Stories from Tuesday, October 17, 2017

OGALLALA, Neb. — Landon Towne and James Mockry both broke free for 70-yard touchdowns in McCook’s 47-0 JV football victory over Ogallala Monday. The Bison finished their season with authority as five different players reached end zones. Mockry’s 70-yard punt return ignited the season finale...

MAYWOOD, Neb. — Road construction? Hah! Nothing compared to the road-blocking crew taking swings at Maywood-Hayes Center Monday night. “What a battle!” Wolves coach Kory Rohde confirmed. “Hitchcock County is a tough team that plays extremely good defense. We showed a lot of heart tonight.”...

Love it or hate it, there’s one thing you can say about Halloween — it puts off the Christmas rush just that much longer. In fact, Halloween has become more and more a retailer’s dream in recent years, according to Sarah Hollenbeck of offers.com. The National Retailers Federation estimates consumers will spend a record-breaking $9.1 billion on Halloween this year, and a survey of 1,000 U.S. ...

Nebraska’s frustrations with property taxes go back over 150 years, when Nebraska was still only a territory. Throughout the decades, many proposals have been made to reduce the burden of the property tax system, but none have really worked. In 2016, the State of Nebraska collected almost $4 billion in total property tax, or $2,048 per person...

In response to the column by Mr. Pat Pope, CEO of Nebraska Public Power District, I would suggest that he and NPPD are not necessarily the good guys in white hats as in the rose-colored picture he paints. While historically public power has been good for Nebraska and its early electrification, NPPD is now a bloated government subsidiary with minimal oversight by the state...

Ding dong! The doorbell announced the arrival of two groups of church youths bearing gifts. The eager young people had been shopping items for Grannie Annie to send to “her” soldiers via her Adopt a Chaplain program. The funds to buy had been credited to each youth earned by hours volunteering at the county fair food booth. ...

Ray W. Wolgamott Jan. 25, 1936 - Oct. 13, 2017 IMPERIAL, Neb. — Ray W. Wolgamott was born to Wayne and Fern (Wilsey) Wolgamott on Jan. 25, 1936, in Lexington, Neb. He graduated from McCook High School and went on to Auctioneer school in St. Paul, Minn. Ray joined the United States Marine Corps on Sept. 22, 1955. He served his country for five years and was honorably discharged on Nov. 23, 1957; he received the Good Conduct Medal during his time in the Corps...

Virginia Jean Anderson Oct. 4, 1927 - Oct. 5, 2017 LINCOLN, Neb. — Virginia “Ginny” Jean Anderson, 90, of Lincoln, formerly of Paxton and Loveland, Colo., died Oct. 5, 2017, at Tabitha Rehabilitation Center in Lincoln, following a stroke. She was born on Oct. 4, 1927, to Wayne and Cleo Nelms in Bartley. She attended elementary school in Bartley and high school in North Platte. She graduated with the North Platte High School in 1945...

WAUNETA, Neb. -- Dundy County-Stratton played some of its best volleyball of the season Monday night to defeat Maxwell and Wauneta-Palisade in the opening rounds of the RPAC Tournament...

OXFORD, Neb. -- No. 1 Southern Valley defeated No. 4 Alma 3-1 to advance to Tuesday’s RPAC East Division Championship...

McCOOK, Neb. — A McCook native has turned her joy of shopping, and knack for “extreme couponing,” into a successful small business that allows her to give back to the community she calls home. Hollie Anderson of Omaha packed Memorial Auditorium last month with brand new items she stockpiled in her garage for weeks, prior to renting a delivery truck and making the trek to McCook. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The man who envisioned “The McCook Farm & Ranch Expo” 10 years ago credits much of its success to the quiet-natured cowboy who built the indoor arenas that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to McCook and the Red Willow County Fairgrounds...

McCOOK, Neb. — An Indianola man accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl received state prison time recently in Red Willow County District Court. The man, 40-year-old Kelly A. Barrett, accepted a plea agreement in July admitting guilt to attempted first-degree sexual assault, a Class 3 felony offense. He was sentenced in mid-September to two years state prison time and two years post-release supervision, in addition to being ordered to register as a sex offender for 25 years...

FARGO, N.D. — The Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team placed five in the Top Five over the weekend at the last fall rodeo of the season. The team competed at the North Dakota State University Bison Stampede last weekend. Members took home two first place finishes. Nate Bausch, of Waterbury, claimed one of those in the bull riding...

BERTRAND, Neb. — The Bertrand Vikings defended their home court brilliantly with RPAC tournament conquests of Southwest and Cambridge Monday evening. Southwest played a superb first set but still fell 25-23 to the host Vikings (14-6 record). The Roughriders (2-20) couldn’t quite recover while dropping those next two sets, 25-13 and 25-14...