Stories from Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Whenever there's an economic slowdown, the recovery that inevitably follows is usually slow in coming. The reason is that the financial problems that led to the slowdown build up over a number of years and so it takes a long time to unwind. To give you an idea of how long it may take for the unemployment rate to recover, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the national unemployment rate is going to be higher than 7 percent in 2013, and will remain higher than 5 percent through 2021...

Don Leroy Lieberth Feb. 22, 1934 - Sept. 27, 2011 LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Don Leroy Lieberth passed away Sept.27, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 77 years old. Don was born on Feb. 22, 1934, in McCook to Joseph and Belva (Clemons) Lieberth. He graduated from McCook High School in 1952...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook City Council approved an employment agreement with J. Jeff Hancock for the McCook city manager position, Monday evening, during a regularly scheduled meeting at council chambers. During a phone interview this morning from Warrensburg, Missouri, Hancock said he was excited about coming to McCook and planned to initially spend as much as time as possible with city staff, employees and the City Council, in order to get an assessment of the community and begin building relationships. ...

Area volleyball fans should be in a for a treat in Maywood Tuesday evening. Four of the state's top high school teams will battle for top honors in the second and final day of the 2011 Republican Plains Activities Conference (RPAC) tournament. All four top seeds advanced through the opening two rounds of action played Monday at four sites. ...

Ann Trail is signed on for the third year asa local contact for the Adopt A Chaplain program, working for the second year with a chaplain at FBO Orgun-E Afghanistan, Capt. Bailey and Chaplain Assistant Bailey. Based in Grafenwoehr, German, the "Band of Brothers" unit has 800 troops, including 10 females, from its mother unit and additional 300, including 12 female soldiers, attached from smaller units, all covering the Paktika Province. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Get ready for some good, old-fashioned fun! As a Veteran's Weekend special, the Fox Theatre of McCook will host the Bob Hope Road Show on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13, beginning at 2 p.m. Bringing back memories of days gone by, the show will feature the famed comedian, Bob Hope, as played by Lynn Roberts. Roberts will not only portray the antics of Hope, he will also present the comedy and talents of Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante and W.C. Fields...

JEREMY BLOMSTEDT McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- Early on a hot July Saturday morning, Wayne Dybdahl was standing outside his house on the northeast corner of West Second and F Streets, watching a mostly red-shirted crowd toil without complaint as they washed and scraped and repainted the exterior of the place he's called home since 1999. He circled the scene, shaking hands and thanking the people who had come to help him, meaning every grateful word...

In a recent column, I bemoaned the fact that southern California schools, even in safe neighborhoods, used locked gates to protect their schoolchildren. On return to McCook, Scott (Iraq War hero, former highway patrol, and handyman) called to inform me those fences and locked gates are also currently the practice in our town. ...

Some of the old rivalries may be gone, but that doesn't keep football coaches from Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas from competing every chance they can. The National Mentoring Partnership has enlisted Bo Pelini of Nebraska, Bill Snyder of Kansas State, Turner Gill of Kansas, Paul Rhoads of Iowa State and Kirk Ferentz of Iowa in a friendly challenge to see which state can recruit the most new mentors...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- TransCanada has sent a letter to State Sen. Mike Flood, outlining several steps it is willing to take in order to allay fears of leaking oil into the Ogallala Aquifer. The measures include encasing the pipeline in concrete in places where the aquifer near the surface, lining a pump station with concrete, shortening response time to reach any leaks and other steps...