Stories from Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Scott and Rochelle Swanson of Gretna, Nebraska, announce the birth of their daughter, Kardyn Grace Swanson, who was born June 22, 2012 at Methodist Women's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. She weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 21 inches long. She has one sister, Anisten, 3-years old. Grandparents are Les and Nancy Schmidt of Indianola, Nebraska and...

This information is gathered at the McCook Public Safety Center, the McCook office of the Nebraska State Patrol, the Red Willow County Courthouse, the Red Willow County Sheriff's Office and the McCook Humane Society. Police activity Activity log...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The 2012 Ruppert family reunion met at the McCook Fairgrounds Aug. 5. Those attending included: Robert Werkmeister, Palisade; Shirley and Dennis Ferguson, Palisade; Terri Wilson, Palisade; Matt Wilson and Lisa Rosener, Palisade; Megan Wilson and Claire, North Platte; Jason Norman, North Platte; Otis and Bonnie Ruppert, McCook, Quick; Shirley and Larry Schlem, Ogallala; Donna Ruppert, John Ruppert, McCook; Ron and Kathy Ruppert, McCook; Willis, Libby,Tasha, Lexi and Jamey Ruppert, McCook, Quick; Doug Ruppert, Curtis; Brent and Erin Ruppert, Maywood; Naomi Ruppert, McCook, Quick; Helen and Ferris Magee, McCook; Darlene Loper, McCook; Kathy Benson, Cambridge; Joe and Colleen Benson and family, McCook; Karen Jensen, Paul Ricely, McCook; Bob Ruppert, McCook, Quick; Mary Zimbelman, McCook; Greg Trosper, McCook; Bennie Trosper, Amber, Hunter and Brandon, McCook; Larry Ruppert, McCook.. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Attention area artists! Hillcrest Nursing Home is sponsoring an OPEN CLASS Art Contest for all of our talented area artists. There will be three age divisions: Adults, Teens and 12 and Under with three ribbon placings for each division...

Grace, Max, Jenny and Old Brown Dog charmed staff at Community Hospital Thursday morning, helping to brighten their morning and relieve extra stress. Dogs and staff even made their way to the Healing Garden to greet a patient and nurse in the soothing morning sun. From left, John Seyal, Community Hospital nurse Mindy Osterhaus, RN, patient Craig Reiners, Jon Slater and Kait Seyal. Certified therapy dogs are from left Max, Jenny, Grace and Old Brown Dog...

LORRI SUGHROUE McCook Daily Gazette McCOOK, Nebraska -- Band members of "My Starving Lion" want to make sure the lion doesn't get fed. The name of the band is based on a dream by band leader, Adam Spanier, with the lion representing ego and the cutthroat world of the music industry...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- A majority of rural Nebraskans support construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline but want it built on a route that avoids the Sandhills and the Ogallala aquifer, according to the Nebraska Rural Poll. The 17th annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln poll was sent to 6,350 households in Nebraska's 84 nonmetropolitan counties in March and April. Results are based on 2,323 responses...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Scammers are calling Verizon Wireless subscribers in the McCook area, according to local police. According to reports, the caller indicates the company is working on cell towers or subscriber services in the area, and there may be a temporary interruption of their cellular service. For their inconvenience, the caller says, the company is paying subscribers $50 for each hour they are without service...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A plea agreement was reached last week with a second man arrested during the CODE task force raid of a McCook residence in February. The plea agreement with the man, 33-year-old Travis L. Hanes, admitted guilt to a Class IV felony of possession of methamphetamine and dismissed a possession of drug paraphernalia infraction...

Beth Nickerson of Cambridge, Nebraska, shares a photograph of the 38 full blossoms on her and her husband Scott's cactus on the morning of Aug. 7. Beth said, "They only last a few hours and then dry up, wilt and fall off. " She explained that this cactus was a start from one that belonged to Scott's grandmother, Pearl Newcomb...

It wasn't an upbeat townhall meeting. Sen. Mike Johanns, a former governor, mayor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, used pie charts to spell out just how difficult it will be for the federal government to bring the ballooning deficit under control, let alone reduce it or begin paying off the national debt...

After 20 years of fits and starts, the Nebraska Supreme Court has finally declared the Campaign Finance Limitation Act "unconstitutional." Dead. Finished. Stick a fork in it, it's done. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Arizona's campaign finance law apparently forced the hand of Nebraska's Judiciary. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Graduation requirements may get a little more strict in the future for McCook school students. Without getting into specifics, Superintendent Grand Norgaard told McCook School Board members Monday night at the regular board meeting that he and staff were researching the possibility of "expecting more out of McCook graduates." Further research would be done on the idea, he added...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A resolution concerning how many students can transfer into the McCook School District was approved by the McCook Board of Education Monday night. Also known as open enrollment, the option enrollment resolution outlines how many students are allowed to opt into the McCook school district from their home school district...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Planning Commission approved a request from a potential buyer of the school bus barn property to rezone the northern portion of the property from residential medium to business commercial. The request was approved during the commission's regularly scheduled meeting, Monday evening, with the addition of a fence between proposed buildings on the east side...

Seven-year-old Wyatt Jackson of Clinton, Oklahoma, and his family -- Jeff and Ashley (Shadley) Jackson and little brother 15-month-old Korbin -- ride in a one-of-a-kind T-bucket roadster during Indianola, Nebraska's Old Settlers Celebration parade Saturday. Wyatt inherited the unique car from his grandfather, Doug Shadley, who died very unexpectedly Jan. 8, 2012, at the age of 61, and was honored at the celebration. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)...

CAMBRIDGE, Nebraska -- Cambridge, Nebraska, will recreate a typical mid-century Saturday night in a small American-plains farm town during fun activities Saturday -- of course -- Aug. 18. Everyone went to town on Saturday evening in the '40s and '50s, to do their "tradin'" and check in with family and neighbors. Activities normally centered around downtown, as will activities that the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has planned this Saturday...

Lisa Kilpatrick of the New Life Christian Bookstore in McCook, Nebraska, holds inspirational plaques designed and hand-made by woodworker Dave Burton of Bartley. Burton will donate the proceeds from the sale of the plaques (each selling at a $24.99 suggested price) to six-year-old Isaiah Casillas, the 6-year-old McCook boy battling an aggressive and terminal type of brain cancer diagnosed in March. ...

U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns tours the new McCook Community College Events Center, right, and makes a point about national debt as a percentage of gross domestic product -- troubled Greece is at $165.4 percent, right, during a town hall meeting at the Keystone Business Center in McCook on Tuesday. ...

INDIANOLA, Nebraska -- The owner of button No. 26, sold by the Old Settlers Celebration Committee in Indianola, Nebraska, has won $200. Each year, the committee sells 300 buttons for $2 each. The winner, drawn during the Saturday evening dance, gets $200, and the remaining $400 helps kick off the next year's Old Settlers celebration...

The Affordable Care Act's requirement that every policy issued for health care include coverage for contraception has become a lightning rod for conservative Christians, and with almost one voice, they have cried, "Foul!" Not so fast. This is not our fight, and to take up the standard against such a requirement is the height of hypocrisy, and shames the Name of the One we purport to follow...

Two late August dates have become red-letter boxes on the McCook Community College athletic department calendar. The first date is quickly drawing near. Aug. 22, 2012 -- perhaps one of the most outstanding, anticipated calendar slots in MCC sports history. ...

McCook High School's girls softball team will be working with a different concept this fall -- seniors. The Bison had no senior players on last year's squad that finished with a 15-17 record and ended the 2011 fall season with back-to-back losses to Scottsbluff in the Class B-6 District Tournament...

Opening athletic competitions in the 2012 Nebraska high school fall sports season are right around the corner. McCook High School athletic teams are busy in practice sessions preparing for season-opening events. Bison supporters have also been busy making plans to help raise funds to help support McCook athletes during the 2012-13 campaign...

Avis LaRue Ulrich July 28, 1940 - Aug. 14, 2012 McCOOK,Nebraska -- Avis LaRue Ulrich, 72, died Tuesday (Aug. 14, 2012) at her home. Services are pending with Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook.