Stories from Monday, October 17, 2011

The Republican Plains Activities Conference (RPAC) will crown its 2011 champion in the annual league tournament that begins a two-day run Monday, Oct. 17, at four sites. The teams will compete in East Division and West Division brackets in first-round and quarterfinal matches Monday. The top four teams advance to the semifinals Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Maywood High School gym to battle for first-place honors...

One of the biggest drug dangers to kids isn't the dealer on the corner, it's mom's medicine cabinet or the pill bottle beside grandpa's recliner. According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most prevalent category of drug abuse in the United States...

When cowboy traits are discussed -- loyalty, resourcefulness, bravery, and independent nature -- the real-life person those traits describe are those of one, Charles Goodnight, who provided the inspiration for the movies and western literature, to the present day. Goodnight was a rancher/cowman, "the father of the Texas Panhandle cattle industry." Historian. Frank Dobie said, "Goodnight approached greatness more than any cowman in history."...

OBERLIN, Kansas -- A 22-year-old Oberlin, Kansas, man was injured in a shooting early Sunday at a house in rural Decatur County, Kansas. A 24-year-old white male was taken into custody following the shooting of Corey Cook of Oberlin. A press release this morning from the sheriff's office indicates that Decatur County law enforcement officers were summoned to a house at 2084 N Lane at 1:34 a.m., Sunday. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A staff member from Gov. Dave Heineman's office contacted the Gazette Thursday afternoon to refute comments made by Sen. Mark Christensen during a human trafficking seminar in McCook the prior week, calling them "inaccurate in every respect."...

Leona Paustian WAUNETA, Nebraska - Leona Paustian (formerly Schwenk), 102, a long-time resident of Wauneta died Friday (Oct. 14, 2011), at the Chase County Community Hospital, Imperial, Nebraska. Survivors include her daughter, Joan Denker of Council Bluffs, Iowa; six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren...

James A. Smith March 14, 1935 - Oct. 16, 2011 MCCOOK, NEBRASKA --James A. Smith, 76, died Sunday (Oct.16, 2011), at his home in McCook. Services are pending with Carpenter Breland Funeral Home.

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners Monday morning voted unanimously not to send the county's revolving loan funds to a west-central Nebraska organization that would have pooled it with other CDBG money from counties within an 18-county area...

June Prestes McCOOK, Nebraska -- June Prestes died Sunday (Oct.16, 2011 ), at her home in McCook. Services are pending at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home.