Stories from Thursday, March 8, 2018

HAYS, Kan. — With a 40-40 tie and Hays sounding like southeast Atwood, coach Ryan Marvin knew 24 years had been worth the wait Wednesday night. “It was incredible. It was like a home game for us,” he declared about Rawlins County’s Kansas state tournament basketball game Wednesday night. “I looked up and nearly all our side (of the arena) was filled.”...

McCOOK, Neb. — “Iron Man” has been an annual award for McCook High wrestlers, but no Bison can match what senior Gavyn Klein achieved in 2017-18. Klein captured “Iron Man” honors for a fourth consecutive year, an award to every wrestler who doesn’t miss one practice through the entire season...

William “Billy” Duane Bryant Sept. 14, 1955 - March 7, 2018 CURTIS, Neb. — William “Billy” Duane Bryant, son of Bill and Norma Lea (Cole) Bryant, was born in McCook, Neb., on Sept. 14, 1955. He was taken to his heavenly home in the early morning of March 7, 2018, after a battle with Myelodysplastic Syndrome. At the time of his passing Billy was surrounded by his family and loved ones. Billy relied on his deep faith, love for Jesus, and family during this difficult time...

Patrick Raymond Keitges June 3, 1939 - March 2, 2018 AURORA, Colo. — Patrick Raymond Keitges, age 78, of Aurora, passed away on Friday, March 2, 2018. He was born on June 3, 1939, in Hollywood, Calif. In his early years, Pat was a gifted athlete who excelled in football, basketball and baseball. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Northeast Community College scored an unearned run with two outs in the top of the seventh Wednesday to spoil the home debut of the McCook Community College Indians baseball team. MCC lost 5-4 after winning the first game of the day 12-2 over St. Claire County Community College...

We’ll spare readers a semi-annual rant about the stupidity of Daylight Saving Time — it really doesn’t save anything and, in fact, creates more problems than it solves. Although “spring forward” is popular for those of us who like to use the extra hour for outdoor activities in the afternoon, we’d be tempted to endorse any candidate with a “dump DST” plank in their campaign platform...

The Legislature last week kept itself busy and productive. All the bills have had their hearings and early in the week the legislature began full day floor debates on Wednesday. The Natural Resources Committee will hold one more hearing before the end of session...

So my kids are too young to remember the Looney Tunes cartoons with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, but the coyotes continuously failed quests to keep up with that clever bird describes exactly how I feel about my kids and technology. Just when I think I’ve got it all figured out and am one step ahead of them, I find out they’ve already passed me by and I’m left standing in their dust, a good mile behind them. “Beep, beep! Zoom….” And the anvil falls on my head...

LINCOLN, Neb. — A University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher has shown widespread irrigation has resulted in a net moisture loss in Nebraska, a finding that could have worldwide water conservation implications if substantiated by further research. Across Nebraska, runoff rates have generally dropped by a little more than a tenth of an inch per decade between 1979 and 2015, said Joe Szilagyi, a research hydrologist with the Conservation and Survey Division in the School of Natural Resources. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook man who led law enforcement on a four-county chase in November 2017 and failed to register an address change as a sex offender was sentenced to prison and jail time Monday in Red Willow District Court. Judge David Urbom ordered that Samuel Joseph Yeager, 34 years old, serve two years with the Nebraska Department of Corrections for the sex offender registry violation, a Class IIA felony, in addition to 12-month post-release supervision. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The Knights of Columbus has been frying fish in McCook for 29 years. “We used to fry inside,” one of the Knight fryers said, adding, with a chuckle, “But for six weeks, the whole hall smelled fishy.” They fry outside now and are up to serving 250 pounds of pollack each Friday evening during six weeks of Lent. The Knights estimate they serve 300 people each evening...

McCOOK, Neb. — A bill that would have extended natural resource districts’ ability to levy a 3-cent tax came up short in Nebraska Legislature, much to Dist. 44 State Senator Dan Hughes’ dismay. Hughes said this morning that LB 98 was important to Southwest Nebraska as a method to be more efficient with water usage and would have been a way to preserve the aquifer. The bill garnered 28 votes, with 33 needed to proceed...