Stories from Thursday, February 17, 2011

McCOOK, Nebraska -- State Sen. Mark Christensen told McCook Chamber of Commerce members, Thursday morning during a weekly conference call at the Keystone that he was encouraged by the number of law enforcement entities that testified neutral or positive on behalf of LB516, his bill to allow teachers, security personnel and administrators to carry permitted concealed weapons on school grounds. ...

Private enterprise is alive and well in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. Need proof? Look no farther than the Army Reserve Training Center on Airport Road in McCook this weekend, when the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce puts on the 21st annual Home & Leisure Show...

I noticed a letter from someone in your opinion section expressing her shame at Mark Christensen's LB 654 "Birther Bill." I decided that I needed to write an opposing view to her comments because I think there are a lot of misconception about the citizenship issue and the presidency of the United States...

I don't necessarily hold with the idea of astrology. The notion that the location of the sun, planets, and the stars can mean anything as far as having an affect on our lives is a little out there. I am a great science fiction fan, but all of that is a little far out even for even me...

The results of this weekend's McCook High School boys basketball games should have little effect on seedings for the upcoming Class B-6 District Tournament. The Bison are a solid third in the B-6 power point standings, meaning McCook should avoid that dreaded 'bunny bracket" first-round game to start the district meet. But wins in the final weekend of the regular season for Coach Tim Garcia's squad would mean a huge momentum boost for the Bison entering district competition...

February 17, 2011 -- Today, the U.S. Senate approved, 87-8, a two-year Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill, which included key provisions pushed by Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson that preserved critical funding for Nebraska communities and their airports, and made it a federal crime to misuse body scan images generated at airports and federal buildings...

As I've found myself pressed for time this week, I've decided to do another column in a handy-dandy list form - this time I'm naming three of my all-time favorite TV shows now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Nothing I'm listing is in any particular order, by the way; where they appear on the list solely depends on when they wandered out of my subconscious, hit the neurological highway and took the off-ramps to my fingers, speaking metaphorically (and rather sloppily at that). ...