Stories from Thursday, December 6, 2012

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 -- McCook, Nebraska's 31st annual "Christmas Toy Box" distribution will be Sunday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m., in the McCook City Auditorium at the corner of West Fifth and C Street. To provide toys, games, dolls and trikes and bikes for the give-away, Toy Box coordinators -- "Santa's elves " -- depend upon the generosity and Christmas spirit of McCook and area residents to donate gifts for children whose Christmas may otherwise be bleak...

Melvin Thielbar, Worthy Conductor of Fraternal Order of Eagles No. 2769 of McCook, Nebraska, invites the public to the Eagles' annual fund-raising charity auction Sunday, at the Eagles Club at 805 East B. The meal will be served at 5:30 p.m., followed "at 6:30 p.m., sharp," Mel says, by the auction conducted by McCook auctioneer Dennis Youngs. ...

Dr. Wayne Watkins DVM, left, and members of his staff, veterinarian assistant Chase Beebe; Chase's daughter, 12-year-old Cassiddy Beebe; and veterinarian technician Anna Russell hold the flag of appreciation presented to Red Willow Animal Clinic of McCook, Nebraska, by the Oglala Lakota Nation (Oglala Sioux Tribe OST) Tribal Council of the Medicine Root District of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. ...

Hours at the Enders Post Office will be cut from six hours 20 minutes each day to two hours a day Monday through Friday starting Jan. 26, 2013. The cut means the post office will be open from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. during the week. Hours on Saturday will remain the same, from 9:30 a.m. ...

Thousands of mellow revelers lit up under Seattle's Space Needle early this morning to celebrate the legalization of marijuana at midnight, well, sort of. Technically, they were still breaking the law, since it's illegal to smoke pot -- or anything else -- in a public space in Seattle, and pot is still illegal under federal law, everywhere in the United States...

The calendar says that winter is here. Friday, Dec. 21, at 4:12 p.m. MST, the Sun will cross the celestial equator heading south ushering in the winter season for the northern hemisphere. Well, the calendar may say it, but the recent daily temperatures sure don't say that winter is here...

When a single person goes through the drive-thru to order food, it's usually no big deal unless they're late or something. They pull up, announce their simple order, especially how they like it, pay and away they go. Slick as a whistle! However, not the case when you become a mom. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- For many years now, the McCook Community College chapter of Phi Beta Lambda has reached out during the holiday season to make sure that classmates who are also single parents, have presents for their children through the chapter's "Giving Tree" program. ...

McCook Community College Graphic Design student Amber Oiler displays the winning logo design for this year's First Night McCook Event. Amber is a freshman in Becky Meyers' Digital Imaging class at MCC. For the past two years, MCC Graphic Design students have been asked to design the First Night logo for the McCook Rotary Event New Year's Eve. These buttons are used to admit registrants into the wide range of First Night Events in Downtown McCook...

Twenty-five art students from Southwest High School at Bartley, Nebraska, tour the "Becoming Van Gogh" exhibit at the Denver Art Museum on Nov. 28. Students and teacher Carol Kelley viewed 70 paintings and drawings by Van Gogh, as well as artwork by artists who influenced Van Gogh. ...

Carney L. 'Tom' Baker May 4, 1941 - Dec. 3, 2012 McCOOK,Nebraska -- Carney L. "Tom" Baker, age 71, of McCook, passed away at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney on Dec. 3, 2012. He was born on May 4, 1941, in Dayton, Ohio to Carney L. and Hilda (Casey) Baker. Tom graduated from high school and attended college for a couple of years. He enlisted in the US Navy serving three tours of duty in Viet Nam, retiring after 22 years of service...