Get home safely, sleep soundly tonight

If you're not among the crowd that likes to stay up long enough to welcome in the New Year, there's a good chance you'll be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

That's because the fireworks boom, made possible by a 2010 law that allows local government to allow fireworks sales for New Years, seems to have turned out to be a dud.

Tuesday night isn't the best possible day of the week for an all-night celebration, and the First Night celebrations that welcomed in the new year on Dec. 31sts of recent years didn't materialize in McCook this year.

Somehow, perhaps, revelers didn't see the allure of standing outside, lighting fireworks in 20-degree weather.

The first year fireworks were allowed on New Year's Eve, there were 45 stands open across the state. That steadily declined until there are 20 this year.

That doesn't mean there won't be celebrations going on tonight, and that we shouldn't be careful about drinking and driving.

If you've had a few too many tonight, and your designated driver has fallen off the wagon, you can still get home safely. The Janssen Auto Group in McCook, North Platte and Holdrege is offering free rides home to anyone needing safe transportation.

It will run its shuttle service within a five-mile radius of McCook from 8 o'clock tonight until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Call Joe Slaby at (308) 520-1774 in McCook for a ride.