Stories from Tuesday, November 3, 2009

When things go bad, it's the most vulnerable among us who pay the price. Monday, Gov. Dave Heineman released a 93-page plan for dealing with the projected $334 million shortfall in the state's two-year budget. Besides a 2.5 percent across-the-board cut for most state agencies this year and another 5 percent next year, the governor proposes cutting a planed $47.4 million increase in state aid to education, freezing payment levels for health care providers, adjusting Medicaid payments and canceling a $20 million transfer to the public employees' retirement plan.. ...

Holding out the prospect of vast new domestic reserves, the natural gas industry is promising to make the United States an energy-rich nation once again. But we should be careful what we wish for. Spending those riches could endanger water supplies for millions of Americans while still failing to solve the climate crisis...

Last week I wrote of the two pilots who overshot Minneapolis by 20 minutes or so. Since then, both have been appropriately grounded by Northwest Airlines with their licenses lifted by the FAA. It is a mess, reflecting poorly on the airlines and the pilot profession. Personally I suspect that they are the only two people in the world that know exactly what happened and won't 'fess up to the facts. It is a sad state of affairs when professionals refuse to take responsibility for their actions...

Mike Gonzales was sworn-in as the newest member of the McCook City Council, as the council unanimously approved the former school board member at a regular meeting Monday night. Steve Batty told the council at the start of the meeting that he was withdrawing his name from consideration and was throwing his support behind Gonzales, executive director of the McCook YMCA...

A group of MNB companies and organizations -- McCook National Bank, MNB Financial Group, Inc., MNB Insurance Services, Inc., Graff Family, Inc. and the Graff Charitable Foundation Inc. -- recently distributed to the McCook College Foundation the next $100,000 to be used for the construction of the new Events Center on the McCook Community College Campus...

March 15, 1914-Oct. 29, 2009 Earnest "Ernie" Richard Fischer, formally of McCook died Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009, at the Southlake Nursing Home in Jacksonville, Fla. He was 95 years old. Ernie was born March 15, 1914 to Robert E. and Jane (Hebrink) Fischer at Firth, Neb...

It will be back to the drawing board concerning the former West Ward school building and how to fit the building and property into plans for the city. City staff, with the help of an architect, will compile concrete numbers on the costs of building a new city facility and a fire station on the site, as well as costs of converting the former West Ward school into a municipal building...

Two area high school volleyball teams were bounced from the Class C2-11 Subdistrict volleyball tournament Monday evening at the McCook Senior High gym. Chase County defeated Sutherland in first-round action, then lost to top seed North Platte St. Pat's in the semifinals. Chase County won a straight-set decision over Sutherland, 25-18, 25-21, 25-10. St. Pat's ended the Longhorns season with a 25-10, 25-20, 25-6 decision in the semifinals...

NORFOLK -- McCook's volleyball squad had a tough trip to Norfolk last Saturday for the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference tournament. The Bison girls dropped three matches in the conference meet played at the Norfolk High School gym. McCook opened the conference meet with a 25-17, 25-14 loss to Norfolk. Kelsey Pohl had 6 kills to lead the Bison. Katie West served two aces...

OGALLALA -- McCook's football team exercised their option to avenge an overtime loss to Ogallala with a dominating win last Saturday in the Class B state high school football playoffs. Quarterback Chad Stull led the Bison offense, and McCook defense kept Ogallala out of the end zone in a 13-2 victory in the first round of the Class B playoffs...