Stories from Thursday, January 5, 2017

Just a few weeks ago, I noted the benefits of swimming, especially as a lifelong activity. So why am I revisiting this topic again so soon? Starting next week, the pool will be busier than ever. The McCook High School swim and dive team has resumed practices and heads to Kearney on Saturday for their first meet of the new year...

Howard Eugene Gill July 25, 1925 - Dec. 26, 2016 NORTON, Kan. -- Norton resident Howard Eugene Gill, 91, passed away on Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Center-Sherman County in Goodland, Kan., where he had been a resident for about three weeks...

Elsie JoAnn Hall Feb. 20, 1930 - Jan. 3, 2017 BEAVER CITY, Neb. -- Elsie JoAnn Hall, 86, of Beaver City, died Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2017), at Beaver City Manor and Assisted Living. She was born on Feb. 20, 1930, at Hastings, Neb., to Elmer and Christine (Glantz) Yost...

Erna Rita Schurr EUSTIS, Neb. -- Erna Rita Schurr of Eustis passed away Dec. 31, 2016, at Elwood Care Center. Erna was born in May of 1920 at Eustis to Louis G. and Rosine (Scholl) Gall on their farm south of Eustis. She attended school at Eustis and graduated with the class of 1938. On April 16, 1946, she married Martin T. Schurr at the Eustis United Methodist Church. The couple were blessed with eight children...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Doing what you believe in isn't always easy, something Diane Lyons knows firsthand. The 12-year veteran of the McCook School Board, who decided not to run for re-election this year, remembers often being the only one casting a vote against the majority on the board, such as when she pushed for stricter academic requirements for students in activities...

CURTIS, Neb. -- South Loup tightened its defense throughout a 52-22 victory over Medicine Valley's girls Tuesday evening. The Raiders (1-8 record overall) only trailed 11-8 through one quarter as Rylie Brown hit three of her four free throws and Skyler Sandoe scored another three points...

NORTON, Kan. -- Whose season loss total would double from one to two Tuesday night? The Cambridge Trojans made sure it wasn't them as tough defense and timely baskets led to a 38-31 victory over Norton, Kan. Freshman Korynn Clason's 12 points powered the Trojan girls' seventh win in eight games...

No more holiday breaking or putting brakes on a conference winning streak if the McCook Community College men have their way this weekend. The Indians (8-4 record) are 3-0 against league foes entering 2017. They tip off the new year with two huge home games against Eastern Wyoming College Friday night (7:30 p.m.) and Western Nebraska Community College Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.)...

Latest results from league action at TJ's Family Fun Center: Men's Major 16/17 Family Issues 312.5-253.5 J&L Construction 305.5-262.5 Stockman's Feed 282.5-287.5 Diamond Vogel 277.5-288.5 Maris Gen Cons. 277.5-290.5 Five Loners 271-294...

CURTIS, Neb. -- Mark Poeschel, Nebraska State FFA President from 1978 to 1979, will be featured at a public forum discussing "Leadership and Sustainability: The Balancing Act to Feed the World" on Tuesday at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture...

TRENTON, Neb. -- Hitchcock County commissioners interviewed two candidates for the vacant position of county assessor during their first meeting of the new year Monday. The Hitchcock County News reports that neither applicant was hired because neither has an assessor's certificate...

How many days do I drive around and patiently sit and endure the girls music they blare in my truck? They're always pluggin in their phones and blast some new hip hop song that I've never heard of, practically blowing my speakers and for certain rattling my eardrums. I always let them dance around and flail their heads back and forth, enjoying the boomin' tunes...

2016 was a landmark year for infrastructure investment in Nebraska. Concerned Nebraskans advocating on behalf of finishing the Nebraska Expressway System helped make it so. To honor that decades-old promise and position our state for new growth in this new year and beyond, the successes of 2016 should be viewed as a launching pad, not a finish line...

McCOOK, Neb. -- State officials are calling for regulatory oversight on an economic development tool popular among Nebraska municipalities, including the City of McCook. "Citizens and their elected officials need to be assured Tax Increment Financing is being used correctly for urban renewal of blighted and substandard areas of a community," said District 42 State Sen. ...