Columns

I hope you are all doing well and are healthy and happy.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week.

It may not be so apparent to us when we’re kids or maybe even as teenagers, but teachers make a huge difference in our lives.

If you’ve been reading my column for a little bit, you know I’ve mentioned how I was not a great student in school—not a good test-taker, homework was done in a subpar way, and studying was almost nonexistent.

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Clay County, as many of you know, next Tuesday, May 12, is your final chance to vote your mind in the 2020 Primary Election. All registered voters should have received their ballots in the mail in recent weeks.

Thankfully, given the current state of things, Clay County’s Board of Supervisors and our clerk’s office made the decision to go to all mailin ballots in 2020. Otherwise, they, along with us, as registered voters would be scrambling like so many other counties in Nebraska, as well as, throughout the country, to cast our votes.

Ballots must be mailed and in the possession of the Clay County Clerk no later than 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 12.

For even greater ease, the clerk’s office has a drop box located at the south entrance of the courthouse; just drive up to the box and drop your ballot off.

The coronavirus which is killing Nebraskans and making others very sick also has the potential to greatly injure Nebraska’s economy, an impact which will be felt for at least the next three years or longer.

That impact is already changing the Nebraska Legislature and the hopes and dreams of some lawmaker’s ability to push pet projects through to completion in the final 17 days of the current legislative session, whenever that happens.

There will be things, big things, that just won’t make it. Things like property tax relief and increased school aid–sponsors just don’t have the votes necessary to push that big rock up the hill.

Economic incentives for big businesses, a plan to rewrite current law which expires in July, is likewise burdened by some who tie its passage to the passage of the property tax bills.

I would like to address a couple of the issues that we have heard about, and I would like to encourage anyone with concerns to contact our office. The information being posted on social media has, for the most part, been inaccurate unless it comes from our office.

Everyone that was a registered voter was sent a bright orange postcard on Oct. 31, 2019, informing them that Clay County had been designated as an “all mail” county for all elections moving forward. The cards that came back as undeliverable helped us to be able to put those individuals on our NVRA list.

The Secretary of State and the Post Office work together to extract forwarding or changed addresses. They send us a list of those in Clay County. In mid-January, we sent out cards to those on that list to get verification of current addresses.

In about one-and-a-half weeks I’ll turn 28 years old. Yes, I know I still look like a teenager, but the birth certificate I have says it’s true.

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Hello Neighbor,

One of the many changes that have happened as a result of COVID-19 is that more people have expressed an interest in early voting, particularly voting by mail.

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The next several weeks will be key to slowing the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nebraska. The virus is expected to peak in Nebraska during the next month. We can expect more recorded cases as testing expands, and additional deaths as we approach this peak period.

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The last time the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature adjourned for an indefinite period was in 1985 when a serious budget impasse had to be resolved but a solution couldn’t be found. Two special sessions followed in September and October. It took two more special sessions in 1986, in November and December to finally resolve the matter.

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We as humans have a false sense of control on life. We believe that the world happens around us. The events in our lives are the most important. In all reality, this “control” we have on life is flimsy at best, probably nonexistent. We don’t control the weather or the seasons, the sun or the moon, the animals or the bacteria.

This reality is hitting many people as we sit at home in self-isolation. Businesses are closing down, events are postponing, gatherings are being cancelled. And yet, as you look out the window, life goes on. The flowers are still blooming and the animals are still roaming, the sun is still setting and the world is still spinning. As you look out that window, the Earth moves on like nothing’s happening. How is this possible when everything is changing? Easy, it’s because we don’t have control.

In order to address COVID-19, Congress and President Trump have enacted three major pieces of legislation to fight this disease and help as many Americans as possible stay employed, with the goal of resuming our strong economy as soon as possible when this pandemic subsides. While agencies such as Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are working to roll out these programs as quickly as possible, I hope the information below will be helpful to you in this challenging time. With any of these programs for small businesses, I strongly recommend you work with your accountant and regular lender as soon as possible to understand the full parameters of each program, review your eligibility, and determine which options are most appropriate for you. Please contact any of my offices if I may be of further assistance.

SBA PROGRAMS

PAYCHECK PROTECTION

PROGRAM (PPP) LOANS