The Grand Island Independent. May 5, 2013.

Grand Island again vies for Veterans Home

Some three years before the Nebraska Legislature gave authorization for construction of the Nebraska Sailors and Soldiers Home in Grand Island, a committee of local citizens was formed to secure land for a state institution that was at the time just a kernel of an idea.

Once the state determined that 640 or more acres would be required for the veterans' home project, it took less than 36 hours for local citizens to raise the remaining $22,000 of the $25,600 purchase price of the land. The state appropriated its share of the project — $30,000 — and on March 4, 1887, House Bill 247 was passed making way for construction of the "new" facility to be located 3 miles north of Grand Island.

Over the past 125 years the Grand Island has been a devoted caretaker of the venerable home and its residents along with the state and federal government. The Grand Island Veterans Home (GIVH) has weathered years of expansion and upgrades to keep it functional and in compliance with modern standards and regulations; however, structural obsolescence prevents the facility from serving our veterans into the future with the level of comfort they deserve.

Even though the GIVH is outmoded, the level of care provided by the dedicated staff at the GIVH is of the highest quality at every level. A brand new, state-of-the-art facility will improve the working environment for the staff and the quality of life for the residents.

Grand Island's 125-year legacy of passionate support of Central Nebraska's veterans is demonstrated by celebrations of patriot occasions, Senior High Veterans Day parades, busloads of GIVH residents touring Christmas decorations, children and other groups performing for veterans during the holidays; Boy Scouts decorating the veterans cemetery, car shows, fishing derbies and a host of other events that when taken in total involve citizens of all ages, from rural and urban areas. Our business community has generously support veteran's interests for generations.

The state of Nebraska, in the interest of providing the best possible level of service, care and quality-of-life amenities for our veterans has asked other communities to submit proposals that would provide for things not funded by state or federal government. The request for proposals identifies enhancements such as extra space for occupational therapy areas, chapel and library.

Nonetheless, Grand Island will compete with Kearney, Hastings and North Platte to win the replacement facility. So, in essence, we must turn back the clock to 1884 and do what our wise forebears did to secure Grand Island as the best and most logical choice to locate the new facility, estimated to cost over $120 million.

Aside from the mission to avoid disrupting the lives of the veterans now living at the GIVH and displacing the more than 350 employees who now work there, the stakes are high and the community must rise to the challenge.

By June 11, 2013, the GI Home for Our Heroes Committee must submit a proposal detailing why Grand Island has the best workforce, infrastructure, and community services to support the new facility.

You can help by making a financial contribution, by volunteering your time or by making an in-kind donation. Your thoughts and ideas on how to improve facility and living experience for our veterans will also be welcomed. The committee will soon circulate contact information to area businesses and residents.

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Lincoln Journal Star. May 6, 2013.

More sequester fixes needed

When the sequester's across-the-board cuts snarled air traffic, Congress sprang into action.

In a matter of days, just before representatives and senators jumped on planes for a spring recess, they passed a law granting the Federal Aviation Administration flexibility to move funds around so it did not have to furlough air traffic controllers.

It's exasperating that Washington won't allow other agencies the same leeway to prioritize spending.

The across-the-board cuts are taking a toll in other ways that are less obvious.

A story in last week's Journal Star, for example, reported that the U.S. Geological Service will shut down four stream gauges in Nebraska.

Shutting down the devices will hamper the agency's ability to forecast floods along the Elkhorn, Big Blue and South Platte rivers. In addition, the lack of data will hurt water management in drought. Data from the gauges helps officials know how much water is available and flowing out of river basins.

The data have proved valuable in tracking the long-term effect of climate on stream flows. Shutting down the gauges means there will be a gap even if funding flexibility is restored later.

Much ink has been spilled over whether Democrats or Republicans should be blamed for the across-the-board cuts, originally envisioned as a measure so bone-headed that it would prompt Washington to come up with a rational plan.

Bob Woodward's book, "The Price of Politics," reported that President Barack Obama personally approved a plan by White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew and congressional relations chief Rob Nabors to propose the sequester.

Then Republicans in Congress approved the sequester by overwhelming margins.

Out here in the hinterlands it seems like everyone in Washington deserves blame for running the federal government in this sloppy and stupid fashion.

Republicans bluster that the administration already has flexibility, but most scholars agree that flexibility is limited, because the sequester law requires percentage reductions to be applied equally to every "program, project and activity" within a budget account.

The quick congressional action on air traffic controllers is not the only example of special action to avoid harmful across-the-board cuts. Congress voted to allow more funding flexibility so meat and poultry inspectors and the Justice Department could stay on the job.

The old joke about doing a lousy job is that it's "good enough for government work." In the case of the sequester, the elected officials in Washington are taking the expression to a ridiculous extreme.

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Omaha World-Herald. May 4, 2013.

The overhaul of the GED

Across Nebraska, more than 113,000 adults lack a high school diploma. In the four-county area served by Metropolitan Community College, the number exceeds 42,000.

The first rung those Nebraskans need to climb to have a good chance at economic stability is getting their high school equivalency designation. In Nebraska, community colleges, school districts and other entities offer General Educational Development (GED) instruction at 29 sites across the state.

But the GED is changing. In fact, this year it's in the midst of a major overhaul. The change, mandated by the federal government, is bringing some good news and some bad news.

The good: The new GED exam, to be introduced in January, will have higher standards intended to meet the needs of the modern workplace. As the Washington Post reported, the exam "will emphasize skills that are more relevant to today's employers and colleges, including critical thinking and basic computer literacy. ... The test will require more analysis and a deeper understanding of mathematics."

The bad: Increasing costs. Under the change, pen-and-paper GED tests will be no more. Metropolitan Community College and other Nebraska institutions providing GED instruction will need to update their computer equipment and software.

In addition, the overall costs of providing such instruction remains a challenge for many institutions, lawmakers were told this year. Randy Schmailzl, president of Metro, told a state legislative committee in February that the $1 million Metro currently has on hand for such instruction "is not enough to carry the GED program."

Last year Metro became the main GED provider here after Omaha Public Schools ended its GED instruction due to budget pressures. Metro was already serving around 1,500 students a year, and the OPS program was serving around 830.

To help cover those costs, the state provided Metro with $359,000. Once Metro picked up the extra GED obligations after OPS bowed out, the state allocated an additional $230,000 to Metro. But the demand for service is still straining the budget, Schmailzl said.

The average student entering the GED program at Metro is 25 years old and at an academic level below ninth grade, Metro officials told lawmakers. Instruction normally consists of two three-hour sessions per week.

Metro officials described how they structure GED instruction to meet the needs of a wide variety of students. Some need full remedial instruction, while, for others, an accelerated or specialized program is best.

Most GED students at Metro "are very passionate about trying to finish and trying to overcome those hurdles," Metro official Mona Dowding told the lawmakers. Dowding directs MCC Express, a South Omaha facility that prioritizes flexibility in meeting students' individual needs.

At present, Nebraska lawmakers are considering appropriating $750,000 to the state Department of Education to be distributed to GED entities across the state. In addition, $85,550 in lottery funds would go to pay for upgraded computer equipment and software. The bill, approved through one round of debate, is sponsored by Sen. Tanya Cook of Omaha.

Whether that funding comes through will depend on how the Legislature decides its final spending priorities for the upcoming two-year budget.

Higher standards for the GED make sense. Now Nebraska needs to take a good look at the costs and determine the most practical ways to meet the demand for this needed service.

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McCook Daily Gazette. May 2, 2013.

Pipeline security only beginning if, when it is built

The Nebraska State Patrol invited county sheriffs and prosecutors along the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to a meeting to discuss security.

The pipeline hasn't been given final federal approval — the Environmental Protection Agency is questioning the State Department's environmental impact statement.

Pipeline opponents are already in full protest mode, but vowed not to stop even if President Obama signs off on the project, which will deliver some 830,000 barrels of U.S. and Canadian crude oil to Texas refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Spokeswoman Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska said there likely would be peaceful acts of civil disobedience in the state.

She may be right, but there's no guarantee protests would be as peaceful as they have been, for the most part, during construction of the leg of the pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast.

But modern realities must be taken into account long after the pipeline is constructed, if it is. Pipelines, like other type of vital infrastructure, are potential targets for terrorism, foreign or domestic.

And, opponents do have legitimate concerns about environmental danger, whether terrorism or human error is at fault.

When the Keystone XL pipeline is built, if it is built, the job of keeping the public and environment secure has only just begun..