Stories from Monday, February 24, 2003

Republican Valley and Twin Valley "Vision for Tomorrow" school consolidation committees plan public informational meetings and facilities tours. Organizers plan these meetings: - Monday, March 3, Republican Valley Junior/Senior High. - Tuesday, March 4, Twin Valley Junior/Senior High...

Looking back over the past 10 years, it is impressive to behold all that has been accomplished from a housing standpoint in McCook. Just think about it. At the start of the 1990s, the Willow Ridge Retirement Cener did not exist. Neither did Highland Park, Maplewood Apartments, nor the Kelley Creek Apartments. Now, they are all thriving...

Dear Editor, Well God finally forgave our elected leaders' sins, and let it snow. I hope you use it well. Did you shovel the snow from the drive way and the side walks on to your lawn or garden? Did your homemade snow fence help? If you had a snow blower, did you blow snow from the street on to your lawn? Did you cover snow piles on the garden area so they would not melt so fast and soak longer into the ground? Did you pack snow around the dog house, to stop the winter winds and heat loss...

Dear Editor, I am distressed by the (Open Forum) from a highly decorated combat vet such as Mr. Thayer; that criticizes the current government policy on Iraq. This war is just as much a fault of the United Nations as it is anyone's. If the United Nations wasn't such a toothless old dog that needs to be put out of its misery, then we wouldn't have this problem. The resolutions that were approved and put into place should have been enforced...

A storybook season ended in sensational fashion Saturday for two outstanding McCook High School wrestlers. Stuart Frazier, who wrestles in the 215-pound classification, and Nate Reicks, who competes in the 189-pound weight class, etched their names in the record books with undefeated state championship seasons...

The family of Leona Trout is hosting a card shower in honor of her 80th birthday March 1. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 904 West 10th, McCook, NE 69001.

The family of Arlyn and Dorothy Lambert are hosting a card shower in honor of the couple's 50th anniversary, Feb. 27. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at PO Box 425, Beaver City, NE 68926.

Lydia Herr and Andy Renich, both of Wichita, Kan., announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. The prospective bridegroom is the son of Maurice and Julia Renich of Halstead, Kan., and the grandson of Harold and Elnora Burke of Bartley. The couple is planning a June wedding...

Friends of Alberta Wolf are hosting a card shower in honor of her 94th birthday, Feb. 25. Cards of congratulations will reach her at 1500 East 11th, Room 216, McCook, NE 69001.

The family of Theodora (Ted or Teddy) King of Grand Island, is hosting an open house March 1, 2-5 p.m., at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, 1811 Roberta Avenue, Grand Island, NE 68803. Cards of congratulations may also be sent to this address. ...

This family is in trouble. Mom and Dad are at their wits' end. Someone, usually a preteen or a teenager, in the family unit is acting out. Trouble is brewing and in some cases, the pot of strife is boiling over. This family is looking for help. Help for the child that has an identifiable, diagnosed emotional illness. ...

NORTH PLATTE -- In response to an expected deficit of more than $1 million, Mid-Plains Community College Area administrators will ask the Board of Directors to raise tuition and fees for the 2003-04 school year. The board will meet Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at the technical campus in North Platte...

Four to five inches of dry, powdery snow fell straight down through the night Sunday, leaving just .02 of an inch of moisture. McCook received another dusting this morning, and forecasters are calling for a chance of snow every day through Friday.

The calm surface of a pond south of Trenton reflects a winter-bare scrub-of-a-tree. The surface may appear mirror-like now, but not for long, with highs in the 50s on Saturday expected to give way to snow Saturday night and temperatures in the teens with snow on Sunday...

LINCOLN -- Sen. Tom Baker of Trenton was among state senators and constitutional officers honored at Nebraska Farm Bureau's Legislative Appreciation Luncheon in Lincoln on Feb. 6. The senator and Farm Bureau members are pictured with food items donated by members in recognition of Food Check-Out Day, also Feb. ...

Community Hospital recently installed the one-hundredth Lifeline unit in a client's home, according to Lifeline Coordinator, Ron Allen. Allen became the coordinator of the program in the fall of 2001 with the massive job of updating 61 units in homes across five counties. Since that time, he has added another 39 subscribers...

A Work Ethic Camp offender was taken into custody after walking away from the facility Friday evening. According to a press release, offender Jonathon Lee was discovered missing at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Local law enforcement and the Nebraska State Patrol were notified, the facility was secured and an emergency count was conducted...

Terrorism has always been with soldiers in any war. In the April 7, 1943, Gazette I read about some booby traps left by the Nazis which were intended to kill Allied troops. One was a whistle that didn't explode until it was blown. The vibrating pea would hit a detonator, causing the explosion...

Everyone eats to live, and some people seem to live to eat. Either way, eating is a big part of our lives. It is the major part of our personal budgets in the United States, and seeing that people worldwide have enough to eat is the biggest single problem facing world leaders today, a problem likely to be with us for a long long time...

One of the real concerns the founders of this great nation anticipated was the centralization of power. They knew that power unchecked too often turned into power unbridled. To ensure this didn't happen in this new land, they took two extraordinary steps. ...

BENKELMAN -- Cody Alan Mahan, 23, died Saturday (Feb. 22, 2003) near Ainsworth from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was born May 16, 1979, in Chadron, to Dale Wayne and Merry (McGrew) Mahan. In 1994, he moved with his family to Benkelman, Nebraska, where he attended Benkelman High School and was a member of the graduating class of 1998. ...

Irene Inez Gettman, 87, died Saturday (Feb. 22, 2003) at Community Hospital of McCook. Irene was born July 11, 1915, in the depot at Imperial, to Albert C. and Jennie M. (Marvin) Norman. She spent her life from second grade until death in McCook. She graduated from McCook High School in 1932. She was employed for a time by Chitwood Haddock Grocery Wholesale and then Northwestern Bell Telephone Company...

CURTIS -- Robert J. Russell, 77, died Friday (Feb. 21, 2003) at his home in Curtis. He was born April 22, 1925, north of Curtis, to Benjamin and Ellen Jensen Russell. He graduated from the Nebraska School of Agriculture in 1944. He entered the U.S. Army in September 1944 and served until November 1946. He was wounded during the battle of Okinawa and received the Purple Heart...