Stories from Thursday, September 2, 2010

Jan. 27, 1934-Aug. 31, 2010 BIRD CITY, Kansas -- Milford Gene Young, 76, died Tuesday (Aug. 31, 2010) at Hester Memorial Home in Benkelman, Nebraska. He was born Jan. 27, 1934, in Dundy County, Nebraska. He worked as a farmer. He is survived by his wife, Marlene Rae (Holscher) Young of Bird City; son, Rod Young of Bird City; daughter, Shelley Heavilin of Blue Springs, Missouri; four grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and six step-great-grandchildren...

Emergency crews have had a busy week, with the Perry Grain fire, the fire at the Red Willow Western fire barn and the freak wind that tore the roof off the Kildare lumber yard, but thank goodness no one was seriously injured. All were good examples of how well various entities can work together, particularly the grain fire, which saw firefighters from a 30-mile radius spring into action when they were needed...

In response to the Optimist Club's letter in the Sept. 1 edition of the McCook Gazette, we are wondering if they checked any sources other than the Carson & Bames Circus website for information on this particular circus. After a two-minute Internet search of this circus we found not only five pages of animal rights violations brought against them, but also a video showing Carson & Barnes' animal care director instructing their animal trainers to "hurt the elephants until they scream and run away, to forcefully strike the elephants with sharp metal bullhooks, and to sink bullhooks into the elephants' flesh and twist them until the animals scream in pain.". ...

In the past week, President Obama has voiced his support for a Muslim Mosque to be built at Ground Zero, the site of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York City. This causes me to wonder what was the president doing and thinking on that fateful day...

The days are getting shorter, the sun is shining through that south-facing window where it hasn't been all summer and the nighttime temperatures are getting cooler. Sound familiar? Well, you guessed it, autumn is coming, and will officially arrive at 9:09 p.m. MDT, Sept. 22. That is the date of the autumnal equinox, when the sun crosses the celestial equator on its journey back south...

On September 12 and 13, I will be leading a delegation from Nebraska to the 42nd Annual Midwest U.S. Japan Association Conference in Detroit. The delegation will be made up of Nebraska business and economic development representatives who are interested in developing or expanding trade and investment opportunities in Japan...

It's early-season test time for the McCook High School football team. The Bison have studied all week in preparation for a difficult examination Friday, Sept. 3, at Aurora. McCook will face the current valedictorian of Nebraska Class B high school football...