Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sports coaches will often tell athletes to “play the way you practice, and practice to win.”
The Cheyenne County Commissioners were presented a plan with a similar philosophy but for a less positive event: planning a response in case of a mass fatality event.
While the concept may sound gruesome, “mass casualty” can involve anything from a traffic accident to an active shooter. Ron Leal, Region 21 Emergency Manager, met with the Cheyenne County Commissioners Monday, discussing plan. He said “mass fatalities” is defined as any event involving four or more deaths. Leal said the plan provides guidance on how to respond to an incident. As a regional plan, it also allows agencies to share resources when needed.
“Everyone in the Panhandle works together,” he said.
He said an exercise was conducted with a bus as an example.
“We found out we're not ready for anything,” Leal said. “There's a lot that goes into mass casualty planning.”
In other business, the commissioners approved the mill levies for 2019-2020. Cheyenne County valuation fell from $1,475,580,488 in 2018 to $1,385,975,365 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The commissioners maintained the same mill levy of .407655.
The commissioners also approved a funding request presented by Tourism Director Kevin Howard of $3,000 for the Cabela's Holiday basketball Tournament.
“This year is a two-day tournament,” Howard said.
He said the tournament is supported by local business in addition to tourism funds.
Housing offenders in the Scotts Bluff Detention Center will get a little more expensive. Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs presented a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from Scotts Bluff County for a rate increase from $60 per day to $70 per day, $80 per day for higher maintenance inmates, and $90 per day for medical inmates.
The commissioners also accepted the resignation of Anita Pennel from the Cheyenne County Fair Board.
Highway Superintendent Doug Hart updated the commissioners on plans to pave County Road 115 south of the Love's Truck Stop. Monday the commissioners approved a $9,494 agreement with M.C. Schaff & Associates for professional engineering services for the project. Hart said the plan is to pave the 600-foot project with concrete because of the type of truck traffic anticipated.
The commissioners also held a hearing on an application by Karen Olsen for a subdivision known as Olsen Subdivision to be changed from Agriculture zoning to Residential Estate. A second proposal, by Ronald and Sharon Karnik, was also to change zoning for the Karnik Subdivision from Agriculture to Residential Estate.
Both requests were approved.
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