More evidence Golden Plains are a special place

Every day in many ways, there are new examples of why this is a special place to live. For proof, consider these happenings from the past week.

Hot Summer Nights

What a delightful addition to the summer schedule! The brainchild of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Graff of the McCook National Bank, the "Hot Summer Nights" concerts have been immensely popular from the beginning, bringing hundreds of McCook and area residents to Norris Park for good music in the open air.

To bring this season's concert schedule to a close, a crowd of 800 gathered Thursday evening at the park to hear the '50s and '60s selections of the Main Street band. It would be hard to improve on the evening. The music was wonderful, the weather was great and mingling with friends and neighbors made the event even more special.

This is the fifth year for "Hot Summer Nights," provided as a free service by MNB and MNB Insurance.

Arsenic Conference

It's amazing what can be accomplished when Southwest Nebraska citizens set their minds to it. A good example is the "Arsenic and Old West" water quality conference, which brought state and national leaders face-to-face with area mayors and town board members.

The idea started among the members of the Southwest Nebraska RC&D and grew into reality with the help of McCook Community College and the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation.

The conference served its purpose. It captured the attention of the EPA and state water authorities, letting them know the tremendous financial burden the arsenic rule is placing on small towns. And, over and above that, it provided communities with innovative ideas for solving the problem.

Red Cross Blood Drive

When the need is great, the people of Red Willow County step to the plate. Such was the case Wednesday and Thursday, as donors helped exceed the blood drive goal by 45 units.

"It was an awesome turnout," said Cathy Carman, pointing out that the large turnout came at a very critical time. The region's supply of blood had slipped to only a day and a half reserve, which is getting too close for comfort.

The need for blood is ongoing, so mark you calendar now for the bloodmobile's next visit to McCook on Oct. 22-23.

McCook Teaching Staff

It has been years since it last happened, but on the first day of school there were no new teachers in McCook's public schools. There's been a lot of switching around, due to the changes in grade alignments and the building shifts, but the teachers are the same, just in different places.

One or two new teachers may be coming in the days ahead, as a special ed teacher has resigned and a language teacher may be leaving, too. But, for now, the teaching staff is the same, even though many of them are in different places.