Red Willow County

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County’s newest “One- and Six-Year Road Plan” envisions replacing three bridges with tubes or culverts, and someday paving County Road 719 to create a short-cut loop from Highway 83 to Community Hospital in McCook. During a public hearing at the commissioners’ weekly meeting, Monday, commissioners Earl McNutt and Steve Downer (Jacque Riener was absent) and road superintendent Tyson Bardsley discussed the county’s bridge and road plans and explained that several of them are dependent upon “if and when” funding is available.. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — The flu season is coming, and the Red Willow County Health Department is ready to help protect you and your family. “We have a full shipment of flu vaccine and can give flu shots immediately,” said Director Pam Harsh. To that end, a number of flu clinics have been scheduled at area businesses as well as having nurses available every day of the week at our location at the fairgrounds (1400 West 5th Street) in McCook...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County commissioners approved a nearly $20 million budget and a $0.312556 tax levy for 2018-19 during their weekly meeting Monday morning. Budget preparer Dan Miller said that the budget for Hillcrest Nursing Home, which is owned by the county, is $7.9 million and is included in the county’s total budget of $19,878,799.20...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County and City of McCook planners are proposing a new map that redraws the outer ring of the city’s two-mile jurisdiction along quarter-section and section lines in the county. The current map shows an undulating circle that delineates the area in which properties are within the city’s planning and zoning jurisdiction. Outside the circle, properties owners are bound by the county’s zoning regulations...

McCOOK, Neb. — The director and public health nurse of the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department questioned Red Willow County commissioners Monday morning about their intentions to let the county’s health department work beyond county lines. Myra Stoney, SWPHD director, and Melissa Propp RN told commissioners they have had a good working relationship with the county’s health department and were surprised two weeks ago that the county’s health department is considering providing services in areas that SWPHD covers outside of Red Willow County.. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County’s tax levy for 2018-19 will increase 1 cent, from $0.302105 to $0.312565, per $100 of valuation. “The levy’s going up … we can’t stop it,” third district commissioner Jacque Riener said during the commissioners’ weekly meeting Monday morning. But, she added, she feels commissioners did a good job of holding it down as much as they did...

McCOOK, Neb. — At their weekly meeting Monday morning, Red Willow County commissioners adopted resolutions allocating final levies and tax dollars for subdivisions subject to the county levy: Danbury Cemetery: Taxes allocated, $3,745; levy rate, $0.007425...

McCOOK, Neb. — As Nebraska Sen. Dan Hughes waited for his time slot on the agenda of the Red Willow County commissioners meeting Monday morning, he witnessed commissioners’ struggle to make a new budget balance. A transfer from the county’s $1.9 million inheritance tax fund would take a bit of the hurt off of a tax levy increase, commissioners figured, and commissioner Steve Downer said, “It doesn’t hurt anything to use the inheritance tax fund when we’re trying to offset increases.”...

McCOOK, Neb. — Making a transfer from inheritance, reducing the health department’s tax request and looking for cuts in the road budget may mean that Red Willow County can offset somewhat a nearly $32 million drop in valuation. McCook CPA Dan Miller, who prepares the budget for the county, told commissioners Monday morning that a preliminary budget indicates a tax levy of $0.318864, up from $0.0302105 in 2017-18, if they transfer $500,000 from inheritance and reduce the health department’ tax request by $15,000. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County’s attorney asked county commissioners Monday morning to reconsider their denial of his request to hire a second deputy attorney for his office, that he feels their denial last week was “personal.” One commissioner supported the idea, but his motion died for lack of a second and the issue was tabled...

McCOOK, Neb. — The disappearance of a white Ford pickup from a rural Red Willow County residence may be connected to the escape of an inmate from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services' Work Ethic Camp in McCook Thursday evening. The missing pickup is a white 2016 Ford F250 four-door Super Duty diesel with "48-114" and "Cappel Motors" dealer plates...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County assessor Kristi Korell has certified to county commissioners that the county’s 2018-19 valuation is $1,265,180,204, which is down $31,725,727 from the valuation of $1,296,905,931 in 2017-18. The drop in county valuation means to commissioners that the county has almost $32 million less upon which to generate the taxes its needs to fund its operations...

McCOOK, Neb. — Since issuing notices in October last year to 40 taxpayers with delinquent tax bills, the Red Willow County Sheriff’s Office collected on 33 distress warrants bringing in $9,740.05 in taxes and $668.41 in interest. The 40 warrants issued last year totaled $11,648.08 and demanded payment of late taxes ranging from $6.12 to $2,724.20, plus interest. The taxes are personal property taxes due Dec. 31, 2016, and delinquent May 1, 2017, and Sept. 1, 2017...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County commissioners perused several departments’ proposed budgets for 2018-19 at their weekly meeting Monday morning. The county budget will be finalized after the assessor validates the county valuation Monday and all paperwork and approved department budgets are forwarded to the county’s budget preparer Dan Miller...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood asked commissioners Monday morning to consider hiring a second part-time deputy attorney and to allow him to hire his daughter for the position. Wood broached the subject when he submitted his proposed 2018-19 budget with a $19,020 increase on the line for a deputy attorney’s salary. Wood said that his daughter, Emily, has taken the bar exam, and if she passes, she would be able to start Oct. 1...

McCOOK, Neb. — Red Willow County commissioners saw a $39,000 increase in the budget proposed for 2018-19 by the fair board, so Monday morning they went looking for places to cut by a figure close to that. By the end of their budget hearing, commissioners had slashed $26,900 from throughout the proposed budget and told the fair board secretary to find ways to shift more costs to the self-supporting Kiplinger arena complex budget and to keep all Kiplinger costs within the Kiplinger budget. ...

McCOOK, Neb. — Rural Futures Institute interns Emily Frenzen and Sage Williams spent their summer at the Museum of the High Plains and in the office of McCook Economic Development, and will end their involvement in McCook with two events that they explained to Red Willow County Commissioners at their meeting Monday morning...

McCOOK, Neb. — At their weekly meeting Monday morning, Red Willow County commissioners agreed to contribute $10,096 for the 2018-19 budget of Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services based in McCook. That’s the same amount DASAS requested from the county last year, DASAS director Donna Goad told commissioners, despite the McCook office seeing a 21.5 percent increase in the number of crisis line phone calls its advocates answered...