Stories from Wednesday, October 5, 2011

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Loan details pertaining to the East Ward village project have reportedly been finalized. The McCook Housing Agency said the closing was completed on the loan but was unable to provide information pertaining to the closing date. A press release provided by FHLBank of Topeka on Tuesday indicated that McCook National Bank had been awarded a $220,000 Affordable Housing Grant to sponsor the rehabilitation of the former elementary school into one and two bedroom low-income housing units for seniors.. ...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed Stephanie Stacy of Lincoln to serve as district judge in the 3rd Judicial District in Lancaster County. Stacy, 49, has practiced law for 20 years in Nebraska and is a partner at Baylor, Evnen, Curtiss, Grimit & Witt LLP. She is the daughter of the late Larry Frazier, a 1955 McCook High School graduate, and Anabeth Hormel Frazier Cox of Lincoln...

Mary Dueland's Central Elementary students learned how to put up a teepee, make flint tools, brain-tan a hide, cook a meal in a stomach, garden and play Indian games recently, thanks to Jim and Marilyn Gaster of Indianola. Mrs. Gaster said the couple has been doing "Teepee Talks" since about 1992...

We have to admit, attending meetings is not at the top of our list of favorite things to do. For one, they're usually boring. Many are unnecessary; we suspect some are called out more out of habit than necessity. We understand, therefore, the attractiveness of abandoning the three-reading rule in the interest of efficiency. Most of the time, taking an item up at three separate meetings is a mere formality and, indeed, a waste of time...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The competition for Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate is a little more interesting these days, thanks to the tea party. A couple of tea parties, actually. State Treasurer Don Stenberg, a GOP warhorse of more than 30 years standing, has been endorsed by FreedomWorks PAC, known as "a deep-pocketed Tea Party group that has promised to get involved in Republican primaries."...

Built in the 1950s, the curved streets of Danny's childhood neighborhood sat adjacent to Centennial Race Track in Littleton, Colorado. It is now a mature neighborhood, those gleaming brand new homes showing their years, the saplings planted with so much hope now fulfilling that long ago promise, a canopy shading nearly the entire length of the street. ...

Gary I. Coates June 8, 1948-Oct. 3, 2011 PARKS, Nebraska -- Gary Irwin Coates, 63, died Monday (Oct. 3, 2011) at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman, Nebraska. He was born June 8, 1948 to the Rev. Harold I. and Carolyn Irene (Stone) Coates in Holdrege, Nebraska. His father served many churches across the state of Nebraska.