Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Did your property assessment go down this year? Perhaps you are one of the very rare Nebraskans who by chance received an equivalent valuation as last year or even a slight reduction. Once again, this year's valuation notices aptly demonstrate how broken our tax system is. The process of valuating properties in Nebraska is completely subjective. There simply is no uniform, objective methodology for valuating properties. County assessors determine the value of properties as they see fit, and...
In the last column, I discussed the negative emotions of anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, superiority, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego. This column and the next, will look at the positive emotions of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. Within each of us is the battle between positive and negative forces. We have the power to pick which force dominates. It is normal...
The following is an editorial article my father Calvin K. Sunderland wrote in the 1970's. I've edited it a bit so this version only half as long as the original. Sometimes we need to go back to our roots and rediscover our foundations. This article is from my early days in the newspaper field. At the time my dad wrote the following, I was a reporter, photographer, press operator, dark room tech, etc. at the Humboldt Sun newspaper in Winnemucca, Nevada. * * * As a reaction to Watergate, a lot of...
"I wait for the Lord; my soul waits and in His Word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning. Yes, more than they who watch for the morning." Psalm 130:5-6 As the United States of America celebrates a Declaration of Independence written by the Finger of God 248 years ago, we are assured that Heaven is watching! God's pattern is simple, the same and timely, never changing! God's first watch for the U.S.A. was to declare independence from a depraved and...
Nebraskans are now receiving their new property valuation notices in the mail. As a result, many Nebraskans are suffering from sticker shock once they see how much the value of their property has increased since last year. Mine, for example, went up forty percent! Other property owners are seeing their valuations increase by as much as fifty percent. What these property valuation notices demonstrate is how broken Nebraska's tax system is. To be sure, you can bet your last dollar that the tax...
There are two opposing forces within you. One is positive, the other negative. The dominant force is the one that determines the path your life takes. Most people are unaware of this conflict, or worse yet, allow the negative to rule them. Developing an awareness of your thoughts and emotions is essential to cultivating the positive ones, while allowing the others to wither. Your quality of life is directly related to the outcome of your inner battle. The negative emotions are anger, envy,...
In 2022, a jury convicted Elizabeth Holmes, founder of biotech firm Theranos, of four counts of defrauding investors. A judge sentenced Holmes to 11 years and 3 months in prison. The film producer Harvey Weinstein was declared guilty of inappropriate relations with women twice, first at a trial in New York in 2020, and the second in California in 2022. In 2018, the comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drugging and assaulting a woman, but in 2021, after serving three years...
Jesus rebuked the Sadducees "'You know how to discern the sky, but you do not discern the signs of the times. No sign will be given to a wicked and adulterous generation except the sign of the Prophet Jonah.' and (He) walked away." Matthew 16:2, 3. Sadducees did not believe in miracles or the afterlife, but were Isarel's leaders at the time. They contested everything Jesus taught and finally, it was the High Priest, Caiaphas, who ordered His crucifixion. Jesus spoke to the faithful of His unexpe...
How many American flags have ever flown on the moon? If you answered, six, you are correct. Each lunar American flag was made of nylon material and was fixed to an aluminum telescoping pole. These flags came in a special kit which were carried on the outside of the Apollo Lunar Module on the descent ladder and were stored inside an insulated tubular case to protect them from the heat of the exhaust, which could reach temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the flags measured 3 X 5 f...
Everyone is conditioned to worry. Our conditioning begins as soon as we learn to speak. Since we see everyone around us worrying, we emulate their behavior. There are no limits to what you worry about. You worry about the past. You worry about the present. You worry about the future. You worry about what might happen. You worry about what might not happen. You worry about what other people think, say, or do. You worry about the opinion others have of you. You worry about making mistakes. You...
If you think we have it rough today with a shaky economy, terrorists, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, tidal waves, high taxes, messed up real estate values, high unemployment rates, low income to high cost of living ratio, and all of the additional etceteras of modern life in the USA – think again. Just to put it into perspective consider poor Methuselah and all that he had to deal with: 1. A 900-year lifespan, and you think you get bored with doing the same job for 20 or 30 y...
"Having been justified by faith (believing that He is), we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Messiah (Christ), by Whom we received the Spirit of adoption and now cry out, "Abba, Father'. Romans 5:1; 8:15. No doubt about it, Dads are special people! The word "Abba" is translated "Daddy". Some think this is an irreverent name for God, but He loves it! It is a belonging term. His is ours and we are His! He rejoices when we imitate Him. O! Mein Pa-Pa lyrics were written by Swiss composer...
I find it so very interesting to see the frequent editorials, news articles, and letters to the editor addressing the failed "tax system" Nebraska has had for many years. Does anyone stop to think before they vote? The Republicans have had control of the State of Nebraska including the Governor and the Legislature for 26 years and it has certainly gotten worse throughout those 26 years. Know who you are voting for, perhaps it is past time to try someone else, you do have choices. Separation of Powers would certainly be a benefit, instead of...
Editor: Recent considerations about using Placer.ai technologies in our community have been a focus lately and while having access to "more" information seems a logical path to growth, this is not always the case, especially with technologies we, as a community, have not fully explored and vetted. In any case, our collective privacy and security is not something we should take lightly. We should not cut corners for either the sake of data and/or profit, especially when there has not been enough due diligence in exploring "new" technologies. A...
On May 30, 2024, a jury in a New York courtroom read the verdict, convicting the former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump 's lawyers will appeal the case and the decision will likely get overturned by a higher court. This decision should get overturned because it represents one of the biggest travesties of justice ever to come out of an American courtroom. I call this a travesty of justice because nobody, not even the...
Last time in these pages I discussed the Supreme Court's decision in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, out of Topeka, Kansas. It attempted to rollback the premise that, if schools were "equal" in quality, then they may remain "separated" between blacks and whites. Chief Justice Earl Warren disagreed. On May 31, 1955, Earl Warren insisted that Southern states must initiate desegregation plans in their schools "with all deliberate speed." "Massive resistance" across the Southern states erupted. School boards closed their schools, abolish...
"See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time for the days are evil. Therefore, understand what the will of the Lord is and be filled with His Spirit." Ephesians 5:15-18. Studying business at Colorado State University, it was embedded in me to make a list of six things to do each day, prioritize and stick to the list. Then, I found these verses. Holy Spirit became my logistics expert! There is a flow to life. Holy Spirit flows through you every day to design...
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: While I am all for new businesses opening in town, is no consideration made of the impact made on residents? I am talking about the new brewery that just opened up, Boss City. It has made driving south headed to any direction at the corner not only inconvenient but dangerous. People park their huge pickups sticking out into traffic if you're heading south so that you have to practically pull into oncoming traffic just to get around them. I have almost been hit several times at that stop sign because I have to pull out in...
Operation Tidal Wave Every year when homeowners receive their new property valuations in the mail, I receive a chorus of emails and phone calls from both urban and rural residents complaining about their higher property valuations. I hear a refrain of this chorus after residents receive their subsequently higher property tax statements. Property owners appear to direct their complaints mostly at their local officials, like county commissioners or city council members. Actually, our state legislature determines by statute how local taxing author...
Jesus once said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," John 15:13. I am not trying to get religious, but this is the expected principle to live by when you serve as a chaplain in the military. Of course, that principle is much easier said than done. Nevertheless, four Army chaplains once displayed this kind of love and courage during the days of WWII, so today I would like to recall their story. The SS Dorchester had been requisitioned as a troop...
In 2023 and 2024 Governor Pillen and the Legislature focused an abundance of energy on the educational needs of Nebraska's PreK-12 students. They increased public school funding by 37%, created a $1 billion dollar future education fund, and finally joined the 48 other states in offering all children the opportunity to attend the school that best fits their needs. But some do not like even the tiniest percentage of educational funding going to schools that the union does not control. Even though funding for the new school choice program is only...
Continuing from the first Constitutional Argument article let us take a look at a few more amendments that most Americans have little or no knowledge of. I dare say that most of our nation’s public schools do little if any teaching about the Constitution of the United States. As a result we are witnessing more and more trespassing of our rights and freedoms by various levels of government and governmental agencies. So, picking up from where I left off here are a few more constitutional arguments...
"Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you, who seek the Lord. Look to the Rock from which you were hewn, look to Abraham and Sarah." Isaiah 51:1,2 One little boy asked his father, "Where did I come from?" The father, not wanting to get into a 'birds and bees' talk with his young son, answered, "Go ask your mother." When the 5-year-old approached his mother, she asked, "Why do you ask?" He replied, "Abigail is from Boston, and I've never been there!" Each of us have asked, "How did...
One of the questions we often receive about the EPIC Option Consumption Tax concerns the two ballot initiatives. Many folks ask us, "How is the petition drive doing?" Today I am prepared to give an update and I have some very good news to report. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax currently has two petition drives running concurrently to put two separate ballot initiatives on the ballot for the voters to decide on November 5. The first ballot initiative would eliminate all taxes other than...
It's bad enough that President Joe Biden is playing politics with the war in Gaza, but even worse -- at least for his purposes -- that he is doing it so poorly. Biden may imagine that he is maneuvering with incredible skill -- subtly balancing geopolitics, alliance management and domestic imperatives --when he is really upsetting all sides in the course of further undermining his already-rickety presidency. This is less Otto von Bismarck than Jimmy Carter minus the Camp David Accords. A couple...
