RSS
Sliding toward Prohibition ... again
The new NTSB recommendation that the limit for driving under the influence of alcohol be reduced down to .05 is a much bigger story than currently meets the eye. The initial standard of .15 was reached in 1938 after careful study involving the American Medical Association and the National Safety Council. ...
|
|
|
![[mccookgazette.com]](http://www.mccookgazette.com/images/nameplate31.png)
|
|
A Few Clouds with Haze ~ Tornado Watch Saturday, May 18, 2013 |
|
|
War Memorial Wall offers time to remember, reflect
Jack Rogers, the late Gazette editor, told poignant stories about receiving word of a local serviceman killed in Vietnam, then knocking on the doors of survivors to obtain a picture of the deceased. It was a difficult but necessary job, part of a newspaper's duty to tell the truth as well as honor those who gave their lives in service to their country...
Saturday great day to get outdoors
The tone is usually negative when the subject of area lakes comes up, such as how water is being released to comply with the Republican River Compact and how Hugh Butler Lake had to be drained to repair Red Willow Dam. But there are still plenty of recreational opportunities at area lakes, and it would be a shame not to make plans to take advantage of them this summer...
Even in drought, Nebraska water flows downhill
Water and other stuff flows downhill in Nebraska, especially when the Legislature is in session. During the same week that the state Department of Natural Resources started releasing water from the Harlan County Reservoir to the Republican River in Kansas to avoid penalties, state lawmakers gave first-round approval to a measure that would compensate Nebraska farmers for the loss of water...
Drunk drivers have only selves to blame for tougher laws
You'll still be able to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer with your pizza, but you'd better monitor your drinking a little closer if the National Transportation Safety Board has its way. The federal safety board recommended that states cut the drunken driving threshold from .08 to .05, a move that has cut drunken driving by half in the decade since it was enacted in Europe...
Emily's family
This is an all-American story. Well it is the way life used to be and can/should be again. Last week Emily graduated from McCook Community College receiving an associate's degree in graphic design. Her whole family came to celebrate, aunts, uncles, both sets of grandparents (still alive and still married to their original spouses) plus all her siblings and cousins, an even dozen no less and all younger. ...
State airplane issue worthy of legislative study
After four hours of debate Thursday and Friday, the Legislature pulled $2.5 million from the state budget which had been designated to buy a 2001 turboprop airplane from a University of Nebraska foundation, and instead do a study to determine what kind of plane would serve the governor best...
Foster parenting a courageous act of love
Families are the foundation of our society, providing stability to our communities and instilling values in future generations. Every child deserves the comfort and security of a loving and nurturing home. Foster families help make this possible for the nearly 400,000 children around the country in need of a stable home...
The state's airplane purchase
To purchase, to lease, or to study? That is the question the Legislature addressed this last week regarding the Governor's request in the budget to purchase the Beechcraft Super King Air airplane from the University of Nebraska Foundation. Friday, May 10, the Legislature answered that question by amending the budget to give a third party a chance to study further what would be the best cost effective approach to meet the needs of the Governor. ...
All-of-the-above strategy to reduce energy prices
Despite the recent cold weather and snow storms, summer is quickly approaching which likely means higher energy prices. Nebraskans will not only feel the pain at the gas pump, we could face higher home electric bills, and pay more for just about every product because of higher transportation and production costs...  From H.P. Waite's collection of McCook Tribune stories A lesson in frugality for future City Councils: May 8, 1884: At a meeting of the village board, held on this date, the estimate of municipal expenses for the ensuing year was $500 for general purposes, and $200 for sidewalks and crossings, or a total of $700...
Remembering those who gave their lives for us
McCook has a special honor this week with the arrival of the American Veterans Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, an 80 percent replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., which will open to the public at noon Thursday at Weiland Field in McCook...
The dark side of social medial
In the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, an unpleasant, unneeded, and unwanted phenomenon occurred. Thousands of people were using social media to inspect, investigate, strip down and evaluate every single shard of video evidence from the bomb blasts and to develop their own suspect list, which was universally wrong. Many people were incorrectly implicated in this horrible event and, in some cases, their lives have become permanently sullied because of it... "Lawyers can steal more money with a briefcase than a thousand men with guns and masks," said Don Vito Corleone in Mario Puzo's "The Godfather." To be fair, ponzi schemers like Bernie Madoff are no slackers, either, when it comes to white-collar crime... Many people are tracing their roots. They want to reconnect with their family trees. Ancestry.com is a great help. In March, genealogists from other countries and the U.S. attended Roots Tech 2013 Family History and Technology Conference at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City...
Don't look the other way on graduation day
Prom season is over and celebration season continues with this weekend's graduation ceremonies. It's a time of accomplishment and certainly worth marking with get-togethers with families and friends. Alcohol is a traditional part of celebrations, but for teenagers, or anyone under 21, it's not just a bad idea, it's against the law, both for the person who consumes it, and those who provide it...
Wind energy tax incentive bill advances
Nebraskans are keenly aware of a term called "wind chill" or the wind chill factor. It is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of cold air. Said temperatures are always lower than the air temperature where the formula is valid. That would be just about everywhere. Likewise, the "heat index" is used to describe an apparent temperature higher than the air temperature...
Cancer center reflects generosity, new source of hope
A cancer diagnosis is a shock, whether it's ourselves, a loved one or friend who receives the news. Add to that the uncertainties of the availability of treatment, and the prognosis almost becomes secondary. Thanks to advances in diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis is good for the majority of cancer patients, and now, thanks to a new project at Community Hospital, so is the availability of treatment...
Graduation
The cranes are gone and the grass is green. The drive to Omaha was delightful. Not withstanding our most recent snowfall, spring may finally have sprung. Grannie Annie and I proudly went to watch our eldest grandchild, Monique Ann Monzon, graduate from college. ... In reading the weekly column of Mike Hendricks -- Song Doctor, it struck a note with me thinking of the music in my early background growing up that never leaves me. Our church was very active with singing of rousing hymns and lively and meaningful chorus...
Report points out vital role bees play in U.S. food supply
Bring up "global warming" in a small town coffee shop and you'll experience everything from sudden silence to looks of disbelief to your friends suddenly remembering a need to pick up a few things at the hardware store. Mention the EPA and you'll probably hear everything from a list of examples of unreasonable federal intervention to a profanity-laced diatribe unprintable in a family newspaper...
A fair marketplace for Main Street
Walk down any Main Street, and you'll see storefronts of small businesses that fuel local economies. From quaint "mom & pop" shops to sleek and trendy boutiques, these businesses often provide a human element that helps define the character of our communities. But many of these small businesses, the source of nearly 70 percent of American jobs, face an uphill battle when competing with out-of-state Internet merchants benefitting from outdated tax policy...
PSA tests falling out of favor
One-size-fits-all medicine suffered another blow with the announcement Friday that a routine blood test prostate cancer should no longer be routine. PSA -- prostate -specific antigen tests, once recommended routinely for men after a certain age -- should never be done without consulting with a doctor first, said the American Urological Association...
Budget priority for Legislature this week
Well, we didn't get to the budget last week, but we were assured by Speaker Adams that starting the week of May 7 the budget would be the primary goal on the agenda. Last week the Legislature also passed several bills on Final Reading. Of those, Legislative Bill423, a bill introduced by the Agriculture Committee, passed with a 41-0 vote. ...
State wellness program
In 2009, the State of Nebraska launched a wellness program for state employees and spouses, called "wellnessoptions." With this program, Nebraska became one of the first states to offer an integrated wellness program that is tied to health insurance plan coverage... |
