Stories from Friday, May 8, 2009

The board of the McCook Public Schools will be asked to approve contracts for two new teachers at its regular meeting Monday. Meeting at 6 p.m. in the Junior High Conference Room, the board will be asked to approve a contract for Jeffrey K. Ellis as senior high physical education and girls basketball coach, and a contract for Deb Goodenberger as an art teacher...

KEARNEY -- A former McCook man died Wednesday of injuries he sustained in a two-vehicle accident in North Platte early Saturday morning. Services for Derek Gregory Bodeman, 27, of North Platte, are pending with Carpenter Memorial Chapel in North Platte...

The price of gasoline is creeping up again, hitting an average of $2.14 a gallon nation wide. If a recovering economy boosts demand, can $4 gasoline be far behind? Perhaps we'd be OK with paying that price or higher, if it meant more jobs, especially in the Southwest Nebraska oil industry, which has nearly ground to a halt with the general decline in crude oil prices...

WAUNETA -- Anita Fekkers, 79, died Wednesday (May 6, 2009), at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial. Survivors include her husband, Francis Fekkers of Wauneta; a son, Mike and wife, Wendy of Corvallis, Ore.; a daughter, Ruth Liedle of Lincoln; a brother, George Boulton and wife, Terry of Honolulu, Hawaii; a sister, Nona Kerchal and husband, Keith of Wauneta; three grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren...

As we approach the time of the year when Pomp and Circumstance will be playing on football fields and gymnasiums across America as we graduate another crop of young people, it's important for all of us to understand the role education plays in a person's life...

WRAY, Colo. -- Lillian E. Mahon, 95, died Thursday (May 7, 2009), in Wray, Colo. Funeral services will be Monday, 11 a.m., MST, at the Haigler United Methodist Church in Haigler. Interment will be at the Haigler Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Haigler United Methodist Church or Hospice of the Plains, PO Box 365, Wray, CO, 80758...

I have a really excellent mom. To some people, that probably sounds simplistic, perhaps to the point of being childish. To others, it might sound like hyperbole. But it's true. My mom -- well -- she's a really excellent mom. And I don't feel this way just because she's my mother, and my mind is filled with sunny, greeting-cardish recollections of days past, seen through an affectionately skewed lens...

Friends of Yvonne West of McCook are requesting a card shower in honor of her 75th birthday. Her birthday was May 6. Cards will reach her at P O Box 261, McCook NE 69001.

The family of Clint and Ruth Bridges is hosting an open house Sunday, May 24, 2-4 p.m., at the Heritage Senior Center, 1312 W. Fifth, in celebration of the couple's 60th wedding anniversary. Cards of congratulation will reach them at PO Box 505, McCook, NE, 69001...

The family of Richard Peterson is requesting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday on May 18, 2009. Cards will reach him at PO Box 213, Hayes Center, NE 69032.

The family of Esther Wissbaum is hosting a card shower in honor of her 99th birthday May 18. Cards of congratulations will reach her at Hillcrest Nursing Home, 309 W. Seventh, McCook, NE 69001.

Jaliesa Maret and Derick Njawe of Lincoln announce the birth of their son, Camron Taylor Maret on April 9, 2009, at St. Elizabeth's in Lincoln. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 193/4 inches. His grandparents are Kristy Maret of Beaver City and Stacy Park of North Platte. Great-grandparents are LaVerne and Gene Maret of Beaver City, and Jim andCarolyn Park of Wilsonville...

Christin Michelle DeKay and Cody Lee Schmick, both of Omaha, announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Parents of the couple are Rick and Donna DeKay of Omaha and Bob and Debbie Schmick of McCook. The bride-to-be works as a medical technician at Nebraska Cancer Specialists in Omaha. The prospective bridegroom works as a manager at Whole Foods Market in Omaha...

The family of Tim and Sharon (Vise) Tillotson of Wilsonville is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 45th wedding anniversary. They were married May 15, 1964, in Wilsonville. Children of the couple are Dayne and wife, Lisa of Holdrege and Sarah and husband, Steve of McCook. They have five grandchildren. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at PO Box 127, Wilsonville, NE 69046...

Chantel Olson and Justin Ele of McCook announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Parents of the couple are Tor and Holly Olson McCook and Elaine and Randy Peters of McCook. The bride-to-be graduated on May 2, 2009, from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in business management...

Brad and Becky (Hein) DaMoude of Hershey announce the birth of their son, Kale Harrison DaMoude on Jan. 8, 2009, at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. He weighed 4 pounds, 5.8 ounces and measured 18 inches. He has a 5-year-old brother Alek. His grandparents are Gerald Hein of McCook, Heddy Reiners of McCook and Chuck and Maggie DaMoude Hershey...

HERMANTOWN, Minn. -- Laura Jean Johnson of Saginaw, Minn., and Andrew Michael Nielsen, formerly of McCook, of Blaine, Minn., were married Nov. 1, 2008, at Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, Minn., with the Rev. Timothy Ludwig officiating...

April 2, 1956-May 6, 2009 WOOD RIVER -- Andrew J. Denton, 53, formerly of Beaver City, died Wednesday (May 6, 2009), at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He was born April 2, 1956, at Bristol, Pa., to Osberne and Clara (Paprzycki) Denton Jr...

July 22, 1922-May 4, 2009 BEAVER CITY -- Vora Perkins Thompson, 86, died Monday (May 4, 2009), at Beaver City Manor in Beaver City. She was born July 22, 1922, at Preston, Idaho, to Pattison and Cloie (Perkins) Griffeth. She grew up in Preston and graduated from Preston High School in 1940. ...

OBERLIN, Kan. -- Republican River Riparian Restoration Partnership will be hosting a conference, Wednesday, May 27, 9:30 AM, at the Gateway Building in Oberlin. The Republican River Riparian Partnership is dedicated to education and demonstrations for future care of the Republican River and its 17 watersheds within the basin. This organization creates local leadership groups to determine what riparian efforts are most beneficial to each specific watershed...

LOVELAND, Colo. -- Eva May White passed away on April 30, 2009 at the age of 91 in Loveland, Colo. Eva was a 20-year resident of McCook, Neb., and lived in Huron, S.D., for 39 years prior to moving to Loveland in March of 2008. She was preceded in death by her husband Junior Dewane "JD" White who died on Jan. 17, 1983...

Nebraska residents have a chance to vote for their favorite for the next state license plate through Sunday, May 17. Four different designs are available. n One with the state bird, the western meadowlark, and the state flower, the goldenrod, with dark green lettering...

Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy asked the newest graduates of McCook Community College to trust that their time at MCC has prepared them well for the years ahead. "You should have no reservations about your future," Sheehy told graduates Friday morning, during commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2009, the McCook college's 81st graduating class. "You can compete with the best and the brightest anywhere. You can be whatever you want to be."...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Approximately 2,400 students are scheduled to receive degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in commencement exercises May 8 and 9. UNL will conduct separate commencement exercises for postgraduate (May 8), baccalaureate (May 9) and law (May 9) degrees...