Stories from Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Betty C. Sayer NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska -- Betty C. Sayer, 92, died Friday (July 12, 2013), at Great Plains Regional Medical Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Christian Wake service will be 10:30 a.m. prior to the mass...

Bill Billington BENKELMAN, Nebraska -- Bill Billington, 85, a longtime Benkelman resident, died Monday (July 15, 2013), at the Imperial Manor Nursing Home, Imperial, Nebraska. Survivors include children, Timothy L. Billington of McCook, Nebraska, the Rev. ...

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...

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette Brandi Hinson, obstetrics coordinator of Community Hospital of McCook, Nebraska, accepts a collection of books for newborns from members of Chi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. DKG is an education organization that promotes professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education. ...

This turkey hen makes herself right at home in Roxy Lang's freshly watered flower garden. "The turkeys think they own the place!" Lang wrote. She used these settings: f/9, 1/1000, iso1250, 300mm. The McCook Gazette would love to showcase your weather photos. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- City Council members were informed that the insurance company representing a woman who drove her car through wet cement on East H Street had settled, sending the city's contractor a check for $58,500. The mishap forced the contractor to redo a portion of the project and delayed the project about two days...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The city can buy diesel fuel cheaper than a private contractor, so it has an advantage when it comes to hauling its own trash out of town. McCook officials hope that translates into lower costs as they continue to do the job formerly performed by a private contractor...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook City Council approved application for a Nebraska Affordable Housing Program grant for $310,000 for owner-occupied rehabilitation of 10 homes. If the city receives the grant, which requires no local match, $250,000 will go for actual housing rehabilitation, and $55,000 will go toward administration, project management and paint testing, risk assessments and clearance testing...

Rawlins County, Kansas, 4-H'ers visit with craft judges Monday morning, during the first day of the 2013 county fair. Seventeen-year-old Logan Rall of Brewster told judge Marcia Hickert of Bird City that the folded flag that he drew for his grandfather, an Army veteran, "means a lot to me ... ...

PAXTON, Nebraska -- For the first time in its history, the Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska has surpassed $2 million in proceeds. Officials for the 2013 Cattlemen's Ball have announced that the net proceeds from this year's event in Paxton-Sutherland were $2.12 million -- exceeding the previous record by some $600,000. All of the money stays in Nebraska to support cancer research and local health and wellness programs...

It was a bloody weekend on Nebraska highways. From Friday, July 12, through Monday morning, July 15, seven people were killed in five separate crashes on Nebraska roads in Lancaster, Cass, Cuming, Douglas and Madison counties. That adds up to 107 people dead in crashes in 2013, compared to 101 on this same date last year...

Typhoid fever was widespread in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in 1812-13. Now 200 years later, vaccination prevents us from getting this disease. Two people, both with the common last name of Smith, became key players in this potentially fatal situation. Typhoid bacillus bacteria lingers in the body. It travels in the bloodstream, causing ulcers and pockets of infection. Joseph Smith, age 7, future president of the Mormon Church, was gravely ill with typhoid fever...

Early Monday morning, 8-year-old Judy Hawkins of Atwood, Kansas, earns blue ribbons on her pasta salad and an "Oreo Cookies Pudding Cups" from Rawlins County Fair foods judge Kay O'Brien of St. Francis. Eleven-year-old Grace Sabatka of McDonald waited in line to show O'Brien, the home economics teacher in St. Francis, her frosted carrot cake. Later in the morning, after the judging, Judy chowed down on her pasta salad, but giggled when she added, "But I ate my dessert first."...

LINCOLN, Nebraska -- The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments continue to investigate a gastrointestinal illness outbreak caused by a rare parasite called Cyclospora. There are currently 53 cases statewide concentrated mostly in the eastern part of the state. Three people have been hospitalized and were released. DHHS continues to receive reports of new cases daily...

Vincent C. Broz March 26, 1918 - July 15, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Vincent C. Broz, McCook, Nebraska, was born to eternal life on Monday, July 15, 2013, at the age of 95 years. He was born on March 26, 1918, to Frank Joseph and Agnes Catherine (Schneider) Broz in Hayes County. ...

Kavin Lyle Latimer Dec. 14, 1953 - July 16, 2013 McCOOK, Nebraska -- Kavin Lyle Latimer, age 59, of McCook passed away Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney after a courageous battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Kavin was born on Dec. 14, 1953, in Maywood, Nebraska. At the age of three days, he became the beloved son of Floyd "Stub" and Pauline (Soules) Latimer. He graduated from Maywood High School in 1971 and continued his education at McCook Community College...