Columns

By Ashley D. Swanson

Apparently all of the minds of those who write columns in our CCN are on the same mindset.

Tory wrote about the kidnapping issues that have occurred lately, and about how families should make plans to stay safe, if they already haven’t. Jordyn wrote about all the bad things that have happened just in the last month. And honestly, I was going to write about the same things.

Our country...our world, is falling apart, and to be frank, it all sucks.

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By Tory Duncan

Nebraska has well beyond 300 known missing persons registered on the Nebraska State Patrol’s website.

In the light of the sad death of Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa, and after some recent activity in the state over the past several weeks, it’s time to renew a strong effort to keep an eye out as a community, as neighborhoods and as citizens of each and every community in Clay County and statewide, heck for that matter, nationally.

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By Ashley D. Swanson

here’s a decorative plaque on the deskat the Sutton Community Home that states “angels are often disguised as nurses,” and while I probably have some bias behind me due to my past and current involvement in the medical field, I fully believe that statement is true.

Being a nurse (certified nursing assistant, medaid, registered nurse, etc.) comes with a lot of things.

It comes with several hours of non-stop work. It comes with long nights, early mornings, and forever afternoons. It comes with sore muscles and aching joints. It comes with every emotion in the book. 

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By Tory Duncan

Once in a while you hear news that you just dislike hearing. Sunday, at least for me, was one of those days, as Lee Barfknecht, one of my alltime favorite in-state sports writers, after a 39-year career with the Omaha World-Herald is retiring!

No direct high end journalism from this man, ever again! The journalism world will NOT be the same, especially in the world of sports writing!

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For seven years, lawmakers have failed to expand health care coverage for an estimated 90,000 Nebraskans who can’t afford to purchase insurance on their own.

Governor Pete Ricketts and Governor Dave Heineman before him successfully thwarted the attempts in what has become one of the largest, most divisive partisan struggles in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. In case you forgot, there are way more Republicans than Democrats in the Legislature, well, in Nebraska for that matter. And the oft-suggested vehicle for providing the insurance — Medicaid expansion–apparently sounded too much like Obamacare.

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Each year the Nebraska Department of Revenue submits a report of the financial details of Nebraska’s tax incentive programs. Although the Nebraska Advantage Act is the largest, the report provides the benefits paid to companies participating in seven distinct programs. This year’s report identifies the fiscal impact to Nebraska taxpayers of 132 qualifying projects that have received benefits under one or more of the seven programs.

The Annual Report contains specific, detailed information about the benefits participant companies have received and will continue to receive from the program. To date, a total of $905 million in tax credits and $187 million in sales tax refunds have been given, with another $37 million in sales tax refunds pending approval. While sales tax refunds are paid to the company when earned, the tax credits represent a cumulative liability to Nebraska taxpayers.

By Ashley D. Swanson

No matter how well I plan something, almost 99 percent of the time, nothing goes the way it’s supposed to.

Sometimes that can be good, especially because you never know what could happen, but usually on a larger scale, it causes unwanted stress and headaches. Just depends on the situation.

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By Tory Duncan

When I moved to Clay County in June 2009, well honestly, over Memorial Weekend that year, I was really surprised at how busy Clay County was and still is with community events, school events and such.

However, there are several events that every year have become at the top of my list for meaningful events and fun to boot.

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By Ashley D. Swanson

Picture it: you’re sitting on a surfboard or a boat and you see the dorsal fin rise above the waves.

Instinctively, thanks in part to a 1975 movie and the fact that the body attached to the dorsal fin has a number of incredibly sharp teeth, your nerves shoot up and instantly the shore seems better than the water.

Sharks are not everyone’s favorite animal. Probably for good reason, but I cannot get over the fact that even though these animals could kill me with one bite, I love them.

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By Tory Duncan

This week’s thoughts almost feel like that of the “Twas the night before Christmas,” only instead of Christmas, I’m going with “Twas the night before school begins.”

Well almost anyway. 

I’ve come to feel that the older I get, the quicker life goes! One week I’m enjoying the roads less traveled in Nebraska, to what I’ll say is the “calm before the storm,” as it just amazes me that the school year is nearly upon us.

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