Stories from Thursday, August 17, 2017

Kelly Gene Simmonds March 20, 1958 - Aug. 15, 2017 MCDONALD, Kan. — Kelly Gene Simmonds, 59, died Tuesday (Aug. 15, 2017), at his home in McDonald. He was born March 20, 1958, in Goodland. He was a state highway employee. Survivors include his wife, Diane (Norris) Simmonds of McDonald; children, John (Tara) Simmonds of Goodland, Kan., and Kelly Ray Simmonds (Tiffany Grahm) of St. Francis, Kan.; sisters, Penny (Jeff) Stiverson of Denver, Colo., and Patricia Simmonds of Smith Center, Kan...

Veda Iola Heisel March 6, 1919 - Aug. 13, 2017 OBERLIN, Kan. — Veda Iola Heisel, 98, of Lenora, Kan., died Sunday (Aug. 13, 2017), at Norton County Hospital in Norton, Kan. She was born March 6, 1919, in rural Dresden, Kan., to Clarence and Jennie (Brintnall) Black. She attended McSwan School near Dresden. She married Ralph Heisel on Dec. 8, 1940, in Dresden. She cooked for the 5th Wheel Cafe in Oberlin, Kan., for 22 years and at Karen's Cafe and Senior Center in Lenora...

OXFORD, Neb. -- Most teams would be hard pressed to replicate a 25-win season that ended with a state tournament appearance...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Cambridge Cobblestone Hotel has visitors coming from France, Australia, Netherlands and Belgium for Monday’s eclipse, according to manager Judy McCune. “We had China, too, but Mr. Wang canceled,” she said. The McCook Pantry will be closed Monday because volunteers want to take in the once-in-a-lifetime event, and while McCook Public Schools will be open, the Red Willow County Courthouse will be closed for a long lunch hour as employees become temporary astronomers during the time of maximum darkness in McCook, about 12:55 p.m.. ...

WILSONVILLE, Neb. — As an eighth grader at Southwest Junior High in Bartley, Stephen Harrison set a goal. He wanted to collect 1 million aluminum pop tabs by the time he graduated from high school. He had five years to do it. Before heading off to his first year of college this week, Stephen posed with a virtual wall of 86 3 1/2-gallon plastic ice cream buckets stuffed to the gills with 1,190,000 pop tabs. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — A McCook man was sentenced to 6 to 8 years in state prison recently for the stabbing of another man found by security personnel bloodied and lying on the ground in the Community Hospital parking lot. The attacker, 25-year-old Jacob Cash of 1604 West 4th Street and 804 East 6th Street, accepted a plea agreement last month admitting guilt to a Class 2A felony for second-degree assault; a Class 3 felony for being a convicted felon in possession of a deadly weapon; a Class IV felony for tampering with physical evidence; and a Class IV felony for possession of methamphetamine.. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Van Korell, one of the three founding members of the McCook TeamMates program, was elected as the chapter’s first Board Member Emeritus at the board’s regular meeting in August. Dennis Berry, board president and Kathy Haas, board secretary, are the other two founding members. Both said that without the strong community support and leadership provided by Van, McCook most likely would not have the mentoring program today...

Lincoln, Neb. — Paul Orman of Maywood, Neb., has been named co-winner of the Addison E. Sheldon Memorial Award by the Nebraska State Historical Society. The award is given annually to an individual or organization for “outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation in the field of Nebraska History.”...

As I sit here watching basically the only tv show I ever get to catch in the evenings, House Hunters on HGTV, I laugh at the wife’s comments about the houses they’re looking at. Of course the couple’s budget was three times the amount I could ever imagine spending, so obviously the finishes in the houses are nicer than I will ever have in my lifetime. One of the kitchens they visited was remodeled with expensive cabinets, granite counters and brand new black appliances...

As a congregation of committed disciples of Jesus Christ, we condemn the violence, hatred and bigotry that occurred in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend. The actions and rhetoric which the world witnessed do not represent the core values of the United States or our community and are incompatible with the life of Jesus and the nature of the Kingdom of God. We categorically reject the myth of white supremacy...