Stories from Wednesday, January 31, 2018

TRENTON, Neb. — It’s easy to see why this curly-haired blur of a 5’6” Buffalo turns most defensive gameplans into real head scratchers. “Honestly, if we played them again, I don’t know we would do anything differently,” Hitchcock County coach Mike Tines confessed after witnessing 28 points from senior guard Braden Leitner in a 60-44 Rawlins County (Kan.) win Tuesday night...

McCOOK, Neb. — Color Day coronation and a new tip time will start two busy days of McCook home sports action this week. The Bison basketball teams are hosting a doubleheader against Southwest Conference rival Ogallala Thursday. Girls’ varsity tip time is now 5:30 p.m. with the boys’ contest set for 7:15 p.m...

Evan A. League Nov. 19, 1923 - Jan. 28, 2018 STRATTON, Neb. — Evan Arthur League was born Nov. 19, 1923, in Haigler, Neb., to Raymond E. and Anna S. (Hawkinson) League. His family moved to a farm south of Stratton, when Evan was a young boy. He graduated from Stratton High School in 1942...

HERSHEY, Neb. — The Southwest Roughriders ran into some feisty Hershey Panthers and dropped two basketball contests Tuesday night. Hershey’s 27-9 second quarter was too much for the Southwest boys in a 62-41 defeat. Senior Logan Greenlee was the lone ’Rider to reach double figures with 12 points...

IMPERIAL, Neb. -- Wray, Colo., outscore Chase County 33-19 in the second half to defeat the Lady Longhorns 64-56 Tuesday night in Imperial. Coming into Tuesday’s contest with an 11-3 record, Wray, the No. 2 ranked team in Colorado’s Class 2A, found itself trailing at halftime...

CURTIS, Neb. — Maywood-Hayes Center’s girls quickly regained their winning ways with a 54-18 triumph over Medicine Valley Tuesday evening. The Wolves (16-3 record) responded to a two-game losing streak by allowing only two points during their first quarter...

CURTIS, Neb. — A 35-point second quarter sealed Medicine Valley’s 78-18 win over Maywood-Hayes Center Tuesday evening. Sheldon Johnsen drilled all of the three Raider three-pointers in that eight-minute stretch. He delivered 11 of his 14 points while Ryan Klintworth added eight on his way to 12 total...

BERTRAND, Neb. — Senior Shaye Porter’s 20 points and 11 rebounds powered the Cambridge girls to a 47-45 triumph at Bertrand Tuesday night. The Trojans also saw Kati Moore deliver a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Korynn Clason’s 10 points helped the Trojans stay head after taking a 14-5 lead through their fopening quarter...

OXFORD, Neb. — Southern Valley’s win streak reached six thanks to the Eagle girls’ 52-37 victory over Phillipsburg, Kan., Tuesday night. Senior Cassie Bose continued her super final high school season by scoring another 24 points. She shot 60 percent from two-point range (six of 10) and an even better 89 percent at the foul line (eight for nine)...

IMPERIAL, Neb. -- Chase County didn’t give Wray, Colo., time to blink. With a solid first half and three players in double figures, the Longhorns ran past the visiting Eagles 67-47 in a Tuesday night contest in Imperial. Chase County started the game with one of its best quarters of the season...

Breaking free from a 20-19 first half, the Hitchcock County girls earned their 14th win this season with a 50-39 victory over visiting Rawlins County (Kan.). Balance was a big reason as three Falcons reached double figures: Senior Courtney Hrnchir scored a game-high 14 points, junior Allison Hoyt tallied 12 and sophomore Kass Kisker tossed in another 10...

We urged everyone to file their tax return as early as possible, so we hope you’ll indulge us with one more piece of advice: Plan your vacation early as well. National Plan for Vacation Day was actually Tuesday, but if you do it soon, you’ll be far ahead of the 46 percent of Americans who fail to set aside time to plan their vacation time each year...

Through numerous technological advancements, machines have become smarter. It is said that in 2020, the capability of machines can be comparable to the computing speed of the human brain. Aside from this, it has been possible to train machines to learn additional information through prediction of patterns, such as what we see in computer algorithms that perform automated tasks (e.g. auto-tagging photos, storing passwords, and other artificial intelligence applications)...

McCOOK, Neb. — City leaders are looking into implementing a new occupation tax on lodging establishments as part of an effort to provide property tax relief to residents. The new tax would be in addition to the 12 percent already levied on hotel and motels within McCook city limits...

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook Rotary Club raised $668 to benefit the McCook Pantry with their recent “Soup-R-Bowl” event. Thirteen businesses provided a wide variety of soups, either at the Keystone Business Center or at a downtown business location. Soup connoisseurs could sample any or all of the soup for the price of a free will donation. The public was also invited to vote for their favorite potage...

McCOOK, Neb. — Herrmann-Jones Funeral Chapel of McCook and Lockenour-Jones Mortuary of Cambridge hosted their first annual “Service of Remembrance” in December, with family members of those who had entrusted services to the funeral homes invited to attend. As part of the service, each family was presented with a wood carved memorial ornament in honor of their loved ones...

McCOOK, Neb. — A McCook woman arrested for third offense drunk driving in 2016 was sentenced to jail, probation time and ordered to pay a $500 fine earlier this month in Red Willow County District Court. The woman, 30-year-old Jessica R. Shafer of 801 East 5th Street, accepted a plea agreement admitting guilt to a Class W misdemeanor for second offense DUI and was subsequently sentenced to 10 days in county jail, 24 months probation, ordered to pay a $500 fine and her driver’s license was revoked for 18 months. ...