Stories from Wednesday, June 11, 2014

McCOOK, Neb. --Community Hospital is offering an educational class, "What is Pre-Diabetes and How Can it be Managed?" for persons who are pre-diabetic or think they may be. The pre-diabetic class is Tuesday, June 17 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in Prairie View A Conference Room at Community Hospital. It will explain what is pre-diabetes and diabetes, how to test for diabetes, normal blood sugar ranges and how to manage pre-diabetes. It also includes exercise tips as well as diet training...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The cost of school lunches in the McCook School district were hiked another 10 cents. The McCook Board of Education unanimously approved the increase at the regular meeting Monday night. The increase is the fourth one in as many years and is in response to a government mandate that requires school lunch prices to increase until it matches the federal level of reimbursement for free and reduced lunches...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Summer improvement projects in the McCook School District are in full swing, including one at the high school gym where half the costs were paid by the McCook Bison Boosters. A total of $63,000 has been donated by the Boosters toward replacing bleachers at the high school gym, taking a bite out of the total cost of $120,000 for all the improvements scheduled in the gym, McCook School District Rick Haney told the McCook Board of Education Monday night at the regular meeting...

The McCook, Nebraska, Humane Society plans its next "Peticure/Pedicure Day" for Saturday, June 14, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., at the animal shelter at 100 South Street. Shelter staff asks, "Does your dog have tired, sore 'dogs'? Could be his or her nails need trimming." For a $5 donation, dog owners can have their dogs' toenails trimmed. ...

ity Councilman Mike Gonzales visits with citizens at McDonald's during a Coffee with a Cop meeting this morning. Gonzales discussed how City Council would soon be weighing what the city's role should be in assisting developers and a local housing shortage with Tax Increment Financing, as well as the importance of sales tax dollars in maintaining the city's high standards, among other topics...

John Hubert, president of the board of directors of the High Plains Museum in downtown McCook, Nebraska, models the peg leg donated to the museum. The gentleman who donated it discovered it at the Helping Hand thrift store in McCook, and decided the best place for it was at the museum. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Under a new ruling, school districts cannot ask a person applying for a teaching position if they've been convicted of a crime, until they are candidates for an interview. The McCook Board of Education was given a heads-up of this law and other rulings concerning e-cigarettes and Facebook, at the regular meeting Monday night...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The final chapter has been written on the saga of the 14 dogs -- including one pregnant mama -- dumped in a county road ditch near McCook, Nebraska, during a cold, winter night last December. Lorie Prestes, president of the board of directors of the McCook Humane Society, said Tuesday that the last three males have been delivered to a rescue whose foster families will instill trust and love before transitioning the three -- Remington aka "Remi," Paul (formerly known as Damian) and Yadi -- into "forever homes.". ...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A former resident of McCook, John Stevens Berry, is the co-author of a new book which contends that mass-murderer Charles Starkweather lied about Caril Fugate's involvement in the killings that left 11 people dead in Nebraska and Wyoming...

What do a gallon of milk and a set of tires have in common? Neither one should be used after the expiration date. Actually, only the milk has an official expiration date, but some experts think the tires should, too. In 2013, GM began recommending in its owner manuals that tires should be replaced after six years regardless of tread wear, and Ford and Lincoln have followed suit...

Who among us would use stationery from our current employer to apply for another job? To say nothing of using the time, physical resources and personnel of our current employer to make the announcement that we were seeking said job. Apparently the lame duck governor of Nebraska who wants to be the president of the University of Nebraska system. ...

I am always glad to see summer arriving, almost. The outside temperatures are getting better for staying outside longer for more time at the telescope, but the nights are growing shorter so there is less time for viewing. As we approach the Summer Solstice (June 21 at 4:51 am MDT) the amount of dark grows shorter and the amount of daylight grows longer, for example, on the day of the Summer Solstice there will be about 15 hours of daylight. That means there is only nine hours for dark...