Stories from Tuesday, October 4, 2011

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County has the opportunity to get out of the banking business. Starting in the mid-1990s when two dairies were built north of McCook using money borrowed through the federal government's Community Development Block Grant Program and repaid to Red Willow County, the county created a "revolving loan fund" that loans money to new businesses and to existing business that want to expand. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County commissioners want a schematic drawing of the jail that may be built north of the courthouse in downtown McCook, Nebraska. "Yes, it's money spent," commission chairman Earl McNutt said during the commissioners' weekly meeting Monday morning. "But we'll have a colored picture of what the jail would look like on this property."...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook City Council authorized City Attorney Nate Schneider to enter into negotiations with a city manager candidate, during their semi-monthly meeting Monday evening at council chambers. Mayor Dennis Berry told the Gazette Tuesday morning that councilors had been advised not to release the name of the candidate until after an agreement was reached...

CURTIS, Nebraska -- The Star Theatre in Curtis has been showing movies since the 1950s when a local family built and operated it. Volunteers have been running the theater since the late 1980s, but are now finding it hard to stay afloat in a world of ever-changing technology...

Our grandparents might be amazed to see today's giant distilleries dotting the landscape, taking in truckloads of corn and churning out millions of gallons of ethanol for our gas tanks. Then again, they might not. "Stills" are nothing new to Southwest Nebraska, but they weren't huge structures looming on the horizon. They were hidden in the hills and hollows -- one Gazette staffer even discovered a room in her home that was once a "hootch kitchen."...

I appreciate the paper you sent us with our son's picture and articles [Sept. 21, 2011 http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/17655... We've been wondering for the past two weeks how he was doing. He tries to call every two weeks. This was better than call, although I love to hear his voice...

Dear Editor, Why would someone poison our puppy, Snoopy? He was 16 months old. He is with Jesus now. Thank you for the moral support in this time of sorrow. Geary D. Redden, The Redden Family, Indianola, Nebraska

We were warriors once and proud. Now we are retired, mostly white-haired and still proud. It has been a gathering of a few of the men that served in the 902nd Air Refueling Squadron during the Vietnam war and our spouses. At that time, we and our young families proudly lived on Clinton Sherman AFB, near Burns Flat in western Oklahoma. ...

John Michael Ritter June 15, 1957 - Oct. 3, 2011 DRESDEN, Kansas -- John Michael Ritter, 54, of Dresden, died Monday (Oct. 3, 2011) at his residence. He was born June 15, 1957 at Colby, Kansas to Vincent and Mary (Reinert) Ritter and lived in rural Dresden...

William Wesley 'Bill' Leach Aug. 24, 1926 - Oct. 1, 2011 COMMERCE, Oklahoma -- William Wesley "Bill" Leach, 85, formerly of Bird City, Kansas, died Saturday (Oct. 1, 2011) at Good Shepherd Hospice in Commerce. He was born Aug. 24, 1926 in Cheyenne County, Kansas. He was a farmer/rancher...

LARAMIE, Wyoming -- The Mathew May Husker Tour is winding down. The former Chase County High School standout opted to walk on to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football program following his prep graduation in 2007. May has overcome injuries during his Husker career to become an integral part of NU special teams and a back-up linebacker...