Portions of a loaded coal train have derailed in the Nebraska Sandhills.
A spokesperson for BNSF Railway confirmed the derailment of 29 cars of the eastbound train at around 5 a.m., Tuesday between Ashby and Hyannis.
The spokeperson said that the derailed cars, which were in the middle of the 100-plus car train, were on their side. There were no injuries in the incident.
The incident remains under investigation.
Tuesday, Oct. 2, was a good night for Hemingford and Alliance Volleyball!
At Hemingford: The Hemingford JV defeated Crawford, 25-15, 25-18, while the Hemingford Varsity won in three straight sets, 25-12, 25-17, 30-28. The Varsity Cats are now 9-9 for the season, and will play Bayard and Morrill at the Morrill Triangular on Thursday, Oct. 11.
In Gering: The Alliance JV defeated Gering, 25-16, and 25-15, while the Alliance Varsity downed Gering, in 3 of 5: 21-25, 19-25, 25-13, 26-24, 15-9. The Alliance Varsity is now 10-9 on the season and will host the Western Conference Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Florence Cynthia Eitzmann, 91, of Scottsbluff, died Monday, October 1, 2012 at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. Her funeral service will be held at 10am on Friday, October 5, 2012 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Scottsbluff with Reverend Dr. Larry Spomer officiating. Interment will be held at Fairview Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled from 1pm until 8pm on Thursday at Jolliffe Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. Memorials may be made in care of the church. Online condolences may be left and a memory candles may be lit in Florence’s honor at www.jolliffefuneralhome.com. Jolliffe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Florence was born Feb 24, 1921 at the family home in Thayer County, NE to Edward and Martha (Hellmer) Hobelman. They moved to Big Springs in 1929 and graduated from Big Springs High School in 1939. After high school graduation, she received a teaching certificate and taught school in Nuckolls County and Deuel County, NE. She married Ernest John Eitzmann on March 14, 1943 in St. Peter Lutheran Church in Byron, NE. After Ernest was discharged from serving in WWII, they began their life together on the farm in Republic County, KS for 41 years.
Florence was an active member of St. Peter’s church, the church choir, bible study, Sunday school, the Alter Guild, and was a many year member of the Byron Women’s Club, Bi-State Extension Club and the American Legion Auxiliary, Post 205. She was instrumental in organizing the public library in Byron, NE, then in 1967 serving as board member for the library, then librarian for 18 years.
Florence and Ernest were blessed with two loving children; son Will (Chris) Eitzman and their children Jeni (Evan) Meyer, and Cindi and Kati Eitzman; daughter Jan (Hal) Fontinelle and their children Holly (JC) Delabbio, and Caleb and Logan Fontinelle. In 1986, they retired closer to their children and grandchildren in Scottsbluff and enjoyed close family ties with their loving families.
Florence was a member of Calvary Lutheran Church where she continued with bible studies, member of Ruth Circle, Women of ELCA and the Alter Guild; she also enjoyed Tuesday fellowship with friends making blankets for Lutheran World Relief. She loved the beauty of nature, flowers, gardening and God’s beautiful world.
She is survived by her son Will (Chris) Eitzman and daughter Jan (Hal) Fontinelle; sister LaVera Magee; sisters-in-law Lola Eitzmann and Lori Hobelman; grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Her parents, husband Ernest, sister Elsie, brother Edward, one niece and one nephew preceded her in death.
Happy 71st birthday to Chubby Checker! Although not the originator of “The Twist”–that honor goes to Hank Ballard–Chubby Checker’s recording was a runaway hit, leading to a nationwide twisting craze and a sequel song, “Let’s Twist Again”!
Here’s the Twistmaster himself on an episode of “The Dick Clark Beech-Nut Show”:
https://youtu.be/tj5glsIKhQo
LOS ANGELES (AP) – All the James Bond movie songs have been compiled into one collection. “Best of Bond…James Bond” will feature the theme songs from all 22 James Bond movies. An expanded edition includes other music heard in the movies. Both version come out on Tuesday. Neither version includes the Adele song “Skyfall” that will be the theme for the Bond movie of the same name that comes out next month.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta have reunited to make a Christmas record — and a sequel to a “Grease” hit. The album is called “This Christmas” and comes out November 13. The album includes an original song called “I Think You Might Like It” that’s being billed as a sequel to “You’re The One That I Want.” They got some high-profile guest musicians for the album, too: Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Kenny G, Tony Bennett , Cliff Richard and Chick Corea.
DARIUS RUCKER INVITED TO JOIN GRAND OLE OPRY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Darius Rucker’s conversion to country is now complete: He’s joining the Grand Ole Opry. Rucker performed on last night’s Opry and received a visit from unannounced guest Brad Paisley, who surprised him with the invitation. Rucker rose to fame as the frontman for South Carolina rockers Hootie and The Blowfish, but began to pursue his lifelong passion for country music a few years ago. He will release his third country album early next year.
The 46-year-old is the third black performer to hold Opry membership, joining Country Music Hall of Fame members DeFord Bailey and Charley Pride. Rucker will be inducted into the Opry on Oct. 16. That show will air live on GAC.
TAYLOR SWIFT YOUNGEST WOMAN ON FORBES TOP EARNERS LIST
(AP) – Taylor Swift released her new single “Red” this week but she is definitely in the black. Swift is number three on Forbes magazine’s annual list of Entertainment’s Highest-Paid Women and at 22 she is the youngest. Swift earned an estimated $57 million this year. Her new album “Red” comes out later this month and the first single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has already spent three weeks in the number one spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It’s a good thing Swift – who is currently dating Conor Kennedy – is earning lots of money, because according to Marie Claire magazine Swift wants at least four kids. In an interview which will appear in the U.K. November issue, Swift says she wants “a bunch of them running around, minimum four.” She says she is already putting money away for their education. The women who beat Swift for the number one and two positions on Forbes’ list: Oprah Winfrey followed by Britney Spears.
BRITTANY KERR APOLOGIZES FOR INDISCRETION WITH JASON ALDEAN
UNDATED (AP) – First Jason Aldean apologized after pictures of him appearing to kiss former “American Idol” hopeful Brittany Kerr popped up. Now Kerr has issued an apology via celebrity website TMZ, which first leaked the photos of the two at a bar in West Hollywood. Aldean, a married father of two, said he was drunk and “screwed up.” For her part, Kerr, a dancer for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, tells TMZ that her actions were not a representation of her true character and calls them “a lapse in judgment.” She apologized “to everyone that has been affected” by the release of the photos.
NICKEL CREEK’S CHRIS THILE RECEIVES $500,000 “GENIUS GRANT” FROM MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
CHICAGO (AP) – Punch Brothers mandolinist and vocalist and former member of Nickel Creek, Chris Thile says he initially ignored repeated phone calls from a mystery phone number on Monday. He thought they were election-year robocalls. Then he received a message that said “Don’t tell anyone about this call.” His tour manager searched for the number online and realized it was the MacArthur Foundation calling. It turns out Thile, 31, is the recipient of one of the Foundation’s prestigious $500,000 “genius grants.” Thile says he thinks he “turned white” and he “never felt so internally warm.” As for the half million dollar windfall, paid out over five years, Thile says he might use some of it to fund a chamber music project for a bluegrass quintet.
TAYLOR SWIFT RESPONDS TO INTERNET PRANK
BOSTON (AP) – Taylor Swift is giving $10,000 and concert tickets to a school for the deaf. The school was disqualified from a contest because Internet pranksters thought it would be funny for the school to win tickets to a live concert. The Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston was booted from the online contest which promised an on-campus performance by Swift, because many of the votes were cast as part of the prank. The Boston Globe newspaper reports that Swift and contest sponsors decided instead to donate a combined $50,000 to the school. VH1’s Save the Music program will donate $10,000 in musical instruments and Swift says every student at the school will receive a ticket to her next local concert. The school’s principal Jeremiah Ford says that even after being disqualified from the online contest, they are winners “absolutely.”
TRACE ADKINS IS NEWEST AMERICAN RED CROSS SPOKESMAN
UNDATED (AP) – Trace Adkins says that when his home was destroyed in a fire last year, the Red Cross was among the first on-site to offer assistance. Now, Adkins is returning the favor, so to speak. He is the newest spokesman for the 2012 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Campaign. Adkins says he and his family were fortunate because they only lost ‘things’ that could be replaced. But he says “that’s not the case for every victim of disaster.” Adkins is urging the public to make charitable donations, send cards to servicemen and women and donate blood as part of the Giving Campaign. The Red Cross has an online catalog for tax-deductible charitable donations that provide shelter, as well as basic necessities for disaster victims and military comfort kits. It is also collecting holiday greeting cards to distribute to military personnel based overseas throughout the season.
SINGER RAYLENE RANKIN DIES
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) – Raylene Rankin, a member of the Canadian Celtic music group The Rankin Family, has died. Rankin and four siblings formed the group more than 20 years ago, originally under the name The Rankins. They are credited with taking East Coast Canadian Celtic music to the mainstream and they won numerous awards including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards and three Canadian Country Music Awards. Rankin was also a successful solo artist. Her sister Heather said in a statement that Rankin, who died of cancer, “fought a long and courageous battle with grace and dignity and was an inspiration.” She was 52 years old.
STOCKHOLM (AP) - A traveling ABBA exhibit is to get a permanent home in a new museum dedicated mostly to the Swedish quartet that has sold nearly 400 million records since its heyday in the 1970s.
Former band member Bjoern Ulvaeus said Wednesday that "ABBA The Museum" will be part of a Swedish music hall of fame to be inaugurated in Stockholm next spring.
The museum will feature some of the band's glitzy stage costumes, instruments and other mementos that were displayed in the ABBAWORLD exhibition that toured Europe and Australia in 2009-2011.
Ulvaeus said he hoped all four former ABBA members would attend the opening, but ruled out any chance of a stage comeback: "We are the only group of that status that has never been reunited. I think that is cool."
On this date in 1965 The Who made their American television debut on ABC’s teen music series “Shindig”!
JASON ALDEAN SAYS HE ‘SCREWED UP’
(AP) – Jason Aldean admits he “acted inappropriately” with former “American Idol” contestant Brittany Kerr at a Los Angeles nightclub last week. The married father of two owned up to his flirtatious mistake and apologized for his indiscretion which was caught on camera. Aldean took to Twitter and Facebook to make a direct apology over the weekend. He wrote that he didn’t want fans to “just read about his personal life on gossip web sites.” He says he “screwed up” and “had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar.” He went on to say that he left the bar alone, caught the bus to his next show “and that’s the end of the story.” Aldean says he’s not perfect and he embarrassed his family and himself and appreciates being able to “work through this privately.”
“THE VOICE”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – He looks metal, but sounds country. The teams on “The Voice” are now complete. Blake Shelton’s last pick up was Rudy Parris, a 46-year-old with long, black hair. Shelton told Parris he has the soul of country artist. Team Blake also gets a teen singer whose mom drove her to Nashville 40 times in a year and a half to pursue her music dreams.
CMA AWARDS ADD MORE PERFORMERS
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan and the Zac Brown Band are joining the already star-studded list of CMA Awards performers which includes Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, Kelly Clarkson and Dierks Bentley. Each of the evening’s performers are nominees, with Lambert in the lead. She has four nods this year for Album, Song, Video and Female Vocalist of the Year – a title she has held since 2010. The Awards take place in Nashville, November 1 and will be co-hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. They air live on ABC.
TAYLOR SWIFT SAYS JONI MITCHELL ROLE NOT A DONE DEAL
UNDATED (AP) – Variety magazine reports that Taylor Swift is “already in line to play Joni Mitchell” in a film called “Girls Like Us.” But in a recent interview with Country Weekly magazine, Swift says it’s not a done deal. Girls Like Us is an adaptation of a book by Sheila Weller, about the trailblazing trio of singer-songwriters Mitchell, Carly Simon and Carole King. Swift says in the Country Weekly interview that she’s “not actually signed on to do a movie at this point” and it’s not the kind of thing that’s good to talk about until it’s a definite thing. However, she points out she “would love to tell that story.”
KENNY ROGERS SKIPS PLASTIC SURGERY IN HIS MEMOIR
UNDATED (AP) – Kenny Rogers’ memoir, “Luck or Something Like It” hit bookstore shelves today. The autobiography covers lots of ground including Rogers’ Depression-era Texas childhood and his struggles with his marriages. One thing he didn’t tell-all about is his plastic surgery. In a “CMT Insider” interview Rogers says he did write a section about it but his manager said, “Let’s not go there.” Rogers says he’s not embarrassed that he had plastic surgery but admits he never liked the way his eyes looked “after the fact.”
BUCKY COVINGTON ON THE PERKS AND PITFALLS OF HIS CAREER
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Bucky Covington says there are pros and cons to being a famous musician who spends a lot of time on the road. On the plus side he’s toured the country and seen a lot of beautiful places. The “bad part” he says, is that he meets a lot of women and it’s easy to get into what he calls “very, very sticky situations.”
