Good Old Days 11-13-15

Compiled By The Sun-Telegraph Staff

These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons.

50 YEARS AGO

Nov. 10, 1965

'Marines Ease Requirements for Enlisting'

In anticipation of the 30,000-man build-up the Secretary of Defense has asked for the Marine-Corps, the Corps has completely revised its recruiting criteria.

One of the most significant changes is the opening of the two-year active duty enlistment program. Young men 18 years of age through 28 years, are eligible for enlistment through this program.

At the same time, the Corps has expanded its three-year enlistment program so that another 30 percent of its enlistees can enter the Corps through this program. The three-year program is open to young men 17 years of age through 28 years.

Both, the two-year and three-year programs, are available to those men who can meet the mental, physical, and moral standards required to become a U.S. Marine.

Most enlistees may elect to delay their departure 120 days before going to boot camp after being enlisted. This applies to all programs.

A change that will benefit those ex-Marines who have been out of the Corps for a period no exceeding one year, allows these ex-Marines to re-enter the Corps and still retain the rank they held at the time of their discharge or release from active duty. This pertains to Gunnery Sergeants and below who are wiling to accept the date of their reenlistment as their date of rank.

40 YEARS AGO

Nov. 12, 1975

'Special session ends; Exon praises actions'

When the Nebraska Legislature convened its special session last month, Sen. Robert L. Clark of Sidney told reporters he wanted the answers to four questions. Today, with the session ended, Clark said those questions have been answered.

– What is the state's financial problem? Cash flow.

– How did the state get into the problem? By not having enough cash on hand to pay the state's bills when they were to come due.

– How can the problem be solved? By passing LB3, the Legislature authorized the state to make payments to governmental subdivisions on a monthly basis, which evens out the cash flow.

– How can a repetition of this problem be avoided? "By good management," Clark says. "It's a matter of administration. I'm not setting myself against Governor Exon, but I just don't think we can allow ourselves to overspend early in the year."

Cash flow is a term frequently employed in businesses to describe the timing of receipts and expenditures. It has no barring on total income and outgo of funds. A poor cash flow position could be described in household terms as a family that owed $200 worth of bills on the 10th of the month and that wouldn't receive a $300 paycheck until the 15th of the month.

If that family were to find an additional source of income, and reduce its monthly bills and handle unusual expenses, such as auto insurance, on a monthly instead of annual basis, it would roughly approximate the actions approved on the state level Tuesday. (Although the Legislature didn't impose a tax increase, it is widely predicted that the Board of Equalization will hike the state income tax when it meets in Lincoln Saturday.)

These actions by the senators varied from the package presented at the opening of the session by Exon, but the Governor told the special session Tuesday that he called the senators to deal with the financial problems "and you basically have done this."

Included in the bills forwarded for his signature was a three percent reduction in spending by state agencies. His original proposals had called for an across-the-board reduction, but the senators exempted several agencies, including University of Nebraska, the state colleges, the technical community colleges, and others.

The exemptions reduced the total impact of the cut from $6 million requested by Exon to about $3 million. "I believed the cuts should be shared by every agency," Clark said. "It isn't fair that some agencies have to carry the load and others got no cuts."

At the same time, however, the Legislature cut deeper into other areas than Exon requested by taking into account delays in spending other committed funds. The total spending reduction amounted to $16 million, according to Associated Press reports.

Exon said the Legislature, by departing from his proposals, mandated an increase in the state income tax to 15 percent of federal liability from the current level of 12 percent. Individual senators defended their decision, however.

"I do not believe the governor wanted his package passed," said Waverly Sen. Jerome Warner.

"I want to give the governor what he has asked for in spades," said South Sioux City Sen. John Murphy." "Give Don Quixote his silver lance."

"I think the governor would collapse at his desk if the bill was passed in its original form," said Bellwood Sen. Loran Schmit.

Clark said such a tax increase would "merely add to the budget surplus at the end of the year." An income tax increase of one percentage point would raise an estimated $14 million annually, he said, and the proposed three percent increase would raise some $18 million between January and June.

"This year's budget is already funded," he said. "If the money had been coming in when it was due, there would be no problem."

He said the key to solving the problem in future years lies in realistic budgeting, taking express obligations into account when tax rates are set, and in avoiding overspending in the early months of the fiscal year when tax receipts are the heaviest.

"The Governor has the opportunity to make budget cuts through line item vetoes on the budget bill," Clark said. "I voted to sustain his vetoes in the last sessions, but I didn't think he cut deeply enough."

25 YEARS AGO

Nov. 12, 1990

'Fear of war hangs

over Vets' Day'

The threat of war in the Persian Gulf shadowed Veterans' Day observances from the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington to an Army post in Eastern Saudi Arabia.

"It looks like many people will be marching in next year's Veterans' Day parades with a banner saying Desert Shield '90-'91," 2nd Lt. Benjamin Lacy, 23, of Largo, Fla, said at the Mideast post on Sunday.

The human cost of any offensive against Iraq to liberate Kuwait is "a question that's on everybody's mind," Lacy said.

It was on people's minds here, too.

It's "just a matter of time" until the United States is at war again, Bob Horsch of Rahway, N.J., a veteran of Army service in Vietnam, told a reporter at the Vietnam memorial Sunday.

Horsch said he believes the military buildup in the Persian Gulf is the right thing to do because "it is in the interest of the United Stated and other countries."

Stephen Reuben of Lapwai, Idaho, a member of the Nez Perce tribe who also served in Vietnam, declined to say whether he believed the buildup was a good idea, but said he fears the country will go to war.

"I am afraid so, but I pray and hope we don't," Reuben said.

Teresa Swain of Hagerstown, Md., when asked if she supported the buildup, said, "We have to protect our interests." As to whether it would mean war, she said, "I certainly hope not." Mrs. Swain said she has a son-in-law in the Air Force.

At Arlington National Cemetery, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney placed a floral wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and told a crowd of about 5,500, "Those who have been deployed to the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia are probably the best-trained soldiers we have ever had."

The ceremonies were held on Sunday, the traditional Veterans' Day, although today is the official national holiday.

Meanwhile, the jury selecting a design for a memorial to women who served in Vietnam, to be built adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, announced that it has selected two finalists instead of one winner.

"She looks like she has been to war and she is going somewhere else," said juror Raquel Ramati, a New York urban designer. "She is dignified and courageous, but she looks like she is part of the human race. She is not superwoman."

10 YEARS AGO

Nov. 12, 2005

'Foreign dignitaries

try their hands at

cattle-wrangling'

Four men from different parts of the world, calves, mooing cows, a branding iron and Nebraska beef steaks fresh off the grill could do a lot of good for global communication.

For two full days in late October, Yale World Fellows Joaquin Jcome from Panama, Vincent Perez from the Philippines, and Marvin Dames from the Bahamas relaxed, worked and forged ties at the McGinn Ranch near Dunning.

Host Scott Kleeb was an associate Yale world fellow in 2002 and invited the men to visit the McGinn Ranch so they could see the Midwest and participate in the fall branding.

This is the fourth year that Kleeb – who also is the Democratic candidate vying for the Third District Congressional seat Rep. Tom Osborne is vacating – has invited global dignitaries to visit the ranch.

The three foreign dignitaries all are personable, intelligent and open-minded.

Dames is the chief superintendent of police for the Royal Bahamas Police Force. At McGinn Ranch, though he wore a zipped-up sweat jacket and helped ranch hand Michael Bishop wrestle a calf to the ground.

Dames said he was impressed to see the commitment and dedication to duty by ranchers in Nebraska.

"This is a way of life passed down from generation to generation," he said. "This is a quality of life city people yearn for."

In the Bahamas, tourism and financial services are the main industries and Dames said tourists would be thrilled to stay on a ranch and participate in the day-to-day operations.

In his opinion, there is no reason that Sandhills ranchers can't use the land to their advantage and provide different travel experiences for families.

Nebraskans' use the land to grow products for renewable fuels is influencing former Philippine Energy Secretary Vincent Perez to seek ways to help his country's energy problems.

While Perez investigates options, Jcome, as Panama's former trade minister, sits back to see what the current administration in Panama will do to conclude free trade negotiations, a process he started.

Perez said the Yale program is an eye-opener. He stressed the importance, and the value, of the networking and friendships that build over the 17-week program.

Speaking of the friendship with Kleeb and the others, Perez said that getting together in an informal setting encourages communication between all four countries. He had things he wanted to talk to Jcome about and the comfortable McGinn Ranch setting was the perfect place.

"This is a natural gate for Nebraska to the world," he said.