactly the way HE always did, are allegedly "unitiated" in the truth of the matter...

One of the ways that a city uses to honor an illustrious citizen is to name a park after him or her. In McCook such parks range from small parks such as at the high school, honoring beloved Principal, LeRoy Hoehner, Bolles Canyon, honoring McCook's tree-planter extraordinaire, Steve Bolles, and McCook's newest park, Russell Park, honoring attorney Carson Russell, to the major parks, honoring Senator Norris, A. Barnett -- and John E. Kelley...

Anti-Hillary Clinton signs have sprouted on the main approaches to McCook, bearing no sign of who paid for them. Tight races in the east mean that Nebraska's first Democratic caucus, set for a week from Saturday, may draw attention from the candidates...

McCook Community College officials said head volleyball coach Gary Payne has been fired. Richard Tubbs, the school's vice president, said in a Saturday release that Payne violated the school's conduct rules for coaches. No other information was provided...