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Editorial
No sign of recession in local construction
Monday, January 30, 2012
If there's a recession in the construction industry, somebody forgot to tell McCook.
The latest sign came this weekend with the demolition of a small house next to the McCook Public Library, purchased for possible future expansion by the Library Foundation. For now, it will serve as much-needed parking, and the library plans to add an elevator to allow better use of the existing basement.
Weekend visitors to McCook may have been shocked to see a vacant lot where McDonald's sat on North Highway 83, but it won't be long until they will see a new, modernized version of the restaurant going back up.
Today's near-record temperatures should be welcome at the old West Ward site, where concrete is being poured for McCook's new city administration and public safety center, and just across the street, McCook Christian Church is enjoying its new activities addition, hosting the Nebraska Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Ranchers state convention last weekend.
Across town, Community Hospital's Phase 2 construction project is on track to be complete at the end of February or early March, providing new surgery suites and clearing up space for other uses. Nearby, the Evangelical Free Church plans groundbreaking on a new sanctuary this spring.
In Kelley Park, the new McCook Community College Events Center is going up quickly, and YMCA patrons are enjoying a new expansion including modern weight equipment, as well as flatscreen TVs, exercise equipment and new class spaces.
And those are only the ones that come to mind immediately -- Red Willow County is taking steps toward the possible construction of a jail, the city recently got funding to extend a walking trail, a dog park is planned in east McCook, and there are numerous other public and private projects under construction, planned or recently completed.
No, the economy isn't everything we would like it to be, but this community is taking advantage of the opportunity to advance when others are holding back.