Stories from Friday, October 23, 2015

Wayne V. Pennell Dec. 1, 1931 - Oct. 21, 2015 WOOD RIVER, Neb. -- Wayne V. Pennell, 83, of Grand Island, died on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, at the Good Samaritan Society in Wood River. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, at All Faiths Funeral Home in Grand Island, Nebraska. Pastor Darrell Holzinger will officiate. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time on Tuesday at All Faiths Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Grand Island City Cemetery...

Willa Eileen McCaa May 6, 1929 - Oct. 22, 2015 ARAPAHOE, Neb. -- Willa Eileen McCaa, 86, formerly of Farnam, Nebraska, died Thursday (Oct. 22, 2015), at the C.A. Mues Good Samaritan Center in Arapahoe. She was born on May 6, 1929, to Henry H. and Hester (Carmen) Gewecke...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Smoke detectors should be placed in every room where someone sleeps and replaced every 10 years, regardless of whether or not they work, according to fire officials. McCook firefighters are coordinating educational seminars with area youth as part of the annual fire prevention week campaign emphasizing the importance of smoke detectors...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The American Red Cross and the community of McCook are teaming up to honor the memory of a longtime blood donor and recipient. The life and contributions of Robert Cappel will be celebrated with two blood drives Oct. 27 and 28. Cappel was a McCook native who served his neighbors as a Methodist minister, baseball coach, director of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce and by regularly donating blood with the Red Cross. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Also in the 1990s, Sheriff Gene Mahon took another approach to the growing drug problem -- that of prevention -- by implementing D.A.R.E. classes in Red Willow County. Encouraging life slogans like "Dare to dream," "Dare to believe" and "Dare to achieve" are outside the grasp of even the strongest child or teen if he or she is in the choke-hold of drugs and alcohol and other negative pressures in their young lives. That's where D.A.R.E. comes in...

"Shut up and drive," reads the old bumper sticker, when people used to put them on their cars instead of posting their ideas to Facebook. It's good advice and the Legislature got into the act, outlawing texting while driving for everyone and any cell phone use for drivers on learner permits and intermediate drivers licenses...

Susan Doak Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society The 1958 McCook City Directory prefaced their pages of information on people with a few pages of statistics. From the area of Community Publicity came this statement from the R. L. Polk & Co, publishers of the directory: "The Directory reflects the achievements and ambitions of the community, depicting in unbiased terms what it has to offer as a place of residence, as a business location, as a manufacturing site and as an educational center."...

I've often wondered what's worse; being the bug or the windshield. Mary Chapin Carpenter sang about that 20 or so years ago and I've wondered about it from time to time ever since. Neither one is very pleasant. The bug gets smashed and dies which not many of us want but the window gets abused too. So I'm thinking it's not an either-or situation, it's just which is the better of two bad options...

85th birthday The family of Lois Calvin of McCook is hosting an open house in honor of her 85th birthday Nov. 3. The open house is Sunday, Nov. 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church, 411 E. Sixth in McCook. No gifts, please. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 901 E. Sixth, McCook, NE 69001...

90th birthday The family of Robert Wacker is requesting a card shower in honor of his 90th birthday Tuesday, Oct. 27. He was born in 1925 in Wauneta, Nebraska, to Fred and Margaret (Olmsted) Wacker. Cards of congratulations will reach him at 902 E. Second, McCook, NE 69001...

75th birthday The family of Mariann Earlley of Wilsonville, Nebraska, is requesting a card shower in honor of her 75th birthday Sunday, Oct. 25. She was born in Alcester, South Dakota. Her family includes her late husband, Elden Earlley; son-in-law, Bill and daughter, Dawn; grandsons, Remington, Sterling Wright of Scott City, Kansas; daughter, April and husband, Jerry Ondrak of Shelton, Nebraska; daughter, Allison and husband, Randy Warner of Waverly, Nebraska; daughter, Amber and husband Jason Sarnecki of Salina, Kansas; and son-in-law, Dan and daughter, Marla Brown of Kearney, Nebraska. ...