Stories from Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Jimmie (Jim) Dale Modrell June 11, 1944 - April 22, 2016 ANITA, Iowa -- A celebration of the life of Jimmie (Jim) Dale Modrell will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2016, in the Anita Community Center in Anita, Iowa. Jim was born in North Platte, Neb., to Richard and Violet Modrell, the first of six children: Johnnie, Roger, Shirley, Karen and Rhonda. ...

Elgin L. 'Jean' McMahan McCOOK, Neb. -- Elgin L. "Jean" McMahan died Saturday (April 23, 2016), in Florida. Services are pending with Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook.

80th birthday The children and grandchildren of Ethyl Siegfried of McCook are requesting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday Monday, May 2. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 506 E. Sixth, McCook, NE 69001.

McCOOK, Neb. -- Jim Garretson quit teaching a couple of years after he started. He had what many in the profession call "a negative experience" and never wanted to teach again. But he did. On Thursday McCook Community College will honor his 40-year career at a retirement open house...

McCOOK, Neb. -- ANAC, the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs Inc, has its winning pieces proudly displayed at the McCook Art guild until Sat. June 8. The McCook Art Guild is at McCook Art Center on Norris Avenue. ANAC is the only club in the United States that supports every art club in the state, according to nebraskaartclubs.org...

Industrial wire spools and other improvised fencing material is cleared from a West J Street residence Monday morning. The uniquely-painted green house had a history of nuisance abatement and ordinance violation disputes with the city and changed ownership recently, leading to the property cleanup. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A work session will be followed by selection of an auditor, the possible purchase of a new bus and 17 computer network switches at Wednesday's meeting of the Mid Plains Community College board of governors. The meeting will be in McMillen Hall Room 213 on the McCook Community College campus...

McCOOK, Neb. -- For the first time in 11 years, it appears likely that McCook will not have a community fireworks display on the Fourth of July. The McCook Optimist Club, which had handled the community fireworks display from 2005 to 2015, announced last summer that it would no longer be hosting the fireworks show...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Get ready McCook residents! Very soon, you are going to have an opportunity to create a vision for community growth. The opportunity is coming about because McCook has been selected to participate in an innovative new program called "Marketing Hometown America."...

Tri-State Towing's wrecker operator Michael Sides prepares to haul away the pickup involved in a one-vehicle accident at 8:50 p.m., Monday, at the intersection of Westridge and G Street in McCook. The pickup struck the curb and a tree before hitting and snapping off the street light pole on the island in the middle of the street. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Like catnip to a cat, 7,000 square feet of wide open space should be irresistible to a retailer with a dream. That much unobstructed floor space ... the perfect location ... a vital retail market ... what more could anyone want? That opportunity is available now in downtown McCook, as Jeff Tidyman of McCook and a group of friends are offering for lease the large commercial space with floor-to-ceiling display windows that look out onto two of the busiest streets in town...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Chamber of Commerce invites the public to drop in for coffee with Sen. Dan Hughes at 8 a.m. Thursday at Sehnert's Bakery, 312 Norris Ave., to hear a recap of this year's activities in the Legislature.

Playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians used to be a harmless part of growing up in America. Not any more. It's not just because of political correctness, where a child can be suspended for chewing a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun, or the post-Columbine or Sandy Hook Elementary world...

In 1995, I was able to visit the Dead Sea. It is located in Israel's Jordan River Valley. Water in it is much saltier than the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Countless chemical compounds bubble up in it from deep inside the earth. While I was thee, I tried to picture what it was like in 1947, when a young Bedouin (Arab) goatherder was searching for a goat. (It had strayed from the herd.)...

Did you notice? McCook, at the Fairground's Kiplinger Arena, was privileged to host some 400+ entries for a Nebraska High School Rodeo event this last weekend. Hundreds of high school age boys and girl from across the state plus horses, parents, grandparents and fans converged on our good facilities...

Nelda Ruth Gull Aug. 1, 1929 - April 26, 2016 McCOOK, Neb. -- Nelda Ruth Gull, age 86, departed this life Tuesday, April 26, 2016, at her home in McCook with her family by her side. Nelda was born Aug. 1, 1929, on the family farm south of Indianola, Neb., to John Rollie and Ruth Florence (Nickerson) Smith. She attended school in Indianola, graduating with the class of 1946...