Uncategorized – Page 20 – Panhandle Post Archive

TODAY’S BEST COUNTRY NEWS: 10/23/12

Posted on October 23, 2012

HOW TAYLOR SWIFT DEALS WITH FAME
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Sometimes the pressure of fame gets to Taylor Swift. She says she deals with it in all kinds of ways: venting to her friends, playing piano until 4 a.m., or calling her mom and crying. Swift feels for other celebrities in the news. She says when she sees someone going through a scandal now, she doesn’t sit there and see it as entertainment anymore. Swift’s new album “Red” is out now.

‘NASHVILLE’ TUNES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Fans of the TV show “Nashville” will soon be hearing a familiar tune on country radio. Big Machine Records has released the first official single from the show, sung by Hayden Panettiere. The song is called “Telescope.” The label will release new music each week. “Nashville” airs Wednesdays on ABC.

GARTH BROOKS TEARS UP AT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – It’s an elite group and Garth Brooks if finally part of it. Brooks joined the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Connie Smith and Hargus “Pig” Robbins. Brooks called it “the greatest day of his musical career.” He also acknowledged his three daughters sitting in the audience. Brooks retired from music in 2001 to spend more time with them. Smith said the honor hits her in waves — part of the time she doesn’t believe it yet, and part of the time it makes her “want to pucker up and cry.” George Strait and James Taylor were among the performers at the induction ceremony on Sunday.

‘THE VOICE’
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Chalk up one more steal for Blake Shelton. On last night’s edition of “The Voice,” Team Blake picked up 15-year-old MarissaAnn, who had been dropped by Christina Aguilera. Tonight’s show is the last of the battle rounds. Aguilera is only coach left with a steal, as the final live line-up is set.

JAMEY JOHNSON IS GOING ON TOUR
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jamey Johnson is launching a fall tour, called “Living For A Song.” It’s named after his new tribute album to Hank Cochran, released on October 16th. The tour kicks off in Knoxville, Tennessee, November 8th. The dates run through December 31st in Montgomery, Alabama, with more to be announced soon.

SCOTTY MCCREERY ON QVC TODAY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Scotty McCreery is performing songs from his new Christmas album on QVC today. He will also offer viewers an opportunity to order his album as part of a two CD set, including his platinum-selling debut album “Clear As Day.” The Christmas record includes classics like, “Let It Snow” and “Jingle Bells,” along with two originals.

DAVID NAIL ON VOCAL REST
UNDATED (AP) – David Nail is on vocal rest. He had to cancel a show on doctor’s orders. Nail was scheduled to perform in Milwaukee but he was diagnosed with laryngitis. Nail called it a “scary situation” when the sound wouldn’t come out. He tweeted that his voice was in bad shape and he needed a miracle. Nail asked fans to say a prayer for his vocal chords. It’s the first show he has ever had to cancel. Nail said he was “heartbroken.”

BRAD PAISLEY SINGS ON COLBIE CAILLAT’S CHRISTMAS ALBUM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Brad Paisley sings with Colbie Caillat (KOHL’-bee CAH’-lay) on her new Christmas album. They collaborated on the tune “Merry Christmas, Baby.” Caillat is performing the song on the upcoming CMA Country Christmas TV special, but without Paisley. Caillat also guests on Jerrod Niemann’s new album on a song called “I’m All About You.” Her 12-song “Christmas In The Sand” album is available now.

COUGAR VOLLEYBALL & SOCCER TEAMS IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND

Posted on October 19, 2012October 19, 2012

It will be a busy weekend for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball and soccer teams. All three teams will host their last home games of the season on Friday and Saturday.

The Cougar volleyball team can wrap up the South Sub-region No. 1 seed with a win Friday night against Northeastern Junior College at 7 p.m. After that, the second-ranked Cougars will host Casper College on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the final home game for the six sophomores.

Friday night’s contest will also be “Think Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness night. Breast cancer survivors will be admitted free to the game and those wearing pink will receive $1 off the price of admission. Also, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman will be in attendance to watch the Cougar volleyball team as teams and fans celebrate the special night.

As for the match itself, the Cougars enter with a 31-2 record and an 8-0 conference mark. The Plainswomen are 17-16 overall and 7-1 in the conference after falling to Otero Junior College last weekend. If the Cougars win on Friday, they are guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the Nov. 1-3 South Region IX volleyball tournament that will be played in McCook.

Saturday’s home match against Casper will be the final home match for sophomores – Danika Youngblood, Alex Rivera, Kat Agson, Tasha Meyer, Taylor VanderWerff, and Megan Johnson. The sophomores have lost just four matches in their two years at WNCC. They have a combined 72-4 record.

The Cougar volleyball team will wrap up the regular season on Oct. 24 when they travel to Northeastern Junior College to face the Plainswomen in Sterling, Colo.

The WNCC men’s and women’s soccer teams will also be hosting their final regular season matches of the year at the Landers Soccer Complex. On Friday, the two teams will battle Trinidad State Junior College with the women kicking things off at 1 p.m. followed by the men’s contest. Then, on Saturday, Otero Junior College comes to town with the men starting things at 12 noon followed by the women’s game at 2 p.m. Saturday is also AYSO day as AYSO players get in free to the contest and have a chance to meet the players and get autographs before and after the matches.

This weekend’s soccer games are especially important for the Cougar men for Region IX playoff seedings. If the men win both matches, they couldl move up to No. 5 and a first-round contest with Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. Otherwise, the Cougar men will be the No. 6 seed and face Northwest College in the first round in Powell, Wyo. The first-round regional matches are slated for Oct. 24.

The Cougar men are 4-10 on the season while Trinidad State enters with a 5-7-1 record. The Trojans are 3-6-1 in conference play, while the Cougars are 2-8. Otero, Saturday’s opponent, enters with a 13-1-2 record.

The Cougar women will wrap up their season this weekend. Because of a revamped regional/district tournament format, only the top four teams qualify for the post-season tournament. The Cougar women are mathematically eliminated from the post-season, but will try to finish off the season on a positive note heading into next season.

WNCC enters Friday’s match against Trinidad with a 2-8-1 record while the Trojans come in with a 1-7-1 record. The Otero women, who are in their first year in Region IX, have a perfect 13-0 record and have allowed just four goals all season. In conference play, Otero is 8-0 and have outscored its opponents 29-0.

THE ANTI-BLEACH

Posted on October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

By Ashley Hinker
Living with a dirty house is generally never pleasant. Then again, cleaning the house with powerful and putrid supplies is not much better. I feel I need to use a respirator mask in order be able to complete the chore at hand. I understand many of these cleaning supplies provide a quick and easy solution to even the toughest of chores, but having to fumigate a room for an hour after using these cleaners seemed a bit excessive. When a person has children or is tired of the smell leaking out into the rest of the house, one cannot simply close the room door. This would obviously defeat the purpose of “airing it out.” In order to try to solve this dilemma, I scoured the Internet to find a cleaning product that would not fill my whole home with a lingering odor but would still get the job done.

My findings were actually surprising. I had expected to find some brand name item I could buy at a local general store. In fact, I found a way to concoct my own cleaning solution with simple ingredients I already had at home.
I live in an older apartment building, which means I have numerous previous tenants’ stains and burns to live with around my house. The hard water stains, rust and lime build up, and whatever other type of cleaning nightmare one can think of in the kitchen and bathroom. Using potent, and pungent, cleaners have not really provided any progress in that battle. Pictured below are my own kitchen sink and bathtub even after using chlorine bleach.

(Top row: Kitchen sink/drain/bathtub before photos. Bottom row: After photos)

I tried scrubbing. I tried soaking. Nothing helped by way of these odoriferous substances. When I found this homemade mixture, I knew it was time to try something new. The simplicity of the combination and the results are astounding. Mix ¼ cup of baking soda then add just enough hydrogen peroxide to create a paste. The list of uses for baking soda is long and well known, but when the oxidizing power of the peroxide is added, you have a new odor-free household super-cleaner!

A little elbow grease is required to obtain similar results. This does not provide the “spray, wipe, rinse, then done” effect most are used to. However, the uses for this mixture are endless (it will even polish silverware!) and having a clean home without the stench are worth the extra effort.