Opinion

This Memorial Day weekend will be special in Danbury, where special services Sunday will honor one of the sons of Southwest Nebraska who gave their lives in the war in Southeast Asia. Danbury native Capt. Daniel Wayne “Danny” Thomas took off on an orientation flight in a small, OV-10A aircraft in January 1971, and didn’t return. In 2014, the crash site was discovered in Vietnam’s central highlands, and his body was returned last November...

Of all the things that have gotten turned upside down during the Trump presidency, the most obvious one has been the press. It has been held in high esteem by most people for as long as this country has been in existence and now it’s being shattered and maligned by the President and his supporters in ways not seen before...

It’s hard to fault any action that will potentially reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world, but North Korea’s destruction of a test site was likely more symbolic than anything else. The hermit kingdom first hedged its bets by calling Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy,” then invited journalists in to watch it set off a series of explosions over several hours at the Punggye-Ri site in North Korea...

Things in Lincoln have slowed down considerably since the end of session last month. This week I would like to update you on a major renovation to your state capitol. Over the next eight or more years, the capitol will be under construction. We will be updating the old heating and cooling system with a new HVAC unit, as well as, repairing and fixing the windows. ...

Yes, she had to go to England where she had a forced delivery of a baby, who, of course died because of the early extraction from the womb. But the 8th amendment in Ireland would have forbidden this, hence the trip to England. In talking to an interviewer, who was very sympathetic, the confused woman made a significant remark, one that showed exactly where her “goat was tied,” one that democrats and “pro-choice feminists” and other “fuzzy-minded” people hold on to for dear life to. To Wit:...

When I taught my children and grandsons, the alphabet I explained to them that V was the first letter of the word Viking. During grade school, we learned that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. However, he was not the first European to reach the New World...

One of my goals as I start my new position as the McCook Economic Development Corporation Executive Director is to be in constant communication with the community. One effort to do this will be a monthly article that comes out the week after our board of directors meets. This is the inaugural monthly article...

Fingernails scraping a blackboard sends a chill down the spine for most of us, but what about a sound that has the opposite effect? That’s what millions of people are claiming with a new online activity called ASMR, which some wags have dubbed “whisper porn.”...

The Gazette and other newspapers have known for a long time their basic medium — “paper” is in their name, after all — would be costing more because of political action beyond their control. A temporary delivery problem has forced the Gazette to drastically limit production and delivery until the crisis passes, but long-term prospects are just as troubling...

Memorial Day weekend is quickly approaching us once again. The McCook American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts and a number of community volunteers will be setting out flags on our veteran’s gravesites at Calvary, Memorial Park, and Riverview cemeteries in McCook on Saturday, May 26th at 9:00 am...

Oh, my. Grannie Annie overslept and missed the first half hour of the royal wedding. Regret. Oh darn. The old guy missed even more but few regrets. Still, I was impressed that the English still know how to do pomp and ceremony. Flawless and a tip of my hat to them. ...

I have worked some sort of road work for approximately 50 years. I have seen people drive through roadblocks; some have to get out of their vehicles to do so. Where were the signs and on this particular road and flagmen? Or do they not realize that other people travel that road?...

The “Snakes,” who were really the pagan Druids, who reigned supreme among the Irish people, until St. Patrick arrived and converted the simple, pagan Irish by introducing them to Christianity and its “Gospel of “Life,” as opposed to the “Gospel of Death.”...

As a partner of Red Willow County, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS) has served under the direction of Red Willow County for the Pretrial Juvenile Diversion program. This important program helps to keep an average of 80 youth per year from entering into the juvenile justice system...

The writer of an article, “Bizarre World,” joins the Democrat Party in Ballyhooing and rehashing the weeping willow complaints of the unbelieving losing party in a national election for the Presidency. Get out your handkerchiefs while we quote a few of the tear-jerkers we were asked to wallow in sympathetically, all stemming from the Democratic Playbook, ad nauseam. ...

I am writing you concerning the article in the McCook Gazette about Red Willow County Commissioner McNutt tossing a rake in front of a moving school bus. I find it hard to believe that Commissioner McNutt will not have any type of repercussion taken against him concerning this incident...

Cellular phones used to be a safe haven for those who didn’t want to receive telemarketing calls. Those days are long over, to the point that many of us won’t answer a call from a number that’s not already in the contacts list on our smartphone. “If it’s important, they’ll leave a message” seems to be the mantra. Texting or SMS or Facebook messaging is more and more the connection of choice, and not just for millennials or younger...

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the first idea for an editorial that popped up the day after an election was the fact that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We joke about being “Coocoo for Cocoa Puffs” and sell leftover merchandise during “Crazy Days” but mental illness is “funny like a heart attack” as the saying goes...

Just watched a YouTube video of a gentleman from North Platte ranting about one of our Red Willow County Commissioners. Had to do with a rake and a school bus. Didn’t make a lot of sense but was an interesting format to protest a person in public office. Facts? Balance from the other side? Just a second-hand rant. He also had disparaging words for about all our elected officials both city and county. One good thing about it the author of the rant can’t vote in this jurisdiction...

When I was growing up at home, the County Assessor sent someone to the farm to check and assess all of the personal property. The tangibles and intangibles, everything you owned, was assessed and put on the tax roll. Cattle were counted and grain in the bin was measured...

At times it seems Old Glory is permanently at half-staff. The older — make that “more experienced” among us remember when seeing the flag anywhere other than the top of the pole was unusual. When it was, we usually didn’t have to ask — President Kennedy had been assassinated, or a space shuttle had exploded...

Linda and I had been married only 6 months when our first Mother’s Day rolled around. So not only was I new at knowing what to do on Mother’s Day, I was new at knowing what to do as a husband. The day passed by quietly and as we were watching television at around 11 o’clock that night, Linda politely but firmly informed me that I hadn’t wished her a happy Mother’s Day. ...

I always thought American was a kid-friendly place where wholesome values were cherished and children were nurtured and protected. I guess I was wrong. In Trump’s bizarre world, parents are put in the position of having to explain to their children what a porn star is. That’s just sick and wrong...

Joyful, clamorous voices, laughter, off-key singing and the thumping sounds of bouncing balls alert me that my favorite program has begun.  Full of action, drama, fantasy and comedy, this reality show is not filtered through the television, computer, nor my cell phone, and it is not interrupted with commercial breaks.  It is called “recess,” and it can be found on the school playground two to three times daily during the school year...

The earliest European explorers arrived in what is now Nebraska by following the rivers, natural pathways to the mountains where they hoped to find their fortune in furs or gold. Later travelers were linked to Utah via the Mormon Trail, or Oregon via wagon train...