Stories from Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Michael Scott Smith Oct. 16, 1948 - July 6, 2015 WILSONVILLE, Neb. -- Michael Scott Smith, age 66, of Wilsonville, passed away on July 6, 2015, at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge, Nebraska. He was born on Oct. 16, 1948, to Robert and Norma (Johnson) Smith at Cambridge, Nebraska. He graduated from Wilsonville High School in 1966 and from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a bachelor of science in business. Michael worked in the beef business and in farming his entire career...

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 First Central Bank Juniors batter Vonn Fritsche (13) eyes this pitch during Legion baseball action last Sunday at the Jaycees Sports Complex. The Juniors dropped a 10-6 decision to Kearney Five Points in the Mid-Nebraska Baseball League championship finals. ...

The McCook First Central Bank Juniors Legion baseball team is getting prepared for Area 6 Tournament competition. The double-elimination Area 6 Juniors Tournament is set to start Friday, July 10, at Holdrege, running through Tuesday, July 14. McCook was scheduled to hold a tune-up contest for the Area 6 competition Tuesday night against Hershland (Hershey-Sutherland combined team). But that game has been cancelled and won't be rescheduled...

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. Activity log These items are taken from reports filed by the McCook Police Department. The locations refer to block numbers, not specific addresses. If you have information about any of these reports, call the police department at (308) 345-3450...

Ah, the celebration of our Independence Day. Great fun was watching the 4th of July Parade in Culbertson. The weatherman gave us a beautiful day. Large crowd seeking shade along the parade route, visiting with neighbors, lots of young families and kids scrambling for candy and trinkets thrown from parade floats. Good food -- brats and hamburgers -- served afterward and more visiting. A car show. Free ice cream from the ambulance crews. Small town America at its finest...

Libertarian-leaning Republican Rand Paul slipped in the back door and didn't talk about the elephant in the room, but he did listen to 40 donors at a marijuana industry trade show in Denver last month. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz said they used pot in their youth, and join Rick Perry in saying the legalization of marijuana should be left up to the states -- even it's a bad idea, according to Perry...

McCOOK, Neb. -- "Nunsense" a musical comedy by Dan Goggin, is set to open tonight at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theatre with three more shows to be performed by the local cast later this week. The cast includes Kathy Latta, Christy Stevens, JeriLynn Karr, Tyler Rambali and Lori Hinze...

A stiff wind from the south blows American flags in the Culbertson, Nebraska, cemetery on Saturday, July 4.

McCOOK, Neb. --The City of McCook Fire Department was pleased to report a quiet Indenpendance Day, at least in regard to fireworks-related emergencies. The McCook Fire Department had no local reports and responded to one fireworks-related injury which originated outside of Red Willow County, an intercept call with a Culbertson ambulance on Saturday...

Rayden Bihlmaier of Gothenburg, Nebraska, ducks under the bucket on the splash pad Saturday afternoon at the Arapahoe, Nebraska, public swimming pool, during Arapahoe's Fourth of July weekend celebration. Above, in the pool, Melonie Meyers of Arapahoe concentrated really hard as she struggled to propel her pink boat-turned-submarine in the "Cardboard Boat Races." Melonie and her ship-mate Morgan Deisley won the "Team Spirit" award, if not the "Chuck Norris Championship."...

McCOOK, Neb. -- City leaders advanced a measure which they hope will provide insight into meeting the areas convention and civic center needs, Monday evening, while one resident asked them to take a hard look at a local building. The research stems from a hotel developer's offer to build a convention center which the City of McCook would later purchase and manage...