Stories from Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Steven Lee Brakhahn Jan. 14, 1957 - Jan. 15, 2017 ARAPAHOE, Neb. -- Steven Lee Brakhahn, 60, of Arapahoe, died Sunday (Jan. 15, 2017), at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge, Neb. He was born Jan. 14, 1957, at Oxford, Neb., to Clarence Carl and June Marie Brakhahn...

Glen Elden Baughman Sept. 13, 1930 - Jan. 14, 2017 OBERLIN, Kan. -- Glen Elden Baughman of Oberlin, Kan., passed away on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, at the Good Samaritan Society -- Decatur County Nursing Home in Oberlin. He was 86 years old. Glen was born on Sept. 13, 1930, at Caldwell, Kan., to parents, Ruby Oral and Ethel Rueann (McDannald) Baughman. He attended school in Deerfield, Kan...

Margaret "Peggy" C. VanWormer McCOOK, Neb. -- Margaret "Peggy" C. VanWormer, 60, of McCook, died Friday (Jan. 13, 2017), at her home in McCook surrounded by family. Services are pending with Carpenter-Breland Funeral Home of McCook.

Clovis Eugene Edgell McCOOK, Neb. -- Clovis Eugene Edgell, 87, died Wednesday (Jan. 11, 2017), at Community Hospital of McCook. Services are pending with Carpenter-Breland Funeral Home of McCook

Arthur H. Dunker April 6, 1923 - Jan. 9, 2017 McCOOK, Neb. -- Arthur H. Dunker, age 93, died Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, at Community Hospital in McCook. He was born on April 6, 1923, at the family farm north of Ludell, Kan., to Herman C. and Marie (Domsch) Dunker. ...

Barnhart, Fellhoelter Morgan Barnhart and Clem Fellhoelter, both of Scott City, Kan., announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Parents of the bride-to-be are Daryl and Yvonne Barnhart of McCook, Neb. Grandparents are Melvern and Carolyn Cornett of Belleville, Kan., Barbara Barnhart of St. Francis, Kan.; and the late Jerdene Barnhart. Great-grandmothers are Marge Walker and Ramona Cornett, both of Belleville...

40th anniversary The family of Don and Colleen Olson of rural McCook is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. They were married at St. John's Lutheran Church in Culbertson, Neb. in 1977. Their family includes children, Alisha Olson of Grapevine, Texas and Luke (Naomi) Olson of Grand Island, Neb.; and two grandchildren, Kergan and Weston Olson. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 71807 Road 382, McCook, NE 69001...

80th birthday Lois Tiller of McCook will celebrate her 80th birthday on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. She would enjoy hearing from friends. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 705 West L, McCook, NE 69001.

OBERLIN, Kan. -- The Decatur Community Red Devils won by a half-point over Smith Center in Saturday's Oberlin, Kan., Tournament title chase. Decatur scored 108 points to edge Smith Center with 107.5 while Goodland, Kan., totaled 103 points. Top Red Devil performances...

Cambridge and Wauneta-Palisade were among the area girls teams who scored a pair of strong wins last weekend. The Trojans (11-1 record) won a tough 62-49 home contest with Sutherland Friday night, then smothered Maxwell 49-13 on Saturday. Senior Alea Shaner's 21 points led the Friday victory as she hit three of four from three-point range...

The Cambridge boys improved to 8-4 with a 61-49 win over Sutherland Saturday evening. No individual stats were obtained. Other area boys results from the weekend: Dundy County 43, Arapahoe 40 ARAPAHOE, Neb. -- Dundy County's boys allowed only one basket in the second quarter and then fought off determined Arapahoe, 43-40, on Saturday...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A super 29-16 fourth quarter sparked the McCook Community College women to their 90-80 win over Laramie, Wyo., Community College on Saturday. Kylea Watson from Edison put 25 points through the nets while frehsman A'Leah Davis tossed in 23...

OBERLIN, Kan. -- McCook's Carson Richards won the 106-pound championship to lead Bison wrestlers at Saturday's Oberlin, Kan., Invitational. Richards raised his record to 16-4 with an impression 10-0 major decsion over Cole Rockwell of Wray, Colo., who brought an 11-2 record into their match...

Taking the baskets out of basketball continues to be a problem for McCook High girls this season. A 17-0 third quarter decided the Hastings Tigers' 42-26 win Friday night. On Saturday, McCook was hanging close to visiting Minden especially after junior Jaden Bryant found classmate Bailey Honn sneaking behind the defense...

McCOOK, Neb. --Every McCook Bison player knew where the heat was coming from Saturday afternoon. Find the curly-haired fireball, get him a basketball and watch all those points go firing through the home-court nets. "It was a total team effort. Our guys did a great job of getting the ball to Hunter," coach Jeremy Yilk declared after junior Hunter Potthoff's 37 points fueled a 59-47 home win over the Minden Whippets...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- McCook's 200-freestyle girls relay set a new school record to highlight the Bison swimmers' all-time best finish at Saturday's Licoln High Invitational. Laurel Schmidt, Candace Coleman, Becca Tietz and Shayne Coleman finished their race in 1:47.57 -- slightly more than a half-second faster than any previous Bison 200-freestyle relay...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Twilight skateboarding and biking at the Bolles Canyon Skatepark took another step closer to becoming a reality earlier this week. The McCook City Council accepted a $1,500 donation from the McCook Community Foundation Fund that put the skatepark lighting project at $10,000 of its $14,500 goal...

STAMFORD, Neb. -- Friends in the Stamford and Orleans areas plan a benefit to help a Stamford couple who lost their home and possessions in a house fire Dec. 26. To help Dale and Janet Laizure rebuild their lives, the Orleans Lions and Stamford Trinity Lutheran Church will host a fund-raising lunch and auction Sunday, Jan. 22, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Ag Center in Orleans...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Streets and highways of solid ice and the very real possibility of slippin' and slidin' convinced many drivers to stay home during the worst of the ice storm that gripped Southwest Nebraska Sunday and Monday. Spokesmen for the City of McCook and the Nebraska Department of Roads echoed each other this morning, saying they appreciated drivers staying off the streets and highways when they were so slippery and unsafe...

McCook Senior High student body selects Faith Hansen and Eric Langan (center) as Color Day 2017 queen and king following the MHS basketball victory over Minden Saturday evening. Faith is the daughter of Jamey Hansen and Eric is the son of Michael and Angela Langan. ...

Winter Storm Jupiter (the Weather Channel's name) turned out to be somewhat of a bust in McCook, but there were scattered power outages in the area and a few non-injury accidents reported around McCook. The latter is probably true because many businesses, including the Gazette, chose to close their doors Monday rather than risk the safety of their employees and customers on the icy streets and highways. ...

The weekend brought a couple of reminders of how our attitudes have changed about space exploration. One prompted images of just how much history we are losing as the prior generation of explorers leaves the earth. The other shows possibilities for the future...

Grannie Annie and this old guy were traveling. Grannie was experiencing symptoms of what she thought might be flu. Time to go to an emergency room. Our daughter in Omaha recommended the Women's Hospital and so we walked in. Thanks to medical insurance, a treasured benefit of prior military service, check in was a nonevent. ...

Robert Henry Palmer Jr. Nov. 28, 1932 - Jan. 15, 2017 BENKELMAN, Neb. -- Robert Henry Palmer Jr. was born on Nov. 28, 1932, in his parents' home in the northern part of Driftwood Township in rural Rawlins County, Kan. He passed away on Jan. 15, 2017, in Benkelman. His parents were Roy J. "Buzz" and Delphia M. Goudy Palmer. His health had been deteriorating for several years...