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Articles from the December 27, 2012 edition


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  • Sad sagas the story in 2012 sports world

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    Jerry Sandusky will spend the rest of his life in prison, Penn State football played under NCAA sanctions and Joe Paterno passed away. Lance Armstrong abandoned his fight against doping allegations. Roger Clemens won his court battle, despite lingering skepticism over whether he used steroids. The impact of early-stage dementia forced Pat Summitt to step down from her coaching perch. Again and again, it seemed, the sports world in 2012 saw the end of long tales with tragic or, at best,...

  • U.S. consumer confidence falls on fiscal cliff fears

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in December, driven lower by fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week. The Conference Board said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell this month to 65.1, down from 71.5 in November. That’s the second straight decline and the lowest level since August. The survey showed consumers are slightly more optimistic about current business conditions and hiring. But their outlook for the next six months deteriorated to its lowest level since 201...

  • Gun group offers training for Utah teachers

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Classroom teachers could stop school shootings by carrying concealed weapons, say gun-rights advocates who plan to offer the required training Thursday for 200 Utah teachers. The Utah Shooting Sports Council said it would waive its $50 fee for concealed-weapons training for the teachers. Instruction featuring plastic guns is set to begin at noon Thursday inside a conference room at Maverick Center, a hockey arena in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley. It’s an idea gaining traction in the aftermath of the Con...

  • Ex-President George H.W. Bush in intensive care

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    HOUSTON (AP) – Former President George H.W. Bush is being treated in the intensive care unit at a Houston hospital after suffering “a series of setbacks,” including a stubborn fever, his spokesman said. In a brief email Wednesday, Jim McGrath, Bush’s spokesman in Houston, said the 88-year-old former leader had been admitted Sunday to the ICU at Methodist Hospital. McGrath said Bush, the oldest living former U.S. president, was alert and talking to medical staff. He said doctors are cautiously optimistic about Bush’s treatment and that the forme...

  • Storm whips into Northeast bringing snow, rain

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A powerful winter storm brought snow to inland parts of the Northeast and driving rain and wind to areas along the coast Thursday, a day after it swept through the nation’s middle, dumping a record snowfall in Arkansas and wrecking post-holiday plans for thousands of travelers. The storm, which was blamed for 15 deaths, pushed through the Upper Ohio Valley and made its way into the Northeast Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, there was anywhere from a few inches of sno...

  • Settlement reached in Toyota acceleration cases

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    LOS ANGELES (AP) – With a proposed payout of more than $1 billion, one major chapter of a nearly four-year legal saga that left Toyota Motor Corp. fighting hundreds of lawsuits and struggling with a tarnished image has ended, though another remains. The settlement – unprecedented in its size according to a plaintiff’s attorney – brings an end to claims from owners who said the value of their vehicles plunged after recalls over sudden and unintended acceleration. Lawsuits claiming that the defects caused injury or death remain, with the first t...

  • Five reasons not to be a ‘do-it-yourself’ investor

    Dec 27, 2012

    These days, you can go online and invest, for modest fees. You can also visit various websites for research and watch numerous cable shows for investment recommendations. So, why shouldn’t you be a “do-it-yourself” investor rather than work with a financial professional? Actually, there are at least five good reasons why a financial advisor can help make you a better investor. A financial advisor can: • Ask the right questions — If you try to invest on your own, you may find yourself asking the wrong questions, such as: “What’s the ‘hottest...

  • Bond's Broadcast

    Hank Bond, Sun-Telegraph|Dec 27, 2012

    There’s nothing like looking in the eyes of young people on Christmas morning. This year, while I didn’t get to be where my children and grandchildren were I did get the opportunity to watch Christmas package opening opportunities via Skype on the Internet. Skype for those who may now know allows use of a web-cam or video camera and can be seen by the other party wherever they may be. I had grandchildren in eastern Kentucky and in Nevada – and I was able to watch the proceedings. The beauty of it is getting to watch the faces of those young boy...

  • Gun owners

    Dec 27, 2012

    Editor, I thought you might be interested in a story about a gun dealer in Pine Top, Ariz., who placed a sign in his window which stated that if you voted for Obama your business is not welcome here. When interviewed, he said that “anyone who voted for Obama was not responsible enough to own a gun”. He was asked if this sign had not caused him to lose a lot of customers? His answers was “NO,” in fact he had orders on his counter at that moment to be shipped to Massachusets, New Jersey, Michigan, and Missouri. He had no qualms about his stateme...

  • The wrong cause

    Dec 27, 2012

    Editor, We are feeling a particular sadness this Christmas season. Preparations for family gatherings, gift giving, school programs, and making of confections have become less important. Our sorrow over the shootings at Newtown, Conn., is heavy in our hearts. How can something so horrendous and evil happen? Why would anyone kill little innocent children? Now the talk is about gun control. If guns were not available, this would not have happened. Really?? For days I felt sick for the parents and the little children who witnessed this horrific...

  • Who's to blame?

    Dec 27, 2012

    Editor, Article 1. Section 8: Describes what Congress can do. What this means is a large part of the blame for our present state of affairs can be attributed to Congress with the approval of the President and not the other way around. Congress creates legislation and the funding for it then send it to the President for his approval or veto so they are both responsible for any goodor bad outcome from that legislation. When we the people elect people to both local and federal offices we expect they will work to resolve problems affecting everyone...

  • Dr. Herbert C. Q. Nelson

    Dec 27, 2012

    Dr. Herbert C. Q. Nelson 1921 to 2012 Dr. Herbert Cecil Quinten Nelson, 91, passed away at Sidney Regional Medical Center on Dec. 25, 2012. He courageously fought a long, hard battle against lung disease. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 29, in the Light Memorial Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dr. Dixie Voss Anders officiating. Military graveside honors will follow in the Greenwood Cemetery. Friends may stop at the Gehrig-Stitt Chapel on Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. with the family...

  • Teresa Myers

    Dec 27, 2012

    Teresa Myers Teresa Myers, 64, of Sidney, died Tuesday evening, Dec. 11, 2012, at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in the Holechek Funeral home in Sidney with Pastor Pete Morgan officiating. Inurnment will be on Jan. 4, 2013, in Greenwood Cemetery at York. Cremation has taken place and there is no visitation at the funeral home. Memorials have been established to the Wagon Tails Animal Rescue. You can view the online obituary and share condolences with the family at...

  • Warren James Ellison

    Dec 27, 2012

    Warren James Ellison 1923 to 2012 Warren James Ellison passed away peacefully on Dec. 7, 2012, in Chandler, Ariz. Memorial services took place at Village Oaks/Ameritas in Chandler, Ariz., on Dec. 15, 2012. Warren’s final resting place will be in Nebraska. Memorials have been established in Warren’s name to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) or Hospice of the Valley. Memorials can be sent to Jim and Gail Ellison, 1645 Yucca Drive, Gering, NE 69341. Warren was bo...

  • June Erb

    Dec 27, 2012

    June Erb June Erb, 78, of Oshkosh and Chappell, passed away Monday morning, Dec. 24, 2012, at Miller Memorial Care Center in Chappell. Funeral Services will be on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, at 11 a.m. at the Holechek Funeral Home in Oshkosh with Pastor Ezekiel Koech officiating. Cremation will take place following the services and private family burial of the ashes will take place at the Oshkosh City Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be prior to services Friday morning at the funeral home....

  • George C. d’Avignon

    Dec 27, 2012

    George C. d’Avignon Maj. (ret.) George C. d’Avignon, 79, of Key West, Fla., passed away in the evening on Dec. 12, 2012, at Kindred Specialty Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida. Cremation has taken place and he will be buried at sea. A memorial service will take place at a later date in Key West. George was born in Hartford Connecticut and grew up in New Jersey. At age 18 he entered the U.S. Army and became a professional soldier, and later a Green Beret. He was devoted to his country and was wounded during his service in the Vietnam War. He...

  • Over the fiscal cliff: Soft or hard landing?

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    WASHINGTON – Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end “fiscal cliff” were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break. “God only knows” how a deal can be reached now, House Speaker John Boehner declared. President Barack Obama, on his way out of town himself, insisted a bargain could still be struck before Dec. 31. “Call me a hopeless optimist,” he said. A look at why it’s so hard for Republicans and Democrats to compromise on urgent matters of taxes and spending, and what happens if they fail to meet th...

  • 5 issues small business owners will face in 2013

    Associated Press|Dec 27, 2012

    NEW YORK – In 2013, small business owners will contend with many of the same issues that made it hard to run their companies over the last 12 months. They’re also heading into the new year with a lot of uncertainty. It’s unlikely that negotiations in Congress will resolve all of lawmakers’ disagreements over tax and budget issues that affect small businesses. And there are still many questions about the implications of the health care law for small companies. That points to continued caution – and perhaps slow hiring – among the nation’s sm...

  • A handshake and a fair deal – true to their word

    Tina Mines, Sun-Telegraph|Dec 27, 2012

    Little do some people in Sidney know but, at first, upon migrating here the De Novellises, didn’t open Sidney Auto Sales car lot or wasn’t even in the car business. Even prior to moving to Sidney, despite Dennis ‘Denny’ De Novellis’s background of growing up around the business, he was not. He worked as manager of a large furniture store in Colo., a job he obtained from a friend after coming home from touring on the PBA Bowling Tournament tour. Sherry De Novellis was the self-proc...

  • World War II Veteran; Dewayne Phelps

    Tina Mines, Sun-Telegraph|Dec 27, 2012

    Air Force Veteran Dewayne Phelps literally can say he knew the fighter planes and bombers used in World War II inside and out even before he was an enlisted man. Prior to going into the service Phelps said he worked for the company in California, that built the planes used overseas. “We were building Air C Planes and the bombers b-24 in that plant,” Phelps said to name a couple planes the company built. “I mostly worked with the Air C Planes. The bombers were built in a different depar...

  • ‘Sidney’s economy is strong’

    Hannah Van Ree, Sun-Telegraph|Dec 27, 2012

    Nebraska has been rated the third best-run state in the United States behind North Dakota and Wyoming and had the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 4.4 percent last year, according to a survey done by 24/7 Wall St. In 2010 Nebraska also had the second-lowest debt per capita at $1,297. The average for states nationwide was $3, 614. Being one of the nation’s biggest agricultural producers, with that subdivision earning 8.3 percent of the states GDP last year. The survey team members determined the results by reviewing each s...