Stories from Thursday, August 6, 2009

Isabel Koenig, above, and her dad, Richard, and Jazlin Lundquist, right, and her dad, Timothy, splash in the toddler pool during "Parent-Tot Swimming" at the Ed Thomas YMCA in McCook. Anna Sis, the Y's aquatic director, said the parent-tot program helps mommies and daddies enhance their relationships with their children, teaches parents how to develop their children's abilities in the water and begins children's early lessons in water safety and swimming skills. ...

LINCOLN -- Passengers aboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and a C-23 Sherpa small cargo plane next Monday are in for some excitement ... and a long but enlightening day. The Nebraska Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is sponsoring the one-day trip to Guernsey, Wyo., site of a year-round base custom designed to provide logistical support and training facilities for reserve components of the U.S. military...

The fields south of Indianola will be full of activity on Sunday, Aug. 9. A group of antique farm machinery enthusiast and several draft horse and mule owners are combining forces to host the Bum Malleck's Memorial Threshing. Malleck was a lifetime Red Willow County farmer who died in April 2008...

Offenders at McCook's Work Ethic Camp are learning direct lessons about the benefit of honest labor this summer, thanks to one of the best gardening seasons in recent years. Their work in the WEC garden, which ideally takes place in the cooler morning hours, pays off in extra fresh garden produce to supplement their regular diet...

I am still trying to recover from the Nebraska Star Party. So much to see and do. Incredibly dark skies, the dazzling brightness of the Milky Way running right overhead from north to south. A sighting of an aurora, the Northern Lights, and even the opportunity to see the zodiacal light, the so-called false dawn where sunlight reflects off the zillions of dust particles orbiting in the plane of the Milky Way. That was just the second time I have seen the light...

What started as a $5 tip at a McCook doughnut shop has multiplied into a $50 donation for a local food pantry, as customers "pay it forward." Now, Oz Tex doughnut shop owner Joy Curtis hopes her customers will continue so funds can be donated to other organizations...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mike Johanns opposes extending the cash-for-clunkers program. The legislation adds $2 billion in funding to the program, which has already spent $1 billion. "This bill sets a precedent that the federal government could arbitrarily support 'cash-for-anything,'" Johanns said. ...