Stories from Thursday, June 17, 2010

Nebraska is well known for the major role it plays in our nation's defense as home to America's Strategic Command, and it plays a broader role in our national security role than many people may realize, which is about to become even larger. The National Defense Authorization Act just approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on which I serve as Chair of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee provides Nebraska's men and women in our armed forces and their families the support, benefits and training they need. ...

Over the past year and a half, a clear pattern has emerged in the policies proposed and enacted by the Administration and its supporters in Congress. That pattern has been to increase the size, scope, and influence of the federal government in an effort to achieve the desired policy result. ...

March 20, 1928-June 14, 2010 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Don D. Olson of rural McCook died at his home on June 14, 2010. He was born March 20, 1928 in Hitchcock County to Axel Olson and Ellen (Jacobs) Olson. He attended school in Culbertson and graduated from high school in 1946. He also attended McCook Community College...

Jan. 19, 1952-June 9, 2010 JOPLIN, Missouri -- Cheryl Ann Fuller, 58, died June 9, 2010, at Freeman Heart Institute at Freeman Hospital in Joplin. She was born Jan. 19, 1952, in McCook, Nebraska to Kenneth and Myrtle (Ritz) Fuller. She grew up on the family farm and graduated from Beaver Valley High School in Lebanon, Nebraska. She worked at TRW until it closed. She lived in Omaha, Nebraska for several years, and then returned home in 1989 to care for her father...

Aug. 14, 1933-June 11, 2010 ATWOOD, Kansas -- Kenneth Eldon Maaske, 76, died June 11, 2010 in Atwood. He is the second oldest of four children, born to Emmett and Ella (Heller) Maaske on Aug. 14, 1933, south of Oxford, Nebraska. He attended school at Oxford and graduated with the class of 1950 from Oxford High School...

May 29, 1915-June 14, 2010 BEAVER CITY, Nebraska -- Harold J. Schaefers, 95, died Monday (June 14, 2010) at the Beaver City Manor. He was born May 29, 1915, at Clayton, Iowa to Xavier and Mary (Auer) Schaefers. He was the youngest of 6 children. He grew up in Iowa and helped his father with farming until he met and married Venita Carpenter in Strawberry Point, Iowa on Sept. 6, 1939...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office activated the Sutherland and North Platte Dive Teams and the Nebraska State Patrol Air Wing Division Tuesday evening when 26- and 3-year-old males became lost after rafting the North Platte River...

This is the third letter in a series where I have discussed the Kansas lawsuit and the reasons to come together as a basin to address water use and economic stability, and the three options the Department of Natural Resources has given to the Natural Resources Districts in the basin to amend their Integrated Management Plans for dry year compliance with the compact...

Last week we had a lot of nice conjunctions and groupings. To quote a song from my generation, "And the beat goes on." Now you know why they call me the "Stargeezer." The "Path of the Planets" is still quite visible and can be traced from Venus low in the west after sunset up and to the left finding Mars and Saturn...

Most years, it's difficult for the casual Nebraskan to understand how the state got its name -- from some Native American words meaning "Flat Water." Not this year. The natives were probably referring to the state's main aquatic artery, the Platte River, but northeast and eastern Nebraska, especially, are living up to the name...

IMPERIAL -- Four irrigators and one trust have been issued cease-and-desist orders after an Upper Republican Natural Resources District investigation revealed irregularities in metering systems used to measure irrigation water. The Hitchcock County News and the Hayes Center Times-Republican report that the URNRD offered landowners opportunities to explain themselves and their response to the allegedly violations at a special URNRD meeting Wednesday...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The cafeteria at the McCook, Nebraska, Junior High will turn into a temporary post office on Saturday, July 3, to handle a special pictorial cancellation commemorating the McCook All-Class Reunion planned the Fourth of July weekend...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Prairie Plains CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, is saying goodbye to two volunteers after more than a decade of service. Betty Allen and Luanne Haller have retired after 11 and 15 years respectfully of service to the McCook children's advocacy group...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department has begun the 2010 West Nile Virus education campaign. This year's theme is "Tee it up against West Nile Virus." Educational materials will be distributed to area golf courses in the eight county health district, which includes Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Perkins and Red Willow...

Alija Balas of Karr Tuckpointing Inc. of Vinton, Iowa, repairs mortar between the bricks of the bell tower of Memorial United Methodist Church in McCook, Nebraska. Mason workers used a crane to reach the steeple of the church. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)...

During his State of the Union address in January, President Obama stated his goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this pledge, yet in the ensuing months the lack of action has been disappointing. While the National Export Initiative sounds bold and productive, it hasn't produced much more than proposals to increase spending at various federal agencies. ...

The family of Jerry and Sharon Felker is hosting an anniversary celebration in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary. Their family includes five children and 18 grandchildren. A June 19, 2010, celebration is planned at the Red Willow County Community Building located at the Red Will County Fairgrounds in McCook, 6 p.m...

Brad Loghry (right) of Furnas County tries to slide past the tag from the unidentified Alma catcher and and looks to the um pire for a call during Legion baseball actionWednesday night in Cambridge. The Furnas County Seniors dropped both ends of the double-header against Alma, as the visitors won by scores of 9-2 and 6-2...