Stories from Monday, July 12, 2010

Jan. 27, 1939-July 9, 2010 SCOTT CITY, Kansas -- Patrick B. O'Dea, age 71, died Friday, July 9, 2010 at the Garden Valley Retirement Village in Garden City, Kansas. He was born Jan. 27, 1939, in Indianola, Nebraska, the son of Harold F. and Elizabeth Hanthorne O'Dea. A resident of Scott City since August of 2009 moving from North Platte, Nebraska, he had been an office clerk for the Union Pacific Railroad...

Heavy smoke pours from the basement window of a McCook, Nebraska, home at 1110 W. Second after McCook firefighter/paramedic Steve Renner breaks out the glass to vent smoke and heat. Residents Mr. and Mrs. Troy Schwarz and their three children escaped uninjured and called 9-1-1, and although firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly, it still caused an estimated $50,000 damage to the structure, owned by Jerry Larson, and $30,000 to the contents. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners purchased two road graders -- one Caterpillar and one John Deere -- at their weekly meeting Monday morning, trying to get a jump on price increases inherent with more stringent emissions controls starting with 2011 nonroad or off-road diesel engines...

Word that the proposed McCook city budget included a 4.5 percent across-the-board cost of living adjustment for all employees -- plus merit and longevity increases -- brought the kind of reaction that might be expected on the mccookgazette.com website feedback forum:...

I have been following with interest the reports of the water cheaters caught in the upper Republican NRD. I am in agreement with the outrage expressed by the Lower Republican NRD over this intentional theft of resources shared by all of us, and appreciated them putting their constituents on notice that any similar incidents of thievery in the Lower NRD would be diligentlypursued...

Recently, McCook's Jason Loop had the priviledge of meeting and visiting with Phil Niekro. He was favorably impressed with the Hall of Famer, a master of the knuckleballer for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. His experience prompted a look back into the past, the Golden Age of baseball in McCook...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- With temperatures climbing through the day Saturday to a high of 92 and humidity levels rising to 72 percent, the riders on the Push America 2010 Journey of Hope were grateful for the climate controlled environment and the showers provided at McCook's Ed Thomas YMCA after cycling for more than 5 hours, covering the 95 or so miles between McCook and Wray, Colorado...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Dan Steinkruger, State Executive Director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Nebraska today reminded producers of final deadlines to submit their annual report of acreage to their local FSA county office to meet FSA program eligibility requirements...

There were plenty of upsets in a very competitive 2010 McCook Midget Baseball Association's Cubs Division Championship Tournament. The top two seeded teams didn't even make it past the second round of the elimination bracket. The last two teams standing were the fourth-seed Stewart Construction A's and the ninth-seed Collicott Taxidermy Orioles. The A's went unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament, including a 7-5 win over the Orioles in the championship finals late Sunday, July 11...

Given the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it's good to know you don't have to drill a mile down to reach ethanol. It's growing all around us, which is good for Nebraska, the second largest ethanol-producing state in the nation and getting bigger all the time...

In preparation for the upcoming Senate floor consideration of the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court approaches, I have listened to her hearing before the Judiciary Committee and carefully reviewed her record. Just as I did before my vote on Justice Sonia Sotomayor, I carefully considered her view of the Court's role in our government, and whether she is capable of administering justice as a neutral umpire. ...

June 18,1998-July 9, 2010 CASTLE ROCK, Colorado - Aliyah Rechelle Siddiqui died Friday (July 9, 2010). She was the daughter of Regina and Saeed Siddiqui and the grandaughter of Charles and Barbara Tines of Bartley, Nebraska. Funeral services will be Tuesday at the Bartley cemetery...

Sept. 24,1927-July 9, 2010 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Virginia R. "Ginny" King, 82, died Friday (July 9, 2010) at Community Hospital in McCook. She was born on Sept. 24, 1927, in Towanda, Kansas to Ruel Carl and Darline (Gray) Meredith. She graduated from Bunker Hill High School...