McCook Daily Gazette: Columns: McCook Gazette

GED deadline doesn't mean giving up future (12/11/13)
How did you do on your New Year's resolution's last year? Don't be too discouraged, you'll have a chance to make them again in a couple of weeks. If one of them was finishing your GED, however, you may be in for disappointment. That's because you may have to start all over again after the first of the year...

Staying safe requires special care during bitterly cold weather (12/10/13)
People who live in our region pride themselves in being hardy souls, unlike their cousins in warmer climes who shiver the first time they experience temperatures in the 50s. But we're not immune to ignoring home or vehicle maintenance until it's too late and sub-zero weather exposes our shortcomings...

New memorial would be fitting tribute to veterans (12/09/13)
First of all, we want to express our thanks to Pat Redfern, president of the Danbury American Legion Auxiliary, for the wonderful "Remembering Pearl Harbor" letter she contributed to the McCook Gazette's Open Forum column. We are so very fortunate that a person lives within our midst who possesses vivid recollections of that horrible day 72 years ago when the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor to pull the United States of America into World War II...

Film features Nebraska's unique culture, atmosphere (12/06/13)
Garrison Keillor's fictional hometown is described as "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve." We're sure even Lake Wobegon has a community improvement committee to make it a better place to live, but preservation is high on their list of priorities as well...

Bitter cold snap results in black ice (12/05/13)
Winter has sure-enough, no-foolin' arrived with a negative 1-degree temperature recorded at McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport just before 6 a.m. today. That's cold enough to be dangerous, as drivers on Interstate 80 were reminded early today, when the temperature combined with precipitation in just the right proportions to create "black ice" near Maxwell...

A reminder to be a good neighbor (12/04/13)
It appears most of the snow will miss Southwest Nebraska, but we're in for some cold weather, with highs in the teen through the weekend. The City of McCook has put out a reminder that it is the responsibility of property owners to remove snow and sleet from sidewalks within 24 hours of the time the snow stops...

An outstanding citizen celebrates his 90th (12/04/13)
One of McCook's most outstanding citizens, Pete Graff, celebrated his 90th birthday Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. Please join us in extending best wishes to Pete and his family for many years of dedicated service to our community. Since coming to McCook to join the staff of McCook National Bank, Pete has guided the home-owned bank from a capital position of $592,401 in 1957 to the place today where MNB has $ 41.762 million in net Tier 1 capital as of Sept. ...

Rejuvenating night life? (12/04/13)
McCook seems to be on the brink of exciting developments in its night life, with at least two -- and maybe more -- new clubs about to make their debut. We know for sure that Club Paradise, under development by Blaine Budke, is close to opening in the Ten Hundred block of West B Street in the former Tri-State Spas location, and we also know that Adam Siegfried and Tyler Loop, two of McCook's most successful club operators, have another night spot in the works for west McCook...

Delivery man or Big Brother: Which drone is it? (12/03/13)
We have a feeling Gazette founder Harry Strunk would have been interested in one of the latest developments. As readers are reminded each day at the top of page one, the Gazette was the first newspaper, as far as we know. to make daily deliveries by air...

So you survived Black Friday? Here are some tips to help survive the rest of the season (12/02/13)
We trust you survived your Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping experiences OK, and may be thinking about making a few online purchases to take advantage of today's Cyber Monday specials. Before you get too comfortable, however, consider the results of a study that determined the 10 germiest places in your home...

Mixed feelings on Black Friday shopping results (11/29/13)
We have mixed feelings about today's "Black Friday" sales. On one hand, they seem to be a lot more orderly than in years past, when near-riots broken out as the supply of bargains didn't keep up with the supply of shoppers. On the other, that orderliness came at the expense of time shoppers and clerks had to spend with their families Thanksgiving evening...

Waste and fraud robs taxpayers, state's most needy (11/27/13)
Apply to be a legal guardian for a disabled person in Nebraska, and you'll have to sit through a long training session with one message: It's not your money, it's theirs. A Scottsbluff woman is in jail because she apparently didn't get the message. Judith Widener operated a Gering business called "Safe Haven," which acted as guardian for more than 600 Nebraskans, including four in Red Willow County and many others in Southwest Nebraska...

Firearms not desirable part of public education (11/26/13)
Is the teacher packin'? She might be, if Sen. Mark Christensen is successful with bill to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons on the job. The idea didn't make it out of committee back in 2011, when the Imperial senator offered the idea following an Omaha incident in which a student shot and killed a vice principal and then himself...

Thanksgiving travel woes get an early start (11/25/13)
Anyone who's lived in the high plains has a story -- their own version of "Plains, Trains and Automobiles" and the struggle to try to make it home for Thanksgiving. Icy roads and blowing snow combined with the tight schedule usually surrounding Christmas's warmup holiday make for some high-stress travel...

Assassination anniversary stirs old memories (11/22/13)
Where were you 50 years ago today? Democrat or Republican, admirer or detractor of one of our most charismatic presidents, we were all shocked and saddened by the events in Dealey Plaza that sunny day. Somehow it set the tone for the decade to come, from the cynicism that surrounded Vietnam to worship of youth in the form of the Beatles to the sense of longing for the days of Camelot...

Studies confirm kids need to get more exercise (11/20/13)
What's the matter with kids today? It's a common question, asked about our children and grandchildren. Our parents asked it about us, and their parents asked it about them. But there is more to the story than traditional generational despair, according to a new study led by Grant Tomkinson, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia, and reported by The Associated Press...

Festival of Trees offers chance to support charity (11/19/13)
November is flying by and it will soon be time to deck the halls with boughs of holly -- falala la, la la la la la. Next week's Thanksgiving, the traditional time for trimming the Christmas tree, if you've been able to resist the temptation so far. If you're like many of us, you may dread the supposedly joyful chore of decorating the Yuletide tree. At the same time, you don't want to be distracted from giving to worthy causes, one of Christmas's finer traditions...

Good news on Republican River, for now (11/18/13)
There are still unanswered questions and Nebraska is far from off the hook, but a special master's finding is good news for those of us who live along the Republican River in Southwest Nebraska. Maine attorney William Kayatta Jr. recommended to the U.S. Supreme Court that Nebraska pay Kansas $5.5 million for using more water than it was entitled to, under the 1943 Republican River Compact, during the 2005-06 years...

McCook ranks high in supply of affordable homes (11/15/13)
Affordable housing has been an issue in McCook, but at least we're not Malibu! Business and government have been working together to improve the housing situation in McCook, and they're making progress. But we're already in pretty good shape when it comes to being able to buy the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, according to a survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate...

'Green Club' lets NPPD customers vote with checkbook (11/14/13)
Are Nebraska "tree huggers" getting a chance to put their money where their mouth is, or did NPPD make a meaningless gesture when it announced that that customers could voluntarily pay a "green" surcharge? Nebraska Public Power District directors approved a "Retail Green Club" which allows retail customers who believe in the use of renewable energy to specify the amount of their monthly energy usage they want to come from renewable sources...

Real horse power attractive farm activity (11/13/13)
What do horse-drawn farming and the Internet have in common? For a young couple operating a Martell, Nebraska, vegetable farm, a lot. The Columbus Telegram published a story about Alex McKiernan and his wife, Chloe Diegel, who launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise $22,000 to convert their 40-acre truck patch from tractor to horse power -- make that two 13-year-old Belgian workhorse power, that is...

Nebraska hits milestone, has room to improve (11/12/13)
You won't find a more generous people than those in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. There is evidence nearly every day on the pages of the McCook Gazette, fund drives and food collections, benefit dinners and special events all designed to help make life better for someone in need, whether a hungry family, someone facing overwhelming medical bills -- even innocent animals looking for a forever home...

Should the U.S. require mandatory national service? (11/11/13)
Most of us have no trouble celebrating the major holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas (Hanakkah, Kwanzaa), Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. We might be a little neglegent in celebrating Arbor Day or President's Day, but it's not unusual to take in a Memorial Day service on our way to the lake or golf course...

Water treatment plant reaches 5-billion-gallon milestone (11/08/13)
It started with the nitrates. Over-fertilization of corn crops in the Republican River polluted our groundwater to the point that water from some private wells was unsafe to bathe in. The City of McCook was out of compliance for water quality, and forced to provide bottled water for pregnant or nursing mothers and others with health concerns...

Trans fat ban extends outgoing mayor's influence (11/07/13)
Outgoing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has earned the moniker "The Nanny" for his many efforts to force Big Apple residents to adopt healthier lifestyles. You've probably heard comedians poking fun of his ban of the "Big Gulp," although the regulation actually limits sugary soda sizes when served with meals, not when purchased from convenience stores...

Technology gives community new meaning (11/06/13)
Remember draggin' main? For a lot of us, it was a Saturday night summertime tradition, something out of American Graffiti, flirting and fighting the way teens have done since the days of the chariot. Pity the young person who lived in a town so small there WAS no main street, envious of city cousins with extensive, though overimagined, social lives...

Time to give our circadian rhythms a break (11/04/13)
If you're feeling a little out of sorts today, it might be the letdown from your celebration of Nebraska's Immaculate Reception.2 on Saturday, or it might be just because your body is adjusting to the changing clock. You may also notice that kids are grumpy, waking up in the middle of the night, because of the new schedule, and is your dog asking to go outside at odd times of day?...

Big Brother is on the job (11/01/13)
It took almost 30 years beyond 1984, but Big Brother is on the job. Revelations about NSA spying on U.S. citizens and foreign leaders, drone attacks and the Obamacare debacle haven't done much to cultivate trust in our government. And it's not just in Washington...

Last-minute safety advice for ghouls and ghosties (10/31/13)
There's little danger -- we think -- of the zombie apocalypse, discussed in today's Preview edition, occurring in time for tonight's trick-or-treat activities. But there is shure to be plenty of spooky traffic along Norris Avenue and other prime sweet-spots in McCook...

Help available for buttoning up homes for winter (10/30/13)
Food, clothing and shelter are three of life's most important necessities. The McCook Pantry and the community suppers at Memorial United Methodist both do a yoeman's job helping meet the first must-have, this week's Coat Closet event helps meet the second, and several public and private systems, such as Habitat for Humanity, are in place to meet the third...

Practice vital part of EMS training (10/29/13)
Coaches will tell you a team plays like it practices. The same goes for any crew, from a group of employees trying to bring a new product to market, to fast-food workers striving to deliver a warm, tasty breakfast. It's especially true when it comes to emergency response crews, like those from the city, schools and hospital who conducted a surprise drill, involving a mock bus/SUV collision Sunday with mass casualties...

Incompetence galore at the Obamacare site (10/28/13)
Edward Klein's best-selling book, "The Amateur" skewered President Obama as an out-of-touch, arrogant incompetent who wouldn't admit what he didn't know. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act, unfortunately, hasn't done the president's reputation any favors. Critics are calling for the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor, but she would only be a convenient scapegoat...

Are smartphones classroom distraction or opportunity? (10/23/13)
A study of 777 students at six universities in five states didn't yield a lot of surprises when it comes to smart phones, tablets and laptops in the classroom. Barney McCoy, an associate professor of broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, lead a study that found 35 percent of students used their digital devices for non-classroom purposes 1-3 times a day, 27 percent did so 4-10 times, 16 percent 11-30 times and 15 percent more than 30 times a day. ...

Shutdown masks losses from early October blizzard (10/22/13)
Tens of thousands of lives were lost in early October, but we bet you didn't hear much about it, thanks to the closed-down government and standoff over the national debt limit. Figures just came in confirming more than 2,200 cattle in Nebraska and tens of thousands in western South Dakota were killed after a record 19 inches of snow was dumped on Rapid City on Friday, Oct. 4, and other areas got enough snow to make snow drifts 5 feet deep...

Special needs program offers lessons for all (10/21/13)
A cooperative program between Nebraska hospitals and a state agency is giving kids who struggled in high school a chance to excel in the workforce. Spotlighted as part of October's National Disability Awareness Month, Project Search offers training and opportunities that seem to us to be good ideas regardless the young person's abilities. Funded through Nebraska Vocational Rehab, a division of the Department of Education, Project Search originated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in 1996, and has been established in Grand Island, Kearney and Hastings. The Hastings program gives students who struggled at Hastings and Adams Central high schools a chance to build confidence and experience through individualized one-on-one on-the-job training in tasks that mirror actual jobs at Mary Lanning Hospital in Hastings and other medical facilities, such as materials management, pre-op surgery, housekeeping, cardiopulmonary, sub-acute; in-patient nursing, human resources and switchboard. In addition to job skills, the program helps students with basic life skills such as how to budged and other independent living skills. In the first year at Hastings, all five students were placed in jobs upon completion and continue to hold those jobs today. Last year, three of four completed the program and are now employed in medical field positions, and the director is optimistic all six students from this year's class will be placed in jobs by the end of the school year. It's not an easy course -- students must express a desire to be competitively employed, be in their last year of school eligibility and have an individualized educational program in place and be actively working in the Nebraska Vocational Rehab program. While Project Search is aimed at students with disabilities, many students, even those who might normally be channeled into college-track academics, could benefit from hands-on training -- apprentiships, if you will -- and life-skills education to help them be successful whatever their occupation. With traditional four-year college costs and student debt skyrocketing, and with new opportunities in technology and other trades that don't require liberal arts educations, we can all learn something from students involved with Project Search.

New aspect to importance of sleep (10/18/13)
The bears probably have the right idea. With one of the first snows of the season overnight, it's tempting to crawl into our caves and stay there until spring, especially for the winter-averse among us. It's important to get plenty of fresh air, sunlight and exercise, even in the winter, of course, but it's also important to take advantage of the chance to get a good night's sleep...

Surprising good news about the price of gasoline (10/17/13)
The federal government was set to go back to work this morning after the borrowing limit on the national credit card was extended once again, at least temporarily. Obamacare opponents went back to the drawing board after pushing the deadline to the limit in an effort to dismantle changes to the national healthcare system...

Staying ahead of hackers a constant struggle (10/15/13)
With more and more of our transactions taking place online, it's no surprise that criminals are becoming more and more adepts of following the money -- and seeing that it finds its way into their hands. The latest example is Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, which reported that someone hacked into the banking account of a shareholder -- no explanation as to why the shareholder had Duncan Aviation money in his personal banking account -- and stole $135,000...

Past federal defaults offer lessons for present (10/14/13)
The government is shut down, and the U.S. is on the verge of defaulting on its debt obligations, but what difference would that make? One needs look no farther than your credit card statement to find out. Miss a payment or two, and you may find yourself paying a higher rate of interest, and required make a larger minimum payment...

Mental issues last great hurdle in medical care (10/04/13)
Modern medicine can perform many miracles, from heart transplant to artificial joints, vision-restoring eye surgery and electronic implants. On the horizon are extraordinary developments such as artificially grown organs, exoskeletons to help the wheelchair bound to walk again and a wide range of developing technologies...

Analysts rank McCook high for young families (10/03/13)
Is McCook a good place for young families to live? Yes, according to NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website, which listed McCook among the top 10 towns in Nebraska when it comes to three basic questions: 1. Does the town have good public schools? 2. Can you afford to live there?...

No quick answer to government shutdown likely (10/01/13)
The sun came up this morning and the electricity still works, but that doesn't mean the overnight shutdown of the federal government won't be felt in McCook and Southwest Nebraska. We don't have any federal parks nearby, like the Scottsbluff National Monument, Niobrara Scenic River or Homestead National Monument -- those will be shut down -- but we do have the Nebraska National Guard, which planned to furlough about 560 full-time technicians, including vehicle and aircraft maintenance workers, and about 70 state employees whose salaries are partially or entirely paid by the federal government.. ...

New, special events are helping keep Heritage Days fresh (09/30/13)
A celebration like Heritage Days is always a balancing act between carrying on cherished traditions and keeping the festivities fresh. Congratulations to the McCook Area of Chamber of Commerce and the thousands of other volunteers who accomplished those two goals this weekend...

Decivilized America (09/27/13)
"Be nice." What mother hasn't said that, at one time or another, when her frustration with an unruly child was just beginning to peak. It's a lesson that needs to be reinforced, according to the latest Civility in America national survey. "For the first time since the survey began in 2010, the Internet/social media has risen into the top ranks of perceived causes of incivility," according to the survey...

Attorneys general ask FDA to regulate e-cigarettes (09/25/13)
If it looks illegal, but really isn't, should we ban it anyway? That's one of the questions we're facing with the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes. The problem is, while smoking has been banned in most public places, including inside work places, "vaping" with an e-cigarette has not...

Don't wait to celebrate Heritage Days (09/23/13)
The Heritage Days Parade that begins at 10 a.m. Saturday is the traditional high point of the annual celebration, but don't wait until then to get involved. And don't think that only traditional activities, as fun as they will be, are the only things to do this week. There are at least a couple of unique events that you'll want to take in in addition to the usual food, entertainment and celebrations...

Administration actions are about to have real effects (09/20/13)
Nebraska's federal-run health insurance exchange is about to open for business, and despite GOP-led efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act, remains the law of the land, as officials remind us at every opportunity. If the morning coffee crowd has grown weary of discussing that issue, however, the EPA today introduced proposed Clean Air Act standards that are, if enacted fully, likely to have a direct effect on Nebraskans' budget...

End in sight for four-decades old mysteries (09/19/13)
Those of us who grew up around lakes know the feeling. We're naturally attracted to bodies of water for the life-sustaining liquid they hold, the fish and game they can provide, the year-round recreational opportunities. America was settled along waterways -- even our state's name, Nebraska, can be translated as "flat water."...

South Platte repeats 1965 flooding performance (09/18/13)
Nebraskans have observed the Colorado flooding with detached concern, but their worries are about to become reality, at least if they live along the South Platte River. Virtually all of the creeks mentioned in reports of last week's flooding shared something in comon -- they drain into the South Platte River...

Newsmakers face life's issues, find different answers (09/17/13)
Analysis and speculation is running at full throttle following Monday's massacre in Washington's Navy Yard. What motivated Aaron Alexis to take the lives of 12 innocent people simply trying to do their jobs? He felt discriminated against. He had post-traumatic stress disorder related to 9/11...

Those in need may be next door neighbors (09/16/13)
American Red Cross and other agencies are responding to the Front Range flooding with their usual efficiency, providing food and shelter to those displaced by what some are calling a "500-year" flood resulting from receiving a year's worth of rain in a few days...

Floods drive home message of preparedness (09/13/13)
Most of us have been glued to the media -- traditional and social -- to find out the latest news from the Rocky Mountain Front Range, which has been inundated with flood waters following heavy rains over the past few days. The area is a popular vacation spot for Nebraska flatlanders, and even those of us who don't make it to Colorado that often have friends and relatives who live there...

Reducing deer can decrease damage, feed poor (09/12/13)
In Hawaii they say "Aloha." In France, it's "Adieu." The Dutch say "Tot ziens" and in Punjab it's "Alweda." In Southwest Nebraska, it's "Watch out for deer!" A humorous observation, perhaps, but good advice nonetheless. In Nebraska, according to the most recent statistics, one driver in 110 is likely to hit a deer. That's about twice the national rate, which is about one in 193 drivers...

September 11 memories not free of politics (09/11/13)
Several of us in the Gazette newsroom know exactly where we were when the first plane flew into the Twin Towers -- right where we were this morning. It was a chaotic time of confusion, but as the second plane hit a tower and another hit the Pentagon, we quickly realized we were living through a momentous experience. When the fourth plane fell in Pennsylvania, we guessed, correctly, that passengers had fought back...

Don't let scams profit from your Obamacare questions (09/10/13)
Like it or not, the Affordable Care Act -- "Obamacare" -- is the law, but don't let scammers take advantage of the confusion. Three weeks from today, Oct. 1, new insurance exchanges will open where consumers can purchase different levels of health plans based on common pricing. By Jan. 1, uninsured individuals and families must have "minimum essential coverage" or face annual penalties that increase every year until 2016...

Shower often, please, but make them short (09/09/13)
Nebraska and Kansas may be at odds over water in the Republican River, but they should be able to agree on one thing: water is not something to be wasted. It took a while for consumers, and manufacturers to adjust to the new low-flow toilet requirements, but there seem to be more effective models on the market now. ...

Women bear more than their share of military sacrifice (09/04/13)
The women's movement has struggled for equality for years, but when it comes to one aspect of serving in the military, women have, unfortunately, achieved more than their share. A RAND Corp. study found predictable results when it tracked the marital status of more than 460,000 U.S. service members between 1999 and 2008. With each passing month that a spouse was away at war, the chance of divorce increased...

What we won't do for a dollar? Not much ... (09/03/13)
We hope our readers enjoyed the Labor Day holiday, and perhaps took a little time on the extra day off to think about work -- the blessing and the curse, the trivial irritations and the weighty responsibilities. Mike Finders, a musician who has made several appearances in McCook with the Finders & Youngberg folk group, posed the question to his Facebook friends: "Hardest work you ever did?"...

Federal lunch menu less than popular (08/29/13)
"We're from the federal government, and we're here to help." Or, perhaps the saying that applies is "you can lead a kid to lunch, but you can't make him eat it." We have generally supported new federal lunchroom guidelines promoting healthier foods, but the start of the new school year has revealed some predictable problems...

U.S. needs help from all citizens to meet challenges (08/28/13)
Who could have imagined 50 years ago that a black president would take the stage to commemorate the anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech? That's what was slated to happen today when tens of thousands of people were expected to flock to Washington's National Mall to commemorate the peaceful March on Washington that helped spur passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964...

Take care of pets as well as people in blistering heat (08/27/13)
Thanks to air conditioning, McCook students aren't getting time off from school that they did in years past when temperatures reached the triple digits. We wrote about keeping people safe in the current heat wave, but with kids back in school and Mom and Dad at work, it's important that other members of the family -- our pets -- are safe until their people return...

No time to let down guard on heat danger (08/26/13)
It can begin to get cool in the evening in August -- but the operative word is "can," especially this year. Associate Editor Dawn Cribbs noted that Sunday's high temperature was 101, low 72, for an average of 87 degrees, which was higher than the day's average high, 86 degrees...

Welfare study: What's wrong with this picture? (08/23/13)
The Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington, has concluded that Massachusetts' welfare program pays each recipient the equivalent of $24 an hour in pre-taxable income. Counting cash, food, housing and healthcare, that costs the state about $50,540 per welfare recipient -- an amount many workers would be delighted to make...

1950s most popular decade for time travelers (08/22/13)
Where were you in '62? Not all of us can answer that question, posed in the promotion for the classic film, "American Graffiti" -- we didn't exist -- but if we're like 15 percent of the people who responded to a poll released by the Economist on Tuesday, we would most like to return to the decade of the 1960s...

College students especially vulnerable to ID theft (08/21/13)
We were amazed, recently, while going through some old documents for shredding, just how common it used to be to have one's Social Security number printed or displayed for anyone to see. Back in college -- more years ago than we'd like to admit -- it was common to list class grades next to Social Security numbers. No, the names weren't connected directly to the numbers, but even a C student might be able to link the number to the reaction on a classmate's face...

Wise words from a surprising source (08/15/13)
It's hard for a baby boomer to have much respect for an actor like Ashton Kutcher, with his air-headed role on "That '70s Show" to his marriage to the much older Demi Moore, his mindless "Punk'd" series on MTV or even his seedy character replacing the even seedier Charlie Sheen on "Three and a Half Men."...

Still no resolution to alcohol insanity on the reservation (08/14/13)
America banned the sale, production and transportation of alcohol from Jan. 16, 1920, until repeal went into effect Dec. 5, 1933. The ban did have one desired effect -- the consumption of alcohol overall went down by half in the 1920s and stayed there until the 1940s...

Cottonwood trees latest to fall victim to good intentions (08/13/13)
"Only you can prevent forest fires!" scolds Smoky Bear in those old posters, and it's still an important message for hikers and campers who spend any time in the mountains. Many of us watched Ken Burns' latest PBS series, "The Dust Bowl," pointing out the importance of conservation measures on the Great Plains...

Heat safety latest issue for football practice (08/12/13)
Southwest Nebraska football players are getting a break this week with the start of two-a-days -- if any early football practice can be called "a break," -- thanks to the mild weather. Temperatures are expected to read in only the 70s and 80s all week -- far below the triple digits that have been common in recent years...

Busy weekend great way to celebrate season (08/09/13)
Wasn't it just last week we were eating watermelon and watching the Fourth of July fireworks with friends? Blink your eyes once, and now it's time for back-to-school shopping and looking forward to the fall sports season. But let's not write off the summer just yet. While we're enjoying the nice weather, let's take time to congratulate everyone who's involved with this weekend's entertaining community activities...

Study sheds more light on sleep, cravings (08/07/13)
If that doughnut was especially delicious this morning, you can always blame last night's thunderstorm. That's because a recent UC Berkeley study has confirmed earlier studies that found a link between a craving for unhealthy foods and sleep deprivation...

Providing rural services at a reasonable cost (08/06/13)
"They've got to stop the spending!" is a common, plaintive cry that can be heard in many a coffee shop when political issues come up. But just how common is that opinion? And, just what spending should be cut? That's where the outrage becomes a little less focused...

Food-borne illness revives age-old lessons (07/31/13)
"Complaint" used to be a regular occurrence during the summer, with children suffering diarrhea, cramps, fever and pain that usually went away in a week or so, but could be serious if the victim became too dehydrated. Better refrigeration, sanitation and food handling helped reduce the outbreaks, which were eventually traced to the campylobacter bacteria...

E-cigarattes raise basic questions on freedom, regulation (07/30/13)
Now that smoking has been banished from workplaces, public buildings and even some counties, a move is afoot to ban a legal, relatively safe activity that oh, by the way, kind of looks like smoking. At the heart of it is a flawed philosophical tenet -- rather than allow an activity to take place until it is proven to be harmful, we should ban an activity until it is proven to be safe...

Study puts new spotlight on choking hazards (07/29/13)
Now my second cousin His name was Callaway He died when he'd barely turned two It was peanut butter and jelly that did it The help she didn't know what to do She just stood there and watched him turn blue -- Lyle Lovett, "Family Reserve." "Danger: Choking Hazard" is a common warning when you check out Christmas toys, and the effort has paid off with incidents involving small children...

ADA marks 23rd anniversary (07/26/13)
It's hard to believe that something we take for granted, the Americans With Disabilities Act, is only 23 years old as of Friday, July 26, 2013. We've gotten so used to talk of new buildings meeting "ADA requirements" that we forget the federal law was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on this day in 1990...

Old sales tax-funded items in new budget (07/26/13)
McCOOK, Nebraska -- Several projects that sales tax funds were set aside for during the 2012-13 budget process but were not completed are proposed to have funds committed again in the upcoming budget. Among those, $35,000 in improvements to the Karrer Park shower house from the one percent sales tax receipts will be budgeted for the second consecutive year and $80,000 will be committed for the second consecutive year for improvements to the Kelley Park restrooms...

Dental effects latest reason to avoid soda pop (07/25/13)
If you weren't convinced that diet soda isn't completely harmless by our reference to a Purdue study earlier this month, (http://bit.ly/149hubw), perhaps you caught the story on our "To Your Health" page Wednesday. It included a news release from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, warning that phosphoric and citric acid, common ingredients in many popular sodas and diet sodas, alters the pH balance in the mouth and can cause tooth erosion over time...

Program gives parents tools to teach teen drivers (07/24/13)
Practice makes perfect they say, and that axiom could never be more true when it comes to driving. Unfortunately, it's difficult for some young drivers to get the "windshield time" they need to develop vital driving skills, and establish safe habits...

Let's build a skate park (07/23/13)
It started in the middle of the 20th century, when California surfers looked for a way to enjoy their sport when they couldn't get to the beach. First it was books strapped to skates, then a piece of pine, then a made-to-order skateboard, albeit closer to the 1950s sidewalk design than today's composite, high-tech models...

Caring community responds to loss of cafe (07/22/13)
They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. That isn't entirely true; judging from the response to the fire at Fuller's Family Restaurant, the route is the same no matter the gender. Hundreds of people lined B Street Saturday night to watch the blaze, but many of them came back Sunday afternoon to help Val Fuller and Linda Thayer in any way they could, specifically carefully wrapping and packing away as many of the 3,800 cookie jars in Linda's collection that survived the conflagration.. ...

License plate info latest risk to personal privacy (07/19/13)
As one late-night talk show host observed, we didn't know whether to be surprised to learn that the government was invading our privacy by keeping track of our cell phone calls, email and Internet activity, or more surprised to learn that anyone actually believed they still had privacy on the Internet or their cell phones...

Alternative-fuel vehicles making progress, face obstacles (07/18/13)
McCook's celebration of the 1970s during "Disco Discount Days" shopping today and Friday, brings back memories of that era, but it wasn't all dancing and parties. A lot of us remember long lines at the gas pumps, thanks to an oil embargo sparked by U.S. support of Israel...

Disco Discount Days will be a colorful event (07/17/13)
It won't be just another shopping trip. Sure, there will be plenty of bargains -- some prices will even match those charged 40 years ago -- but there will be lots of entertainment as well. Stop in at a participating business, and you may see a demonstration of wood carving, stained glass, photography or print making...

Bloody weekend reinforces need for safe driving (07/16/13)
It was a bloody weekend on Nebraska highways. From Friday, July 12, through Monday morning, July 15, seven people were killed in five separate crashes on Nebraska roads in Lancaster, Cass, Cuming, Douglas and Madison counties. That adds up to 107 people dead in crashes in 2013, compared to 101 on this same date last year...

'Troublemakers' on boards can serve public well (07/15/13)
Irving Janis, a research psychologist at Yale University, popularized the concept of "groupthink" in the early 1970s, writing a book that contrasted the faulty decision-making that led to the Bay of Pigs invasion with the decisions that saved the world from nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis...

Brutal heat nothing to take lightly (07/12/13)
It's the kind of weather that separates the men from the boys, so to speak. In bitterly cold winter weather, it's car batteries and furnaces that fail when they're not up to snuff. In weather like this, it's air conditioners and car cooling systems that give up the ghost...

Even fake sweet soda can be bad, according to study (07/11/13)
It turns out there's no free lunch -- even if it is sugar free. That's the conclusion Purdue University researchers reached after reviewing a dozen studies published over the past five years on the relationship between health and consuming diet sodas...

Farmers Market offers chance to get to know your food (07/10/13)
Ask most kids where their food comes from, and they're likely to offer a couple of answers. "The refrigerator." or, if they're a little more observant: "The store." Even kids whose parents are directly involved in agriculture may have no better idea than their city cousins, since their parents likely purchase their food retail like everyone else...

Give your phone a break and put your brain to work (07/08/13)
Quick, what's your best friend's phone number? More and more of us have no idea. Memorizing phone numbers, one of the first things kids used to learn, has become a thing of the past with the advent of cell phones with programmed "contacts," making that call is as simple as pressing a button or tapping on a screen...

'Flying fire bombs' should be banned (07/05/13)
Someone joked on Facebook that nothing's more American than drinking beer and playing with explosives. We don't know about the beer, but judging by the noise around McCook last night, plenty of people got the message about explosives. This morning's McCook police activity log included four grass fire reports and three noise or complaints about fireworks -- not an especially busy day, considering it was the Fourth of July...

Declaration of Independence had winding path into history (07/03/13)
It's a day that should be remembered in American history, John Adams noted in 1776, with fireworks and celebrations. The day? July 2, according to the man who would become the second president of the new United States of America. While it was dated July 4, 1776, nothing actually happened that day, according to popular historian David McCullough...

Arizona deaths only example of widespread danger (07/02/13)
Our hearts go out to the families, friends and comrades of the 19 brave young firefighters who were killed in the wildfire at Yarnell, Arizona. The tinder-dry conditions and shifting winds that forced them to take desperate measures to try to survive are among the threats most frightening to veteran firefighters...

Welcome to the new 'concentrated' edition (07/01/13)
When shopping in the soap aisle, you've probably noticed that manufacturers have begun decreasing package sizes in favor of concentrated versions of your favorite laundry detergent, fabric softener, or dish soap. There are a lot of benefits to the smaller packaging -- it cuts transportation costs, it reduces landfill, and it is easier for the consumer to haul into the laundry room...

USDA banning junk food from public schools (06/28/13)
Your mom always told you to eat healthy food; now Washington is dong it, too. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued new rules Thursday under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which will ban most surgary, greasy, salty -- and popular -- snacks in schools...

Plan now to enjoy the holiday safely (06/27/13)
It's almost enough to make you want to go back to bed. The Fourth of July falls on a Thursday next week, an inconvenient day of the week if one wants to travel to see friends and relatives without taking time off from work. But judging from all the safety tips from various entities crossing our desk, we might be better off not leaving the house...

Benefits of volunteering far outweigh costs (06/25/13)
What goes around, comes around. That bit of wisdom is more than a clich�, as more of us are discovering as the "me generation" of baby boomers transition into a needier stage of life. Getting involved and thinking about others is better than any pharmaceutical, and volunteering for the less fortunate can put one's problems into perspective better than many expensive hours of counseling...

State failing to follow recipe for Work Ethic Camp (06/21/13)
Comments by a judge in Lincoln remind us of the first time an elderly relative tried Tang. "Try this, grandpa," was the pitch. "It's what the astronauts drink." The directions are lost to time, but probably called for something like four heaping teaspoons to a glass of water...

AMA's obesity stance reflects new realities (06/20/13)
The move by the American Medical Association Tuesday to recognize obesity as a disease has touched off the usual debate over whether it's actually a disease or a character flaw. The same arguments have raged over a range of afflictions -- alcohol, illegal or prescription drug abuse, smoking. ...

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