Stories from Tuesday, March 13, 2012

McCOOK, Nebraska --The McCook school board tabled a school lunch price hike until it can get more information. The increase is needed to respond to new federal guidelines concerning government reimbursements to schools offering free- and reduced-price lunches...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Planning Commission invited Red Willow County Commissioners to attend its meeting, Monday evening at Memorial Auditorium, and give a presentation on the Law Enforcement Center that is to be built on Norris Avenue. The discussion between the two entities drew an attendance of more than 40 that crowded into City Council Chambers, with those in attendance seemingly split evenly between supporters and critics of the jail project...

Flames sneak into the passenger compartment of a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim that caught fire about 5:30 p.m., Monday, in the driveway at 711 West 14th in McCook, Nebraska. The car, belonging to Marion Brown Jr., was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene. ...

The Ag Task Force of the McCook, Nebraska, Area Chamber of Commerce fixes an early-morning breakfast of pancakes, sausage patties and eggs for its sixth annual "Ag Appreciation Breakfast" this morning on the Red Willow County fairgrounds in McCook. Manning the grill were, from left, task force members Mark Friehe, Kelly Egle, Brian Strauch, Craig Merrihew and Alan Gunther. The breakfast, scheduled during "National Ag Week," thanks all of those involved directly and indirectly in agriculture...

IMPERIAL, Nebraska -- Barbara Banks, 91, died Sunday, (March 11, 2012), at Imperial Heights Assisted Living Center in Imperial. Survivors include two sons, Don and wife, Jan, of Imperial, and Dick Banks, also of Imperial; daughters, Kathi Olson and husband, Rod, of Neosho, Missouri, Carlyn Hughbanks and husband, Rory of Hay Springs, Nebraska; two brothers, Kermit and wife, Charlene Arterburn of McCook and Keith Arterburn, also of McCook; a brother-in-law, Kenneth Spady of Ogallala, Nebraska; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Teachers in the McCook School District will receive pay increases over the next two years. The McCook Board of Education approved salary contracts between the McCook School District and the McCook Education Association, the local teachers' union, for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Another McCook High School alumni is coming home to teach. The McCook Board of Education approved Monday night at the regular meeting the teaching contract for Richard Smock, a recent MHS graduate. Smock will teach Social Studies at the McCook Senior High...

Ben Gonzales -- of Goltl Plaster, Dry Wall and Stucco of McCook, Nebraska -- attaches the wire mesh that will hold new stucco on the front of the former Ben Franklin store in downtown McCook Tuesday morning. Gonzales planned to a apply the stucco's "scratch coat" during the day, while late-winter temperatures crept into the 80s. ...

Nebraskans are known for their level-headedness, whether it's from the rolling prairie, the temperament of its legendary football coach or just its long agricultural tradition. Yes, we sometimes miss out on the highs experienced by those living near the beaches or ski slopes, but we also miss the lows experienced by urban areas...

My family loves Welsh rarebit (also spelled rabbit). Fried eggs, cooked bits of bacon or ham, cheddar cheese and chopped onions are placed on a baked pie crust. Certain interests and attitudes that I have must come from my Welsh ancestors. I have never been to Wales, but I know it is a country with a lot of singers, writers and poets. There are saying that "when two Welshmen get together, they form a chorus."...

It would seem to me that the American people need to be a little more careful when it comes to choosing a new president. Currently in vogue is choosing a presidential candidate, all too many of the other high political offices too, that has studied to be a lawyer. ...

The 2012 Session in the Legislature is moving along quickly as we finished two-thirds of the 60-day session last week. We will begin discussing budget bills this week along with continued work on priority bills. In my letter today, I would like to touch on the gambling bills LB1067 and LB806...

Most of us dread seeing a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, unless it's a refund check. But the IRS sent me some information recently that is good news for taxpayers -- free help filing income taxes, and I wanted to pass it on to my fellow Nebraskans...