Stories from Tuesday, March 3, 2009

LINCOLN (AP) - Chances that residents of Nebraska's Republican River basin will be repaid millions of dollars in property taxes have improved. On Tuesday, Gov. Dave Heineman introduced a measure (LB681) to the Legislature that would require tax dollars paid under part of a water law later found to be unconstitutional be paid back. Water officials in the basin have estimated the amount to be $2 million to $2.5 million...

Feb. 6, 1926 - March 2, 2009 Patricia Louise Dedomenico died Monday, March 2, 2009, at Community Hospital in McCook at the age of 83. Patricia was born at St. Ann, Neb., on Feb. 6, 1926, the daughter of Robert Sr. and Mary (Braun) Traphagan. After the death of her father in 1939, the family moved into McCook where she attended school. She worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in McCook. She also worked in Washington D.C. and Orlando, Fla...

March 22, 1931 - Feb. 27, 2009 DALTON -- Phyllis Jean Ernest, age 77 of Dalton, Neb., passed away at her home, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. Wake services will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 3, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 4. Both services will be at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dalton with Father Bryan Ernest, Bishop William Dendinger and Priests of the Diocese officiating. Burial will be in the St. Mary's Cemetery in Dalton...

The family of Veryl Walters is requesting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday March 5. Cards of congratulation will reach him at Willow Ridge, 1500 East 11th, No. 46, McCook, NE, 69001.

The family of Leone (Vanderford) Frenzeh of Benkelman is requesting a card shower in honor of her 100th birthday. She was born March 11, 1909. Cards will reach her at P O Box 93, Benkelman, NE 69001.

The family of Leo Rousselle is requesting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday. He was born March 5, 1929. Cards of congratulation will reach him at 71575 Rd 374, Culbertson, NE 69024.

A McCook citizen questioned the city's decision to commit $500,000 of city sales dollars to a joint facility at the former West Ward Elementary for city offices/police and fire departments, without input from taxpayers. Former Red Willow County Commissioner Wayne Michaelis also asked how that location can be used when in 2005 it was considered unsafe when the county was proposing that site for a joint jail with the city...

Omaha will get the lion's share of federal stimulus funds allocated to the Nebraska Department of Roads but McCook still stands a chance to receive something. City Engineer Greg Wolford updated the council the status of the stimulus funds, with $158 million committed to the Department of Roads. ...

Meeting Monday, Red Willow County Commissioners approved a real estate and personal property tax exemption for the Bartley Development Committee, which owns and manages the Bartley Cafe. Other than the cooks, board members and cafe personnel are volunteers, and the cafe provides reduced-cost meals to the elderly and shut-ins...

GRAND ISLAND -- The McCook Bison advanced to the Nebraska Class B-5 District final basketball game with a 47-43 win over the No. 1 seed Hastings-Adams Central Monday in Grand Island.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Former McCook Community College baseball pitcher Ben Jukich saw his first official spring training action in a Cincinnati Reds uniform Monday and picked up a victory over the New York Yankees in the Reds' 13-11 win.

George Norris is alive and well and living in England. No, not the legendary Sen. George Norris, (1861-1944) who represented Nebraska in Congress from for more than 40 years and was instrumental in bringing electricity to rural citizens, among other accomplishments...

The recently passed federal stimulus package contains $18 billion to stimulate the Internet. Technology fans are looking to that planetwide digital organism to help revive our economy. But it's an organism nourished by electricity, and lots of it. The Internet's escalating power consumption stands as a warning that the engines of economic growth can't run without depleting resources and cranking out wastes...

The thermometer reads 79 degrees, a bit warm for my long sleeved shirt. McCook is experiencing a raw day with traces of snow in the wind but we are in Scottsdale, Ariz. Spring is awakening here in the desert where grass is green and the scent of flowers wafts through the air. It is a tough assignment being out here in February, but somebody has to do it...

Lock 'em up and throw away the key. For some offenders, that certainly is the proper response. But judging from a new study by the Pew Center on the States, the situation has gotten out of hand. In Nebraska, for instance, for every dollar we spend on prisons, we've spent 19 cents on probation and parole...

Red Willow County has until Oct. 23 to create one-stop vehicle titling and registration in the county treasurer's office. At their weekly meeting Monday morning, county commissioners discussed LB 49 with county treasurer Marleen Garcia. The bill, signed into law by Gov. Dave Heineman Feb. 12 will require the county to move vehicle titling out of county clerk Pauletta Gerver's office and into Garcia's office, where personnel already handles vehicle registrations...

Nebraska State Poet Bill Kloefkorn, upper left, takes Kathryn N. Benzel, distinguished professor in English at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, for a spin on the stage at the Fox Theatre during a light moment Friday night. The Sandburg Project brings Carl Sandburg's poetry and songs to life, thanks to funding from the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and the McCook College Foundation. ...

A spate of warm weather recently brought people out to Norris Park in droves, who were asked, "Are you growing a garden this year? ------ Yes, vegetables, like peppers. I had good luck with red peppers and "Wonder" peppers. ------ Yes, a salsa garden, with peppers, jalapenos and lots of Roma tomatoes...

LINCOLN -- The McCook Economic Development Corp. has received $100,000 in HOME funding to provide down payment and closing cost assistance for 14 employees wanting to purchase homes within incorporated communities located in Red Willow County. The HOME funding is administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development...

WASHINGTON -- Today, Sarah Pompei, Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Mike Johanns, made the following statement regarding a medical procedure Senator Johanns is undergoing today: "Senator Johanns is undergoing surgery today at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington as a cautionary step after a spot was found on his left lung...

The McCook City Council agreed to use city sales tax dollars for 10 years to pay back a $1.3 million bond that will be used toward renovation costs of the Keystone Hotel. With barely a quorum present -- Mayor Dennis Berry and Councilman Jack Rogers were absent due to illness -- the remaining three council members agreed at the regular meeting to issue Economic Development funds bonds up to $1.5 million to fund the McCook Economic Development program. ...