Stories from Thursday, January 15, 2009

CURTIS -- The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture men's basketball team posted a 1-2 record during weekend play. NCTA lost to Barclay College from Haviland, Kan., 118-50 Friday night. The Aggies were short-handed, playing with only seven players.

BRADY -- The Brady Talon Power booster club will host elementary and junior high basketball tournaments at Brady Public School in February. Elementary tournaments for both boys and girls are open to players in grades 3-6. There will be three age divisions for boys and girls -- grades 3-4, grades 5-6 and grades 7-8...

LINCOLN -- Permits for the 2009 spring turkey hunting seasons now may be purchased, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Hunters will have more opportunity to use them, too. The seasons have been extended by a combined 10 days. The 2009 hunting seasons are: archery and youth archery, March 25-May 31; youth shotgun, April 11-May 31; and shotgun, April 18-May 31...

KEARNEY -- The University of Nebraska-Kearney baseball team will conduct youth hitting and pitching camps during the next seven weeks. The camps are for ages 9-18 with the age groups being divided into three time slots; 4-5 p.m. (9-11 year olds), 5-6 p.m. (12-14) and 6-7 p.m. (15-18)...

AMES, Iowa -- One thing Iowa State hasn't done for much of the season is deliver the knockout punch. Facing a Nebraska team that had wiped away their 13-point deficit, the Cyclones finally landed a finishing blow. Craig Brackins scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Iowa State beat Nebraska 65-53 Wednesday for its fifth win in six games...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Chris Cooks scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Missouri State to a 68-55 win over Wichita State on Wednesday. Both teams were 0-5 in Missouri Valley play coming into the game. The Bears (8-9, 1-5) also got 16 points from Wade Knapp and 12 from Will Creekmore in snapping a six-game losing streak...

Wake Forest answered any questions about having a letdown following its big win over North Carolina. The second-ranked Demon Deacons have another huge game coming up this weekend. Three days after stunning the Tar Heels, Wake Forest remained unbeaten with an 83-63 victory at Boston College, and again it was Jeff Teague leading the way with 29 points...

NORMAN, Okla. -- Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford wasn't ready to give up the life of a college quarterback -- not without a national championship. The third-year sophomore quarterback will return to Oklahoma next season, passing on a chance to be a high NFL draft pick...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Yvonne Turner scored a season-high 21 points and Jessica Periago added a career-high 11 points off the bench, but it wasn't enough as No. 16 came back for a 74-60 win over Nebraska in Big 12 women's basketball at the Erwin Center on Wednesday night...

NEBRASKA/KANSAS AREA HIGH SCHOOL SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCORES TUESDAY BOYS Arapahoe 61, Eustis-Farnam 54 Colby 65, McCook 62 Dundy County-Stratton 73, Hitchcock County 47 Hayes Center 68, Medicine Valley 33 Hoxie 75, Oberlin 62 Maxwell 73, Maywood 24 Rawlins County-Atwood 59, Southwest 54...

March 23, 1926 - Jan. 11, 2009 KEARNEY -- Oma E. Lawver, 82, of Kearney, died Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, at Mount Carmel Home in Kearney. Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 16, at O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home in Kearney. The Rev. Roger Wendt will officiate. Interment will be in the Kearney Cemetery...

Some reasons for building make even more sense when the economy is in trouble.

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Salvation Army and the Red Willow County Ministerial Association, I would like to thank everyone in the community for a successful bell ringing session during this past December. This includes all of the groups, organizations, and individuals who gave of their time during the busy Christmas season...

Dear Editor, Thousands if not millions of Americans are, for various reasons, out of work. They should put them to work doing useful jobs. Such as building voting booths out of scrap lumber. These contraptions could cheaply be sent to Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and anywhere else in the world where they don't have the democracy...

The 101st Legislature has convened and is approaching the third week of the first session. I would like to share with you what bills have been introduced thus far and my committee appointments. I am looking forward to this long session and eager to make it a successful one...

The conjunctions during the first few days of January involving Jupiter, tiny Mercury, bright Venus and the moon were magnificent! All of those heavenly bodies played tag in the early evening hours just after sunset. The only ones left from that dance now are Venus, found very high in the southwest, and perhaps, if you have a very clear horizon and look about a half hour after sunset, Mercury riding very low. Look quick because Mercury won't last long after sunset...

CURTIS -- What's being called a miracle has happened at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. After six months of meetings, news articles, and radio and TV programs, the college has raised $1 million. By reaching this milestone, NCTA meets one of several challenges set by the Nebraska Legislature to receive the remaining $8.7 million needed to construct a new education center on campus. ...

Senator asked to be 'visionary' promoting Highway 83 corridor

Aaron Kircher of McCook has snagged coveted tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony Tuesday -- and all because of a girl. An ex-girlfriend, to be exact. Aaron Kircher, the 27-year old McCook City Councilman, thought it would be nice if he could get tickets to the inauguration, for a girl he was seeing, who lived in Lincoln. After he secured the tickets and hunted down motel rooms, the two broke up...