Stories from Monday, December 28, 2009

Nov. 22, 1919 -- Dec. 26, 2009 OBERLIN -- Helen M. Derby, 90, died Saturday (Dec. 26, 2009) at the Decatur County Good Samaritan Center in Oberlin, Kan. She was born Nov. 22, 1919, in Decatur County to Tandy W. Nelson and Kyttee K. Bremer. She grew up in Decatur County and attended country schools. She graduated from Dresden High School and Fort Hays Teacher College...

Feb. 22, 1941 - Dec. 24, 2009 ST. FRANCIS -- Marvin Kenneth Zweygardt, 68, died Thursday (Dec. 24, 2009) at Cheyenne County Hospital in St. Francis. He was born Feb. 22, 1941, in Cheyenne County, Kan. He was a brand inspector. Survivors include his father, Tobias 'Tobe' Zweygardt of St. Francis; his son, Jeff Zweygardt of Lakewood, Colo.; his brother, Melvin Zweygardt of Prairie City, Ore.; and his sisters, Darlene Peter of Goodland, Kan., and Delphine Rogers of Albuquerque, N.M...

Jan. 14, 1922-Dec. 23, 2009 MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- George Andrew Harris, 87, of Manchester, Tenn. died Wednesday (Dec. 23, 2009). He was born Jan. 14, 1922 in Nuckolls County, Neb., to Frank and Calista Harris. He served in the Army Air Corps as a pilot at the end of World War II before marrying Norma Ekwall, his wife of more than 60 years...

Got the post-Christmas, cold weather wintertime blues? We don't blame you. Miserable weather disrupted some holiday travel plans and after all of the build-up, it's always sad to see the space under the tree empty and Dec. 25th receding into our memories...

On Aug. 1 this year, I became ill in Brazil and a friend took me to the hospital because I'm not fluent in Portuguese. Needless to say, I was very leery on what to expect since I was in what is considered a "Third World Country." Upon my arrival at the Copa Dor Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, I gave the receptionist my I.D., in which she entered my information into her computer...

While "Cornhuskers" was the generally accepted moniker for the Nebraska football team after 1900, for a time another nickname was very popular. In 1911 the University of Nebraska hired one E.O. (Jumbo) Stiehm to be the new football coach, and the public was intrigued with the new coach and uses they could make of his name...

McCook High School head girls basketball coach Jeff Ellis is hoping his team can get very offensive at the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference Tournament in North Platte this week. The Bison girls have struggled putting points on the board early this season, and McCook will face a tough test in the annual GNAC holiday tourney with three games in three days...

Scouting reports by the McCook and North Platte boys basketball coaches for Tuesday's Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference Tournament game should be relatively easy. The Bison and Bulldogs have drawn a quick rematch in the opening round of the GNAC Tournament. McCook will face North Platte Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 3:45 p.m. at the North Platte High School main gym in first-round conference tourney action...