Stories from Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sept. 27, 1921- May 9, 2011 WALES, Massachusetts -- Floyd W. League, 89, of Wales, Massachusetts died May 9, 2011 at Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer, Massachusetts. He was born in Stratton, Nebraska, to Floyd F. and Nellie (Overdin) League. He graduated from Stratton High School in 1939...

May 17, 2011 -- Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson viewed photographs of Osama bin Laden's body and confirmed that Bin Laden is dead. "I can confirm: yes, we got him," Senator Nelson said during a conference call with the Nebraska news media. "I viewed several photographs and they left no question that it was Osama bin Laden. I was able to make a positive identification."...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Despite earlier assurances to the contrary, "updates" to the McCook code of ordinances book included changes that would raise fine amounts and even modify the intent of certain ordinances. Two discrepancies were pointed out Monday evening during the McCook City Council's semi-monthly meeting, by Councilman Aaron Kircher...

U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in McCook, Nebraska, stand beside the 2,300 pounds of foodstuffs collected for the McCook Pantry through the "National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive across America" Saturday. Helping "Stamp Out Hunger" were carriers, from left, Bob Logan, Brett Lauer, Teresa Brooks, Harold Carlson, Ronnie Rogers, Steve Post, Chris Smith, David Polly and Larry Brush. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners, decided Monday morning they cannot grant a request for access to Section 16 south of McCook across a neighbor's property because Section 16 is not "isolated." The Nebraska Bureau of Educational Lands and Funds -- BELF -- had requested that the county allow access to western areas of BELF-owned Section 16 via a two-trail pasture road that crosses Section 17, about one-third of which has been owned since 2005 by Michael and Cathy Sis of Bellevue, Nebraska. ...

"Only great men have great faults," is a maxim attributed to François de La Rochefoucauld, a 17th century French nobleman, but there's nothing special about faults recently exposed in the lives of two supposedly great men. First, Rochefoucauld's countryman, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a powerful man as head of the International Monetary fund, and French Socialist Party favorite for president next year, was pulled off an airliner and charged with trapping and sexually assault a hotel maid...

Providers of public services often have a conflict of interest. The city, for instance, needs to have people use water from its expensive water treatment plant to pay off the debt of building it and keeping it in operation. Thus, while reducing water consumption by, say, switching from bluegrass to buffalo grass may be good public policy, it isn't in the best interest of the enterprise fund that provides city water...

Ah, the joy of living in Southwest Nebraska! The trees magically turned green this week and High School graduation rites were in full force. It has been life at its best despite a strong winds and cold rain. It's been graduation time and small town USA at its best. ...