Stories from Monday, February 25, 2013

Vesta Jewell Relph March 6, 1940 - Feb. 21, 2013 TRENTON, Nebraska -- Vesta Jewell Relph, age 73, of Trenton, departed this life in Kearney at the Good Samaritan Hospital on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. She was born in Ozark, Missouri, on March 6, 1940, to Leroy and Lucille Starnes. ...

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 -- A McCook woman who struck a pair of vehicles while drunk driving in October was fined and sentenced to probation in Red Willow County Court. The offender, 53-year-old Julie A. Thompson was also sentenced to jail time for fleeing the scene at one of the accidents, however, that sentence was suspended until May and can be waived by the court...

"Bloody Mary" Rebecca Patterson serenades City Manager Jeff Hancock and other members of the McCook Rotary Club with "Bali Ha'i" Tuesday during a Southwest Nebraska Community Theatre Association presentation to the club. SWNCTA will be performing the musical South Pacific on March 16 and 17 and March 22, 23, and 24. SWNCTA Director Don Harpst told the Rotary Club that over 75 people are involved in the production, with 38 cast members, including Patterson as Bloody Mary...

Talent from Southwest Nebraska took to the stage at the Fox Theater Sunday afternoon, with the "Hometown Talent Showcase 2013." Freewill donations from the show will go toward updating the lighting and sound system, as well as new seats. Opening the show were chorus members from Southwest Nebraska Community Theatre Association's "South Pacific," including JeriLynn Karr, from left, Tiffany Anderson, Barbara Leising and Kelsey Siebrandt. ...

Dan Stoney of McCook gives his daughter and niece, from left, 12-year-olds Rose Stoney and Melinda Gillispie, a push-start while sledding at Kelley Park, Saturday afternoon. A couple of inches Sunday on top of more than a foot received last week made for some good sledding around the area...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The Nebraska Broadband Initiative is part of a national effort to bring broadband high speed Internet access and information technology to all areas of the state. Members of the public are invited to share views and ideas by participating in a local focus group...

Beam-Clarke is a storyteller and educational speaker, giving programs for 30 years to more than 85,000 children and adults across the Midwest. As an independent scholar for the Nebraska Humanities Council, she enjoys bringing the 1800s to life. Five sets of her grandparents homesteaded in Nebraska...

CONNIE JO DISCOE Regional Editor CHAMPION, Nebraska -- With a 49-0 vote on Feb. 5, the Nebraska Legislature transferred ownership of the historic Champion Mill, lake and park at Champion, Nebraska, from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to Chase County...

Last week's snowstorm transformed this metal dragonfly in the Wilsonville yard of Roxy Lang. Taken on Feb. 21, Lang used these settings: f/5, iso 100, 1/640, 24mm. 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. ...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- Setting tuition, fees, room and board are among the action items for a meeting of the Mid Plains Community College board of governors. A work session is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday, followed by the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. in Room 200 at the W.W. Wood Building on the north campus of North Platte Community College...

Congress and the White House set up what they hoped would be such a horrendous situation that they couldn't help but reach a budget compromise. Guess what? Apparently it wasn't horrendous enough. It's likely now that"sequestration" will take place Friday, meaning that $85 billion in federal budget cuts will take place automatically from March through September...

From H.P. Waite's Collection of McCook Tribune Stories McCook Tribune December 5, 1883: McCook is to have a place other than the Church and the Band Hall where public meeting can be held. The Church serves the purpose when the gatherings are of such a character that they can properly be held there. The Band Hall is suitable for all sorts of public meeting, but its capacity is limited. Dances are usually held in the dining room of one of the hotels...

The founders of our American Republic deliberately designed a federal government with three separate but equal branches; the legislative branch to pass laws, the executive branch to enforce laws, and the judicial branch to interpret and review laws. Through a system of checks and balances, the founders sought to prevent any one branch of government from having too much power...

These past 30 years have been marked by many blessings for Stephanie and me. Being granted the tremendous privilege to represent a state I love and address issues important to Nebraskans has been one of the greatest honors of my life. As the seasons change, there is a time to plant and a time to reap what has been sown. And while I have decided not to seek reelection in 2014, we are far from the harvest...

Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette Joseph McCarthy of McCook does some fast licks on the guitar, on "Hot Rod Lincoln" at the annual "Hometown Talent Showcase" at the Fox Theatre Sunday. McCarthy was accompanied by Jason VanPelt on the drums and Carl Riemann on the bass...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- McCook Public Schools is conducting Kindergarten Registration each weekday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., now through March 15. Parents of eligible kindergarten students are encouraged to stop by McCook Elementary, 1500 W. Third, to register their child for kindergarten and to pick up an enrollment packet. Please bring your child's certified birth certificate and immunization record...