Stories from Thursday, July 31, 2008

In the old days, newspapers that didn't have much local news were said to be "addicted to Afghanistan." Journalism insiders recognized that editors were biased in thinking that important news usually happened far from home, that our communities' petty concerns weren't important in the grand scheme of things...

Let's begin by asking this question of the registered voters of McCook who cast votes during the special ballot initiative nine short months ago. If you knew of the $500,000 sales tax surplus and the plans to build a public safety center with the sales tax proceeds would you still have voted for it?...

I was surprised to read the July 26-27 Gazette's story about Barack Obama's prayer. After he inserted it o a piece of paper into a crack in the Wailing Wall at Jerusalem, it was removed and published. During Herod the Great's time, an enlargement of the temple at Jerusalem was begun. A retaining wall was built around it. Aug. 30 in 70 A.D., Titus and his Roman soldiers destroyed the temple and many of Jerusalem's residences...

If you haven't already, now is a good time to pick out a good dark-sky place to watch what is probably the premier meteor shower of the year, the Perseids. Meteors from the shower may be seen several evenings in advance of and following the peak day of Wednesday, Aug. 12...

Chase County's Tabitha Russell plays in NCA softball game LINCOLN -- Chase County-Imperial's Tabitha Russell was a member of the Blue Team for the Nebraska Coaches Association softball doubleheader Wednesday. The Red Team won the first game 2-1 and the Blue Team won the second game 4-1...

NORTH PLATTE -- Two student-athletes from the North Platte Community College Athletic Department have been named to this year's National Junior College Athletic Association's (NJCAA) Academic All-American Team. Knights basketball player Andy Richardson, of Peyton, Colo., received his award for a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.76...

The Southwest Nebraska Rifle and Pistol Club's August matches begin Sunday at the airport north of McCook. This Sunday's shoot will be bowling pins with .22 revolver, .22 auto, .38 special revolver, 9 mm auto, big bore revolver or big bore auto. On Aug. 10, the shoot will be smallbore bench rifle and centerfire bench rifle...

April 8, 2004 - July 26, 2008 GARDEN CITY, Kan. -- Benjerman Scott Gaines, 4, died Saturday (July 26, 2008) at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, Kan. He was born April 8, 2004, in Rolla, Mo., the son of David Allen Gaines II and Brenda Joy Decker. He had been a resident of Garden City since 2006 moving from Crocker, Mo...

July 17, 1922 - July 29, 2008 ST. FRANCIS -- Leonard Virgil Rose, 86, died Tuesday (July 29, 2008) at Cheyenne County Hospital in St. Francis. He was born July 17, 1922, in Cheyenne County. He married Dorla Mae Weed and was a farm laborer. Survivors include his wife, Dorla Mae of St. ...

The family of Orville and Donna (Vandervort) Mockry will host an open house in honor of the couple's 60th wedding anniversary. They were married Aug. 8, 1948, in McCook. The open house is Sunday, 2:30 p.m., at the Assembly of God Annex, 806 East C. Their children are Nancy and husband, Charles Collins, Mary Sue and husband, Bob Wurster; Julie Mockry and the late Jim Mockry; Randy and wife, Wanda Mockry and Robby and wife, Angie Mockry, all of McCook. ...

"Sometimes, it just gets to be too much," said Lorie Hoyt, director at the McCook Humane Society. Hoyt participated in a rescue operation at a licensed breeder facility near Brady Wednesday, with three other shelters and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture...

Members of "Sea to Sea 2008 Bike Tour" pedal through Southwest Nebraska on U.S. Highway 6-34 Wednesday, en route from Seattle to Jersey City, N.J., to bring awareness to severe poverty around the world. Lois Craven, above, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Dora VanderWoude of Renfru, Ontario, Canada, climbed the big hill west of Trenton, while Alida vanDijk of St. ...

Sept. 12, 1923 - July 12, 2008 AXTELL -- Raymond G. Lunbery, 84, of Axtell, died Saturday (July 12, 2008) at Kearney County Health Services Hospital in Minden. He was born Sept. 12, 1923, in Trenton to Melvin and Anna (Pollmann) Lundbery. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946...