Columns

By Ashley D. Swanson

There’s this country song by Scotty McCreery called “Five more minutes,” and starts out with a couple of kids fishing by the pond when their mom calls that supper is ready.

All they want is five more minutes to continue their fishing expedition.

From there, the song highlights moments when all a person wants is five more minutes to feel the way they are feeling. Five more minutes to soak in the moment. Five more minutes of that first kiss (“...yellow light flipping on and off, interrupting that goodnight kissing; we wanted five more minutes”), of that last sports game as a senior (“And I cried man next time to get in here I’ll have to buy a ticket; can’t you give me five more minutes”), of those final moments with a loved one (“All the family gathered ‘round knew the time was coming soon; with so much left to say I prayed Lord I ain’t finished; just give us five more minutes”).

By Jordyn Hulinsky

Man, the struggle is real... This weekend, I cried, a lot. I felt and dealt with all of the possible emotion combinations in a 48-hour period. It was a struggle and it was confusing, but it happened.

I felt and found extreme joy, I felt happiness and I felt love and warmth from friends and family. But the tougher ones were when I felt scared, confused, angry, sad, disappointed and at one point there was simply no emotion because I had nothing left. I didn’t go through these emotions alone though. I dealt with all of these emotions with my family and with a few select friends. (God bless those friends by the way.)

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By Tory Duncan

After watching the NET special Sunday night regarding Mister Rogers, also known as Fred Rogers, to the kids that are growing up this day and age it really is a misfortune that you didn’t get the privilege to grow up watching his show.

He talked about birth, death, and life. He spoke of divorce and even disarray in life, but he did so in such a way that his demeanor left an impact on you...you learned from his teachings!

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By Vicki Ozenbaugh

I wish I knew why the days and weeks go by so fast. Each week I think I’m going to get my article written, and then, whoosh, the deadline passes and I’ve missed another week. Part of the problem this last month has been the preparation for and then the twoweek rural mail count.

I have talked about the rural mail count before, but this year it was a national requirement that ALL rural routes be counted. So in preparation I had to physically ride the route with each of my seven rural carriers. So that was seven days out of my office over a three week period.

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By Ricketts

Tax policy is a big area of focus for senators this legislative session for a good reason: It is key to building a pro-growth climate in our state.

Right now, Nebraska’s tax system is in need of an overhaul. According to the Tax Foundation, Nebraska has the 11th highest property taxes in the United States and the 26th highest income taxes. When you look at it another way on a per capita basis, we do not do any better. Local property tax collections rank 12th highest at $1,757 per capita and state income tax collections rank 16th highest at $1,128 per capita. This makes us uncompetitive with surrounding states.

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By Schmidt

You get what you pay for.

In the case of Nebraska’s Legislature, several senators and some constituent groups say they don’t think lawmakers are getting paid enough. It’s hard to disagree since the last pay raise was 30 years ago when voters approved an increase from $400 a month to $1,000 a month. Arizona and Nebraska are the only two states to require voter approval.

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By Fischer

Recently the Senate had a state work period, which meant I could travel across Nebraska and visit with fellow citizens to listen to what’s on their minds. These conversations are what I take back to Washington, and they help me bring our state’s common sense to Congress.

I started my week by stopping by the Nebraska City Public Schools Pioneer Career Academy. It was great visiting with students and seeing the fantastic work they are doing. The highlight of the tour came when the students presented me with two wooden plaques that they had made. It’s great to see these young people refining their skills to become successful and contribute to their community.

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By Keuhn

Although public hearings and floor debate dominate the media coverage of the legislative process, what happens in the committee setting ultimately dictates the direction of bills introduced at the beginning of the legislative session. In Nebraska’s unicameral system, committees, and especially committee chairs, are allowed a level of discretion and control over bills unlike any other legislative body. Every bill introduced is required to have a public hearing. However, that is where equal treatment of a piece of legislation ends. The scheduling of the bills for hearing, the consideration of a bill by the committee in executive session for advancement, and the development of any committee amendments to a bill are all controlled by each individual committee chair.

By Ashley D. Swanson

This little piggy went to the market. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef. This little piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home.

Most, if not all, people know the nursery rhyme “The Little Piggy;” the one where your parents or grandparents would move from one toe to the next and then tickle you until tears fill your eyes because you’re laughing so hard.

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By Tory Duncan

Winter sports is quickly drawing to a close, which on one hand is not a bad thing, as on the positive side, maybe that means winter weather will soon make way for spring.

It’s always a rat race at the end, and as Jordyn and I head to games Tuesday night, one at Grand Island Central Catholic and the other at Centennial High School, I reflect on some things that I soaked in over the winter season.

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