Stories from Tuesday, December 9, 2008

SOUTHWEST -- Southwest, Southern Valley, Cambridge and Arapahoe wrestlers competed in the first tournaments of the season last week. Southwest hosted the first tournament on Thursday. The Roughriders finished second in the home opener behind Bertrand/Loomis...

Bison sophomore boys fall to Holdrege Dusters The McCook High School sophomore boys basketball team opened the season Monday night with a 61-36 home loss to the Holdrege Dusters. The Bison trailed 26-22 at halftime and 39-32 after the third quarter. The Dusters went on a 22-4 run in the fourth quarter...

Jan. 2, 1952 - Dec. 6, 2008 BENKELMAN -- Roy William "Bill" Hall, 56, of Benkelman, died Saturday (Dec. 6, 2008) at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman. He was born Jan. 2, 1952, to Harold H. and Lucile M. (Hinrichsen) Hall and attended school in Benkelman. ...

March 21, 1913 - Dec. 8, 2008 Benito Garcia, Sr., died Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, at Community Hospital in McCook. He was 95 years old. Benito was born on March 21, 1913, in Manchester, Kan., to Jose R. and Maria (Pelagio) Garcia. He married Maria Lucille Rodriguez on July 27, 1937, in McCook. They made their home in McCook where they raised their four children. Ben was a local construction contractor for more than 60 years. He also taught at the McCook Job Corp...

Feb. 8, 1982 - Dec. 1, 2008 AURORA - Crystal Dawn Abbott, 26, of Aurora died Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, at Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital in Central City. Memorial services were Thursday at Higby-McQuiston Chapel in Aurora. Ms. Abbott was born Feb. 8, 1982, at Grand Island to Barry Lee and Marilyn Sue (Dahnke) Abbott...

Dec. 31, 1927 - Dec. 6, 2008 Janet Beth Campbell, 80 of Grand Island, formerly of McCook, passed away Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. She was born Dec. 31, 1927, in Seward County to James Benjamin and Nellie (Brittel) Walford, Jan grew up on the family farm east of Gresham, Neb., and graduated from Gresham High School in 1945. She attended Hastings College...

Feb. 17, 1916 - Dec. 7, 2008 Ruth Lucile Madron departed this life Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook. She was 92 years old. Ruth was born in McCook on Feb. 17, 1916, to Raymond Vear and Edith May (Lytle) Huet. She graduated from McCook High School in 1932...

The family of LaMoine and Elaine (McClure) Keene of McCook is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 67th wedding anniversary. They were married Dec. 12, 1941. Children of the couple are Chuck and Dian (Keene) Trail of McCook and Steve and Patty Keene of McCook. They have seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 111 West G, McCook NE 69001...

The family of Irene Schneider is honoring her 80th birthday with a card shower. She was born Dec. 15, 1928, northwest of Culbertson. Her family includes Lynda and Barry Jollensten of Ogallala, Deb and Larry Stoney of Herndon and Scott and Audrey Schneider of North Platte. She has six grandchildren, three step-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. Cards will reach her at 803 West J, McCook, NE 69001...

Providing a hint at the healing and cooperation that is possible, the McCook Public Schools board of education at its December meeting Monday evening unanimously appointed Scott Johnson to fill the vacancy on the six-member board. Diane Lyons and Shane Messersmith -- the two board members who, at a special board meeting Nov. 24, declined to change their votes to appoint Gary Power -- made and seconded the motion to appoint Johnson...

Red Willow County commissioners learned during their weekly meeting Monday that the Nebraska Department of Roads has reduced the tonnage on two of the county's bridges. According to information from the DOR, the load ratings have been reduced on the 26-year-old timber stringer bridge east of Lebanon, from 23 tons to 17 tons; and on the 73-year-old timber stringer bridge on Willow Creek north of Southwest High School, from 10 tons to eight tons...

Marcia Herring of the Nebraska Association of School Boards will be in McCook all day Monday, Dec. 15, to conduct meetings with staff, administrators, junior and high school students, parents and community members in the McCook Public School District's effort to hire a new superintendent...

We have to wonder how many people who voted for Barack Obama's "change you can believe in" realized what he actually planned was "back to the future" with members of the old Clinton administration -- including the first lady. One of those "changes" was the nomination of former Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota as Health and Human Services Secretary...

Although the vast majority of voters in Southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas are unhappy about who will become president on Jan. 20, voters can't let their anger and resentment prevent them from taking responsibility to create change. They can choose to work with President-elect Barack Obama, by knowing he will be fair-minded and include both the religious and nonreligious as part of the dialogue to solve the country's problems...

I have seen numerous articles in the Gazette showing the various Christmas displays in Southwest Nebraska. They are certainly outwardly beautiful, much like Las Vegas. Enclosed is a photo of my humble Christmas decorations, which are displayed year around. Jesus is the reason for the season!...

Each year just in time for Black Powder Deer season, I get visitors. The nucleus of the group, two old Air Force friends, have been coming for years, since 1990 in fact. The first time that they showed, I was farming south of McCook. The plea was to be allowed to set up "Deer Camp" in my large open-front machinery shed. They were active-duty Air Force at the time stationed at headquarters SAC, Offutt AFB...

Both athletes overcame knee injuries Call them Most Valuable Players, impact players, game-changers, the franchise. By any other name, seniors Dillon Goltl (McCook High School senior wide receiver/defensive back/punter) and Traci Keyser (Cambridge High School senior blocker) are the McCook Daily Gazette's All-Area Football and Volleyball Players of the Year for the 2008 fall season...

It's official; Nebraska has its first laboratory-confirmed case of influenza for 2008, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The case is in Lancaster County, but that's not very far away in today's world, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday just past and Christmas and New Year's Day approaching...