Stories from Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Last week the Legislature finished its public hearings on the bills introduced this session, and will be starting all-day debate this week. Nine of the bills heard in the Judiciary last week dealt with issues relating to firearms. Two of the bills were my bills LB352, that would require a uniform sign and the placement of that sign for prohibiting Concealed Handgun Permit holders by property owners, and LB335, which would clarify that employees and customers can transport and store firearms in their private vehicles when in a parking lot open to the public. ...

Four years. That's how long it took Senate Democrats to pass a budget resolution. It's also the amount of time it takes to get a degree in finance, economics or accounting. But after looking at their final product, it appears the Democrats didn't use this time doing any of that...

This week, I am pleased to announce the grand opening of the new Nebraska Center China, located in the heart of the business district in Shanghai. The opening of Nebraska's first trade office in China is exciting for many reasons. With soaring export growth and ever increasing opportunities for foreign direct investment, we are working to create new trade opportunities that benefit Nebraska...

Dean Eugene Huxoll March 24, 1962 - March 19, 2013 ARAPAHOE, Nebraska -- Dean Eugene Huxoll, 50, of Arapahoe, died Tuesday (March 19, 2013), at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, Nebraska. He was born March 24, 1962, at Cambridge, Nebraska, to Norman and Dorothy (Riepe) Huxoll...

Darlene E. Sorensen July 3, 1953 - March 24, 2013 GRAND ISLAND , Nebraska -- Darlene E. Sorensen, 59, of Grand Island, died Sunday, March 24, 2013, at her home surrounded by her family. Mrs. Sorensen's wishes were to be cremated. A memorial service will be Thursday, March 28, 2013, at 1 p.m. at the First Plymouth Congregational Church, 20th & D in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Rev. Barb Smisek will officiate. Curran Funeral Chapel is assisting the family...

Ron Brown Feb. 20, 1944 - March 22, 2013 CASA GRANDE, Arizona -- Ron Brown, 69, formerly of MCCook, died March 22, 2013, at Case Grande. He was born Feb. 20, 1944, to Edgar and Thelma Brown. He grew up in Griggs, Oklahoma. He married Shirley Harris on Nov. 14, 1964...

Dorothy Fern Wheeler Jan. 29, 192 - March 22, 2013 TUSCON, Arizona -- Dorothy Fern Wheeler, formerly of Culbertson, Nebraska, died Friday (March 22, 2013), in Tuscon. She was born in Culbertson Jan. 29, 1921, to Otto and Amelia (Deuter) Schmidt, second of five children. She married Claude Wheeler in December 1942...

Eva Lingo BENKELMAN, Nebraska -- Eva (Campbell) Lingo, 93, a longtime resident of Benkelman, died Monday (March 25, 2013), at the Imperial Manor Nursing Home in Imperial. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. (MT), Thursday, March 28, 2013, at the Westside Church of Christ in Imperial with the Revs. Bill Bryan and Norman Morrow officiating. Interment will be 2 p.m.. (MT) at the Benkelman Cemetery, in Benkelman...

Curves of McCook challenged members to donate bags of nonperishable foods from March 11-23, resulting in an impressive array of foodstuffs and dry goods to be donated to the McCook Pantry. Bev Schlager, owner of Curves in McCook, also reported that a total of 310 pounds were lost by members from Jan. ...

NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- Thirty-two new members and one transfer member were inducted into North Platte Community College's Alpha Beta Theta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa in a ceremony March 24 at the college. PTK is the international honor society for two-year colleges, symbolizing excellence in higher education and a commitment to students...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The works of area high school are on display at the Wrightstone Fine Arts Gallery as part of the annual MCC High School Art Exhibition and Paint-In. The Wrightstone gallery is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Please make a huge note that this class has been postponed from March 13 to April 3! The EMS Continuing Education: Cardio and Respiratory Emergencies class that had been scheduled for March 13 at McCook Community College has been postponed until April 3...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- High school students from 19 area schools will be on the McCook Community College campus Wednesday vying for top academic honors in 28 categories at the annual Inter-High Day competition. Students will be taking 530 tests with the winners in each of 28 categories to receive a $500 scholarship to Mid-Plains Community College. In addition, students placing in the top three in every test will receive three free credit hours of summer classes...

This hackberry tree in McCook, provides a singing perch for this flock of robins who sang sweetly in the snow of the promises of spring until the wind came up Saturday. 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 -- At the conclusion of a meeting which felt more like a made-for-TV melodrama than a McCook public hearing, more than 90 area residents burst into applause and cheers Tuesday evening as Red Willow County Commissioners decided on a split vote to continue operating the county health department. ...

"As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." (Luke 9:51) The writers of all four Gospels record Jesus' procession into Jerusalem on what would come to be known as "Palm Sunday" because the people lining the streets welcomed Jesus by throwing palm fronds on the ground in front of him...

I have to be one of the luckiest guys going. Privileged to be a crewmember on a fast corporate-class airplane, we occasionally travel to some interesting locations. Recently, the crew spent several hours lying over in Lubbock, Texas, awaiting our passengers return...

It's a good time to plan this year's garden, but the City of McCook is again offering a chance to think about long-term planting -- say a generation or two. McCook has been a Tree City USA for at least 27 years, and is again offering residents the chance to maintain that status for another year...

OBERLIN, Kansas -- Judge Preston Pratt told attorneys late Monday afternoon that he will begin to prepare "revised jurors' instructions" after he, Monday morning, dismissed two of four charges against Dylan Robert Coryell, the Oberlin, Kansas, man charged with a shooting that ended an hours-long exchange of angry and aggressive text messages, and ultimately the life of a fellow Oberlin man...

Beverly B. Bernatchy Jan. 19, 1925 - Jan. 12, 2013 POWELL, Wyoming -- Beverly B. (Hatcher) Bernatchy, 87, formerly of McCook, died Jan. 12, 2013. She graduated from Red Willow High School in 1942, and attended McCook Junior College in McCook, Nebraska, graduating in 1944...