Stories from Thursday, January 31, 2013

Sarah 'Peg' Hime Aug. 15, 1919 - Jan. 28, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Sarah "Peg" Hime, age 93, of McCook, died Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska, where she had lived for the past five months. Sarah Florence Martin was born in Hopkins, Missouri, to A. D. Martin and Chloe May (Head) on Aug. 15, 1919. As a young child, she moved from Missouri with her family to Riverton, Wyoming. Peg had a sister, Betty Swan and three brothers, Davis, Jack and Bob Martin. All preceded her in death...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Norma Stevens, a McCook watercolor artist, has been recently juried into the Nebraska artists' organization, Impact. Impact Membership is limited to Nebraska artists who are nationally recognized within their respective artistic disciplines...

Ice crystals paint the bare trees with winter's favorite color in this photo from Bill Coe of Max, Nebraska. The McCook Daily Gazette would love to showcase your weather photos. Readers can contribute to our daily weather page, subject to space and color availability, by emailing photos to editor2@ocsmccook.com or bringing them into the Gazette offices at West First and E Streets. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Red Willow County Health Department has Tdap vaccine available for adults. Tdap, Tetanus, Diphtheria and acellular Pertussis is currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control as a one-time booster for all adults. "Pertussis is often referred to as whooping cough and is especially dangerous for infants and young children," states Peggy Everitt, RN, Public Health Nurse. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- When asked what his feel was pertaining to support or opposition of Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to eliminate state income taxes, Sen. Mark Christensen told members of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce this morning that too many legislators were quiet on the topic...

A bald eagle keeps an eagle eye on a visitor, Ben Hardin of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, along the Republican River on Tuesday. Outdoorsmen and women have reported sighting a number of the majestic creatures throughout the area in recent weeks. ...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- State income tax on Social Security benefits would be eliminated for the majority of Nebraska's seniors under a bill introduced by Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha. The Legislature's Revenue Committee heard testimony on LB17 on Jan. 30. The bill would exempt Social Security benefits from state income taxation for incomes of $80,000 or less for couples and $60,000 or less for individuals...

NORTON, Kansas -- Determined to be in the best shape of her life, Mrs. Northwest Kansas, Lori Shields of Norton, spends about an hour every day at the Norton Rec Center running three miles and working out with light weights. "I have a couple more pounds to lose and I'm on track to be at my target weight by the Mrs. Kansas pageant (March 1-2)," she said...

If you've put off visiting the McCook Community College Events Center, you'll be running out of excuses this weekend. The McCook Area Chamber of Commerce's Home & Leisure Show is taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the MCC venue, a wide-0pen space that promises to provide a good atmosphere for visitors to explore the latest household goods and services and for businesses to display their offerings...

I know I've written about this before but its traveling basketball season again and I can recognize that familiar bubbling in my belly known as sports rage. Every year I work on it and it gets better and better, but last weekend I was hit with a new revelation. I usually can keep a pretty good hold on my rage and I can sit through some fairly excruciating games without too much irritation UNTIL.....another player hurts my kid. That there is a WHOLE other side of my sports rage...

When I started writing this column eight and a half years ago, my intention was to simplify the concept of astronomy and give the readers an opportunity to get to know just what is out there. As such, I am always on the look-out for any information that would help accomplish that task...

Bread is considered to be "the staff of life." At any rate, it ahs played an important part in the history and food of various countries and cultures. Lehem is the Hebrew word for bread. Bethlehem means "the house of bread." Jesus Christ is quoted as saying "Man shall not live by bread alone," in Matthew 4:4. In Matthew 5:11, "Give us this day our daily bread" is a verse from the Lord's Prayer...

January is National Mentoring Month and we celebrate the difference TeamMates mentoring program has made in our area. TeamMates was started in 1991 by University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy with the intent to positively impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential. It has expanded from 22 to 5,600 matches, (roughly 5,600 mentors, 5,600 youth) in 112 communities across Nebraska, Iowa and California!...

I want to thank Connie Jo (Discoe) for the nice article she wrote about Matthew B. Cheney on the front page of the Jan. 22 paper. He is my great-grandfather -- I have some pictures of him and my great-grandmother, Lucy Stanley. I plan to donate the pictures to the museum to complete the display...

(Jan. 25) being the 40th anniversary of the infamous decision of "Roe v. Wade" whereby our United States government made it legal to execute by extreme torture, too ghastly to describe here, all in the name of, and adjudicated on the basis of, not on equal rights to life by both mother and child, but rather, on the superior rights of a mother to "choose" to have her child "eliminated," ostensibly to maintain her health...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Great Lakes Airlines will change departure time of its McCook-to-Denver flight to an earlier time. According to the airport manager at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport, City Manager Jeff Hancock, the 5:09 p.m. flight will begin departing at 2:56 p.m., effective Feb. 1, 2013...

Violet Louise Borges Jan. 22, 1946 - Jan. 30, 2013 PALISADE, Nebraska-- On Jan. 30, 2013, Violet Louise Borges went to meet her loving Lord and Savior, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Violet died at the El Dorado Manor in Trenton, Nebraska...

Jerry Lee "'Skip" McWherter, Jr. McCOOK, Nebraska -- In McCook, Nebraska, Jerry left us on Jan. 30, 2013, after a brief, but valiant, battle with cancer. Jerry was preceded in death by his father, Jerry Lee McWherter. He is survived by his longtime companion, Cathy Schwartz; his mother, Ann; sister, Sherry (Don) Herring; James McWherter (Christine), Daniel McWherter (Melissa) and Kevin. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and three great-nieces and nephews...