Stories from Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Iola M. Berger Aug. 27, 1917-Feb. 13, 2012 TRENTON, Nebraska -- Iola M. Berger passed away Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 at Community Hospital in McCook at the age of 94. She was born Aug, 27, 1917, in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, the daughter of the late John and Bertha (Makings) Owens. She grew up in Hitchcock County and graduated from Cornell rural school...

Koda H. Reiman May 17, 1928-Feb. 12, 2012 STRATTON, Nebraska -- Koda H. Reiman, 83, died Sunday (Feb. 12, 2012). at the Sarah Ann Hester Memorial Home in Benkelman, Nebraska. She was born May 17, 1928, in Stratton, Nebraska the daughter of Herbert and Janet (Morris) Williamson. She grew up on a farm south of Stratton and attended Stratton High School completing the 10th grade...

Ruth Marie Bellamy March 23, 1915-Feb. 8, 2012 LOVELAND, Colorado -- Ruth Marie Bellamy went to be with the Lord on Feb. 8, 2012, passing away peacefully in her home in Loveland, Colorado, at the age of 96. She was born March 23, 1915, in a farmhouse about three miles south of Bertrand, Nebraska to Harry and Mary (Krubak) Slater. ...

Raoma Jean (Purvis) Johnson July 19, 1933-Feb. 11, 2012 BIRD CITY, Kansas -- Raoma Jean (Purvis) Johnson, 78, died Saturday (Feb. 11, 2012), at the Good Samaritan Society in Atwood, Kansas. She was born July 19, 1933, at Atwood, Kansas. She was a homemaker...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- During their weekly meeting Monday morning, Red Willow County's commissioners unanimously approved a motion to build a new $5.1 million 24-bed jail and law enforcement center next door to the courthouse in McCook. To finance the new facility's construction, commissioners will ask voters at the May preliminary election whether they want a bond repayment levy within or outside of the county's state-mandated 50-cent tax levy limit. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Water Department reported a decrease in the number of gallons drawn from the aquifer in 2011, when compared to prior year. The 2011 gallons pumped totaled 656,916,000 gallons, a decrease of 11,945,000 gallons from the 668,861,000 gallons pumped in 2010...

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- A rural McCook man has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for robbing a southwest Nebraska credit union at gunpoint. The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/Ad5Qlq) said Joel Witt was sentenced on Monday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. He pleaded guilty in November to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A former superintendent and a current assistant principal/head basketball coach have been hired as new principals for McCook Public Schools. The McCook School Board of Education, at its regular meeting Monday night, approved the contract for Kate Repass of Hayes Center, as curriculum director/principal for Central Elementary. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook School Board of Education approved early dismissals every week next year, but want to make sure the time is well spent. The board approved the 2012-13 school calendar at its regular meeting Monday night, that includes a 2 p.m. dismissal every Wednesday for teacher in-service time. This would occur from Sept. 2 to April 24 and apply to all the schools in the McCook district. Currently, 2 p.m. dismissals occur every other Wednesday...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Salary negotiations between the McCook School Board and the local teachers union are closer to being finalized. An offer made by the McCook School Board to the McCook Education Association, the local union that represents McCook teachers, will be voted on today by members...

It's no longer a jail, but a "law enforcement center." Whatever the name, the new building on the north side of the Red Willow County Courthouse probably should have been built a couple of decades ago, after the old county jail fell out of compliance with new jail standards...

Stephen Spielberg's new movie, War Horse, stirs up memories for me now in 2012. Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan. The cavalry division of the Colorado State Guard was activated. I have documents signed by Gov. John Vivian and Gov. Lee Knous of Colorado stating that my father, Ted Hancock, served in the cavalry division until April 1947...

The 2012 Legislative session is nearly half over and the Speaker of the Legislature has asked for priority bills to be submitted. The deadline is by adjournment Thursday. This past week Legislative Bill 540 was debated and advanced on the floor and I would like to focus my letter back home on this bill...

Fred is a farmer living a fair distance northwest of this fair city. Unmarried, Fred also owns a nice single-engine airplane that he flies off his farm strip. An innovative kind of guy, he constructed his own hangar using parts from obsolete center pivot irrigation systems and proudly proclaims it to be "mouse proof." That in itself is no mean trick because mice looking for winter shelter can squeeze through the tiniest gap to set up cozy homes in little-used airplane interiors...

BENKELMAN, Nebraska -- Ona E. Edmonds, 98, died Monday (Feb. 13, 2012), at the Sarah Ann Hester Memorial Home in Benkelman. Services are pending and will be announced by Carpenter Breland Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.