Stories from Friday, October 30, 2015

Looking to add a little spooky flavor to your haunted celebration that is sure to keep all your little ghouls, ghosts and goblins in a festive mood? Look no further for the perfect ideas to dress up those Halloween treats. Take your All Hallows' Eve to the next level with these Halloween concoctions sure to delight...

Lucille Helen Mazurek Oct. 10, 1923 - Oct. 27, 2015 AURORA, Colo. -- Lucille Helen Mazurek of Aurora passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, at the Joy of Caring Assisted Living Home in Denver after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's. She was born Oct. 10, 1923, in a farmhouse built by her parents, William and Clara Berndt, in Red Willow County, south of McCook, Nebraska...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Students enrolled at McCook Community College for Fall 2015 semester have been awarded over $42,200 in student financial aid for academic year 2015-16 sponsored by the McCook College Foundation and a number of individuals and organizations. ...

Annika Mae Solomon Barrett and Janae Solomon of McCook announce the birth of their daughter, Annika Mae Solomon, born Sept. 24, 2015 at Community Hospital in McCook. She weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches long. She has one brother, Evan, 11. ...

I discovered that McCook had a newspaper called the "Trumpet." That was a new one to me! Apparently it was one of McCook's first newspapers. Here are items that were abstracted by a Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society member from the September and October 1885 issues...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The city is looking to swap a $15,000 paving project for a privately owned lot adjacent to West Seventh Street. The approximate 81 foot by 66 foot vacant lot is owned by John and Betty Nothnagel of McCook and would allow the city to intersect R Street with the west side of West 7th Street. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The St. Catherine's Apartments building may not be ready for tenants any time soon but an outbuilding on the property could be welcoming its first resident in the coming weeks. Property owner John Smith of McCook said he hopes to have three rental units in the smaller building to the west of the former hospital ready for tenants in a month-and-a-half...

LEBANON, Neb. -- The Lebanon Presbyterian Church plans a pancake supper 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the church, Main and Endicott in Lebanon, three blocks off Highway 89. Pancakes, sausage, coffee and tea will be served for a free will donation.

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival planning committee is targeting hunting and fishing stories for the Nov. 3 "First Tuesday" event from 7-8 p.m. at the Bieroc Café. George Sund, a retired Game Warden who served Furnas, Frontier, Gosper and Red Willow counties, will be the featured speaker...

McCook, Nebraska--The public is invited to an educational session sponsored by Community Hospital to learn how to operate an automated external defibrillator . The program is Thursday, Nov. 12 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Community Hospital Prairie View conference rooms. Instructor is Marc Harpham, McCook Fire Chief. The training includes a time of Q&A and hands-on training. A light snack will be provided...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Victory Christian Academy plans its sixth annual soup supper 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Nov. 8 at Memorial Auditorium. A variety of soups, drinks and desserts will be served.

Fourteen young hunters including two girls took part in a mentored youth pheasant hunt Saturday, sponsored by the Plains Sportsmen Chapter of Pheasants Forever. The McCook Gun Club provided facilities for the event, and the McCook Eagles Club provided lunch for participants. The chapter plans its annual Pheasants Forever Banquet Feb. 6...

We were saddened to hear of the death of the Rev. Tom Wilborn, who became pastor of the United Methodist Church in Curtis only five months ago. Wilborn was in the sanctuary of his church preparing for the morning service Sunday when he collapsed of a heart attack...

The third Republican presidential debate lacked the fireworks of the first two, thanks primarily to Donald Trump muzzling himself and, for the first time, sounding more like a politician than an outsider and that won't serve him well in the after-debate polls...

Ronnie L. Rogers is ready to share his retirement cake with co-workers this morning. He was recognized for 29 years with the U.S. Postal Service, all of it in McCook. He started as a clerk and carrier and became a full-time carrier five years later.

McCook Gazette McCOOK, Neb. -- In a modest and tidy home, Betty Liebrandt and Lynn Morrison go through some old pictures on the kitchen table. "Oh, look at this one, I remember those can cans we used to wear," Lynn says of the popular petticoats worn under skirts in the 1950s. The photo, taken when they were about 12, shows Lynn curled up in a chair and facing Betty who's kneeling beside her, both looking like they're trying not to laugh...

CULBERTSON, Neb. -- Roger P. Kolbet, 73, was taken to Community Hospital in McCook by Culbertson ambulance following the collision of the tractor he was driving with a semi Thursday in Culbertson. According t the Hitchcock County Sheriff's Office, Kolbet was the driver of a southbound tractor that failed to stop and yield at the controlled intersection of U.S. Highways 6-34 and Nebraska 17 on the west edge of Culbertson...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Nebraska Department of Roads plans to erect one 40-foot camera tower at mile marker 1.06 south McCook on U.S. 83 and another on Nebraska 34 south of Benkelman at mile marker 28.55. Work on the first tower is expected to begin Monday, with the second to be built after the first is completed...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A Howl-o-ween Pet Photo contest is set for Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon to 3 p.m. at Garrison's for Men / McCook Lettering, 306 Norris Ave. It's free to enter the contest and prize winners in each category will receive an 11x14 poster with award certificate from the animal shelter...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A new drone under development at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln could change the way wildfires are fought -- and encourage the use of prescribed burns for conservation purposes. The Unmanned Aerial System for Fire Fighting is under development by a multidisciplinary team of UNL experts in drone technology, fire ecology, conservation and public policy...

City leaders have drafted an agreement to allow for the continued operation of an approximate 950 cattle feedlot within city limits. The agreement is between the City of McCook and Bryan and Ami Hauxwell and has been in the works for months, according to city staff. Both sides have sought common ground that would allow for continued operation, yet limit the size and ensure environmental certification and annual cattle counts are conducted...

CULBERTSON, Neb. -- A 73-year-old Culbertson, Nebraska, man was injured Thursday when his tractor and a semi collided at the highway junction in Culbertson. Hitchcock County Sheriff D. Bryan Leggott reports that Roger Kolbet of Culbertson was hurt at 5:32 p.m., Thursday, when he failed to stop his southbound tractor at the junction of Highways 6&34 and 17 on the west edge of Culbertson and the tractor was struck by an eastbound semi-tractor trailer rig driven by 47-year-old Joseph L. ...