Take it and run ...

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette

Cautious of a jolly, bearded man all dressed in red and offering candy, Cooper Roth accepts a candy cane, but quickly heads back to Mom's safe arms. Cooper, the two-year-old son of Heather and Mike Roth of Milliken, Colorado, and his cousin, Brody Lytle, the three-year-old son of Jeff and Nikki Lytle of McCook, recently visited Santa Claus at the Museum of the High Plains in McCook. Brody told Santa he would like a tool bench and tools, and speaking for his bashful cousin, he was sure that's what Cooper wants, too. Santa plans another visit at the museum Thursday, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.