Congratulations on area events

The people of the McCook area have done it again! With the all-out support of hundreds of volunteers, the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life has soared over its goal, with more than $32,000 raised in this year's event.

"It's heart-warming that so many do so much," said Gloria Masoner, a Gazette writer who lost a sister to the disease. "On a personal level, it's uplifting to know that the community is joining together to do all it can to fight cancer."

Fund-raising activities have been going on throughout the summer and they continued Friday night with a variety of exploits. The participants -- and the crowd -- had a lot of fun with the "Miss Relay Contest," in which guys dressed up like girls and canvassed the town in pursuit of gifts. Those efforts added $1,500 to the contribution total. After all, who could resist giving when approached by cute characters like "Naughty Nancy the Nurse?"

This year's event also received a boost from Congressman Tom Osborne. During a campaign stop in McCook, the famed former coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers helped kick off the Relay.

In the 20 years of its existence, the Relay for Life has become the nation's largest single fund-raising event. It brings together 1.75 million people in nearly 2,700 communities.

We're proud that McCook, a town of 8,000 population, is such a strong part of the fund-raising program. It takes a lot of work and we're grateful to the chairpeople -- Shane and Deb Smith, Sheila Snyder and Traci Stevens -- and the hundreds of volunteers and contributors who helped them.

*****

The Relay for Life was just one of dozens of events in the Golden Plains over the weekend. This is shown by the miles traveled by the Gazette's regional editor, Connie Jo Discoe. Between Friday and Sunday, she traveled 804 miles to attend the Hayes County Fair in Hayes Center, the Half-Marathon in Bartley, the Car Show in Arapahoe, the Harvest Festival Parade in Trenton, the Cheyenne County Fair in St. Francis and the Bluegrass Festival in Haigler.

That's a lot of miles, but it's not unusual for Connie, who now has logged more than 250,000 miles on her 1989 Blazer.