The Bulletin Board: Campus Cafe -- the Student Webzine of McCook Community College, McCook, NE

USING THE PEJORATIVE
By Mike Hendricks

I was sitting with several friends over cocktails the other day, talking about one of two topics you should never talk about when alcohol is involved and that was politics. The other, of course, is religion. There were five of us sitting at the bar. Two expressed support for Obama and three said they wouldn’t vote for any of the three remaining candidates. There was a sixth guy down towards the end who I had never seen before who had been listening but not participating until he heard two of us say we supported Obama. The stranger then said:

“America’s not ready for a n****r President.”

It’s an unfortunate thing that I wasn’t shocked at his pronouncement and his choice of words. I’ve heard the same sentiment many times before. My friends know I’m not a racist and out of respect for what I believe, they never use that word around me. And because I believe in standing up for the things I believe in, I told the guy I was offended by his use of the word and would appreciate it if he didn’t use it again. He didn’t use it again but he also didn’t apologize for using it the first time and whether he used it or not, I knew that’s what he believed and I know that’s what a lot of people believe.

Blacks were brought to this country as slaves when we first started colonizing. John Adams, our second President, publicly voiced his opposition to slavery but it still took almost a hundred more years and a civil war before slavery was abolished. It took a hundred additional years, a period during which Blacks were beaten, raped, ran out of town and killed in wholesale numbers before the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress.

In my lifetime, I’ve lived in a segregated town, attended a segregated high school and a segregated university, observed separate hotels for Blacks and Whites, separate water fountains, separate bathrooms, separate restaurants and lunch counters, the nationwide “back of the bus” policy when forced to share common transportation facilities, and state constitutions that legally declared Blacks as being “less than human”.

We’ve made tremendous progress in the past fifty years but we still have so very far to go. We are still, to a very large extent, immersed in the same stereotypes that have existed forever. The fact that we’re eight years into the new millennium and we are still treating people stereotypically is a blight we must overcome if we have any aspirations at all to be the best we can be as a nation.

I say this because it’s not the color of our skin or our gender, or where we’re from or our family heritage that makes us bad or good, it’s our behavior. It’s what we do and how we act. We know that racism and sexism have always been most popular among America’s lower classes because they were the ones most threatened with the loss of jobs and income when women and minorities began competing for the jobs that were once the lower classes’ exclusive domain. But even then, if you did the job better than anyone else and worked harder than anyone else, you would not only get the job but keep the job.

I know that affirmative action was and still is opposed by a large number of people because they’ve always seen it as reverse discrimination. Theoretically, I see it as reverse discrimination too but practically, it’s something that had to be done if everyone WAS going to get a fair chance to compete. Without affirmative action, white men would have continued to hire only white men and, consequently, women and minorities could have never broken through the threshold. We’ve seen tremendous contributions to our society because they finally were allowed to participate and contribute.

It was an unfortunate, contentious period of time that caused huge rifts between the different competing elements and, for a time, made matters worse instead of better. But we’ve finally come out the other side and now employers, for the most part, hire the people they believe will be the best people for the job, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or religion and that’s the way it should be.

But there is still a segment of our population who hold on tightly to those old stereotypes of superiority and inferiority based exclusively on a person’s group identity rather than their individual characteristics and they continue to use the “buzz” words that attach some to those group characteristics but not others. And this diminishes us, not only as individuals but as a nation as well.

There are good people and bad people from every group category on the face of the earth. A couple of other terminologies we also hear a lot are “poor white trash” and “rednecks.” But most of us know that whether people are considered to be “poor white trash” or “rednecks” is not based on someone’s income or social status or the kind of house they live in; it’s based on what they do and how they act. If they act like poor white trash, then that’s where they’re assigned. Jeff Foxworthy became an instant millionaire doing exactly that.

Our perceptions and definitions of people should always be based on what they do as individuals and never on their group membership alone.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

By Mike Hendricks

The title of today’s column is also the title of Al Gore’s documentary about global warming that, in very large part, won him the Nobel Prize this past year. In today’s political climate, most Democrats support the idea of global warming, most Republicans don’t. Some aren’t sure. I’m not sure either. And I don’t think anyone should be sure enough to use the word “truth” in a title about the idea of global warming.

Truth suggests fact. But, the truth of the matter in regards to global warming is that it is theory, not fact. There are certainly signs that suggest it might be happening, but there are also signs that it’s not. The global warming advocates say that science is on their side, but that’s only a partial truth. Some scientists are on their side, but there are a significant number of scientists who believe that global warming is NOT occurring, including some top-of-the line meteorologists including John Coleman and Joe Bastardi.

People who have dedicated their entire lives to studying the weather have certainly earned our ear when it comes to the give and take of what we are or are not doing to our planet. Bastardi, the long-range weather forecaster from Accuweather, contends that no one can make educated guesses about climate change by looking only at temperatures and storminess over the past few years. He contends that weather patterns ebb and flow, literally over eons, in response to natural rather than man-made climate change.

He says we have had cold periods and warm periods and stormy periods and calm periods throughout recorded history and the things we’re going through now is much more likely to fall into a natural climactic response rather than being caused by man.

This logic made sense to me so I did a little investigating on my own and quickly found that he was, of course, right. We’ve gone through warm and stormy periods across the globe long before automobiles and the innumerable pollutants of today. He also suggests we’re at the peak of the current warmth cycle and are about to see a trend towards colder temperatures. I’m not a natural scientist, so I don’t have any way to confirm or reject that notion, other than to yield to his decades of experience and his degrees in meteorology from Penn State University.

Of course, the other side makes sense too. It’s hard for the average human being to be aware of the tremendous amount of pollution we release into the atmosphere every single day not to think it doesn’t have some kind of effect on temperature and climate. Our logic tells us that nothing is unbreakable and nothing lasts forever. In fact, the more we use something, the sooner it will wear out, so we use that logic about our planet as well. The more we abuse it, the more we litter it, the more we pollute it, the faster we will destroy it.

But the critics of global warming contend this is faulty logic when it’s applied to this huge, incredible eco-system we all inhabit. They say the logic is faulty because the earth is dynamic, not static. They say the earth is self-sustaining and able to heal itself, unlike all the other finite things we use on a daily basis that will eventually break down. That makes sense too.

I don’t know how long it will be before we have a definitive answer to this question. But I think it is incredibly premature and embarrassingly arrogant to treat global warming as a fact when the scientific community remains so divided and that’s the biggest criticism I have of the whole process. Global warming has become a cultural reality because certain important people have simply declared it to be true and, because most people are followers and not leaders, we are seduced by the certainty of the “experts” words and line up in lock-step behind them, simply dismissing or failing to even listen to those who have a different perspective.

Of course, we do this in every area of our lives so it’s not surprising we would do it with global warming too. We get ourselves in a lot of messes when we do that.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
By Mike Hendricks

I imagine most of you either read the front page story in last Sunday’s edition of the Omaha World-Herald or have heard about it by now. It was about how births to unwed teens feed generations of poverty. It particularly focused on two black women, Samona Jones and her daughter, Keyana. Samona was pregnant with her first child when she was 13; Keyana first became pregnant when she was 14. Samona is now 31 and is soon to deliver her 12th child, from several different fathers. She has never been married. Because of a recent legislative change that repealed a cap on Aid to Dependent Children, the two women receive nearly $2,000 a month from the government.

More people have talked to me about this story than any other media-generated story since I’ve been writing this column. It, quite frankly, is the kind of story that produces outrage in the minds of many. It is the kind of story that that focuses peoples’ anger at the welfare system as it exists in this country. And, unfortunately, this particular story is not an isolated situation. This scenario is common across America and, even though the number of unwed mothers has been decreasing over the past several years, most people think it hasn’t decreased nearly enough.

The situation these two women created for themselves begs for answers. What should be done? What CAN be done? Can this situation be reduced, rectified, or eliminated? Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be satisfactory answers for any of these questions.

We find so many instances like this that have the same result. It’s called generational welfare. We are what we learn. The norms, values, morals, and life expectations are more likely to be learned from family members than anyone else. I give examples in the Sociology classes I teach of women whose entire lives have been embedded in welfare and poverty. Their mothers were on welfare, their grandmothers were on welfare, their sisters are on welfare, they’re on welfare and their daughter’s will likely be on welfare too, just as Samona and Keyana are. It’s a condition of learned helplessness, where people are allowed to live their lives without exercising any personal discipline at all, knowing they will be bailed out financially by our government for their poor decisions. And, of course, the $2,000 this family receives in welfare payments every month is only the tip of the iceberg when compared to the total outlay of payments to families just like this in practically every town and city in the United States.

The thing that infuriates most is that even though the government sends out the checks, the checks are being funded by our tax dollars. The basic dichotomy that develops is that those of us who are trying to do the right thing by learning a skill, trade, occupation, or profession and practicing what we’ve learned in order to provide for ourselves and our families are also supporting these other families as well who chose to do none of the things we did. Many people, especially in the heartland, strongly believe that welfare as we know it should be eliminated; that people should not be paid for the mistakes they make. The other side contends that if Aid to Dependent Children is ended; it’s not the mother who will suffer the most but the child; the only innocent person in the whole process. Both sides have merit.
But, in addition, to the tremendous amount of money being paid out to unwed mothers every month, this particular problem only scratches the surface of all the other manifest problems that result from children being born to unwed mothers. These children will suffer in every single area because of single parenthood. They are unlikely to have a suitable male role model; even if the mother is a good, decent person, it’s likely that she’s working two or three jobs to supplement the government checks she receives and, consequently, is not there physically for the child or children she has given birth to. These children are more likely to drop out of school, they’re more likely to grow up illiterate, they’re more likely to be able to work only at minimum wage jobs if they work at all, they’re more likely to become involved with alcohol and drugs and they’re more likely to commit crime and go to jail. It affects every aspect of society and it affects every single life in society, whether directly or indirectly.

We live in a society where a person can have as many children as they desire and, if they can’t afford to raise them, we, through our government, will foot the bill. People have to take and pass a test to practice law, practice medicine, become a teacher or a professor, drive a car, or even cut someone’s hair but no tests at all are required to be a parent. Ten minutes of physical pleasure can change an untold number of lives forever.

If there are answers to this national problem, the answers are not going to be palatable for a lot of people. The two most obvious answers are also the two most extreme; forced sterilization after a fixed number of births for people in the high risk population; the total elimination of welfare checks to women who have children out of wedlock, or both.

I don’t see it as being compassionate to prop up, support, forgive, and understand people who continuously make bad choices. One of the very basic understandings of social life is that we can’t just do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it. There are rules to follow and if we break those rules, punishments will be administered. Rewarding instead of punishing encourages rather than discourages the continuation of making bad choices and therein lies the crux of the problem we face as a free, democratic society.

Please Welcome Our Newest PTK Members!

Pictured are (front row from left) Curtis Hensley - Eta Omicron President, Mitchell Sellers, Lily Bowman, Kirstyn Shaffer, Linda Wright, Kayla Koetter, Jackie Brown, Morgan Pearson. (Back row) Brian Gaston – Former NE/WY Regional Phi Theta Kappa President, Karen West, Ashlee Huffman, Nathan McCarthy, Tara Long, Magan Dolan, Preston Hueftle, David Garretson, LaRae Schweitzer, Ashley Donovan. (Photo courtesy Dorothy Stevens)

Abiding by The Rules

By Mike Hendricks

At the beginning of this presidential campaign year, the Democratic National Committee issued specific warnings for states to not front-load their primaries, desiring to keep Iowa and New Hampshire as the first primary states. The DNC felt so strongly about this that they included sanctions with the warning. Any state not following the guidelines would be punished by not having their delegates seated at the Democratic National Nominating Convention in Denver. Michigan and Florida violated this directive and front-loaded their primaries anyway. All of the Democratic candidates for president agreed not to campaign in these states and they didn’t. Barack Obama even took his name off the ballot in Michigan.

As it turned out, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in both states. Now, not surprisingly, she wants those delegates seated, even though she agreed before the primaries took place to not campaign and also understood the delegates would NOT be seated.

She’s doing the same thing a lot of people do in every walk of life. She likes the rules that benefit her and wants to overturn or change the rules that don’t. Most of us got the lecture early on in our lives about playing by the rules. We were told the importance of abiding by the rules, even if we didn’t like them, because rules are necessary for an orderly society and breaking the rules can lead to divisiveness, a breakdown of order and even chaos, if enough rules are broken by enough people.

Those early lessons we learned from our parents have proven to be fairly successful because we do live in a society that is, for the most part, orderly. Most people abide by most of the rules most of the time, according to the research. That’s why we don’t have to have a policeman for every person. For example, McCook has a population of around 8,000 people and there are less than thirty full-time sworn law enforcement officers in McCook and Red Willow County. Most people abide by the law most of the time.

All of us like to break the rules from time to time for a variety of reasons but, by the same token, most of us abide by far more rules than we break and we expect that behavior in others too. We enjoy living in an orderly society because an orderly society is also a predictable society. We often leave our houses and our vehicles unlocked, we don’t worry about being mugged when we’re out for a walk, and store owners have little fear of being held up. Even when we attend events where a lot of people are, we’re not concerned about our safety because our expectation are that everyone else is there for the same reason we are; to enjoy whatever event we’ve come to witness rather than to take advantage of other people.

On the other hand, we’re unfortunately always going to have people who DO take advantage of others. People who are perfectly willing to break the rules in their own self interest with little or no regard for others. Not just people who break the law, but people who break the rules of basic human conduct. People who think only about themselves and their own desires while not caring about others at all. People who take advantage of the kindness and the good will of other, people who lie and cheat and steal to have things their way, people who violate the social contract, people who manipulate and control others, and people who we simply can’t trust or believe.

Thankfully most of us don’t fall into this latter category but far too many do and the ones that do make life worse for the rest of us.

NATTERING NABOBS OF NEGATIVISM

Several years ago, before I moved to McCook, I was the Executive Director of a temporary shelter for abused and neglected children in Arkansas. These were children who had either been removed from their homes or had run away from home and they would be placed with our agency until foster parents could be found for them. It was without a doubt the most depressing job I’ve ever had. Looking into the eyes of those kids and knowing they already had two strikes against them before they even had a real opportunity to face the world was heartbreaking. During the time I directed that agency, I also found out about the callousness, and shallowness of the whole “helping” industry.

For example, some of our children were in need of alcohol or drug rehab or intensive counseling and this was typically paid for by Medicare. The callousness and shallowness part came every time I would get a phone call from one of these agencies to tell me that we needed to make arrangements to pick up one of our children from the agency before midnight because that’s when the child’s Medicare payments would run out. Even with so-called social service agencies, the top priority was the bottom line.

And the more I thought and studied about the purpose of these agencies and the more I learned about life and the choices we make, the less supportive of them I became. Agencies that represent themselves as being able to solve and cure people with anger issues, deep-seated emotional problems along with drug and alcohol problems are not being honest and forthright in the promises they make because change can never be imposed from the outside. Change can only occur within a person and then only when that person really, really wants to change. Change is hard. Change is imposing. Change isn’t fun, especially when you’re trying to kick a habit you’ve learned to depend on and often even enjoy.

People who have anger issues or self –control issues or any other kind of behavioral problem that impacts negatively on their lives or the lives of others are like that because of all the experiences they’ve had throughout their lives. We are what we’re exposed to. They didn’t get to the spot they’re in overnight and they’re not going to be able to escape from that spot overnight. It’s who they are. But somehow judges and other officials have bought into the agencies’ sales pitch that people CAN be changed; so courts, on a regular basis, order people to go to anger management classes and drug and alcohol rehab. And I assume the reason for this is that they really believe that change CAN be imposed from the outside. But it can’t.

Most people sent to places that promise change approach those places the same way inmates approach prison. It’s something to get through. It’s something they know they have to do and the best way to do it is to make it as easy on yourself as possible. Convicts talk about doing hard time or easy time; hard time meaning challenging the rules and the status quo and, consequently, always being in trouble with someone; or easy time, meaning you take part in the program, make as few waves as possible, and hopefully not have to spend one more day locked up than you have to. It’s the same thing with rehab programs. People make it easy on themselves by taking part in whatever the counselors want them to take part in and doing it enthusiastically, presenting a false front to the counselors that they have a success story on their hands. Many of these counselors are starry-eyed optimists and dreamers and more than a little naïve. So they convince themselves and as many other people as possible that this person’s problems are solved and the person is released; only to go right back to the same situations, locations, and people they left; the situations and locations and people that played a major role in them developing the problem they’re facing to begin with.

An abuser has to want to quit abusing before he ever will. A person who can’t control his anger won’t until he sees a reason to and makes a constant decision to do so. A person with drug or alcohol problems will continue to do drugs or alcohol as long as they perceive they’re receiving more rewards than punishments for that behavior. And so it is with any other kind of self-defeating behavior we might have.

These people will jump through all the hoops others place in front of them with a smile on their face, hoping they’re playing the game good enough to be released as soon as possible so they can go back to doing what they REALLY want to do.

It reminds me of a joke I heard a long time ago but it still rings true today and it sums up the message of this column.

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?

It only takes one, but the lightbulb really has to want to change.

A CONTINUED EROSION OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
By Mike Hendricks

Sometimes it’s possible for Democrats and Republicans to share political common ground and this is one of those times. I share common ground with fellow Gazette columnist Dick Trail and some of the sentiments he expressed last week in his Saturday column; in particular, the smoking ban passed by the unicameral.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m a smoker but my objections to the ban are more political than personal. One of the hallmarks of the Republican Party has always been less government. The Party has stood for that forever; in fact, it is the seminal difference historically between the two major parties in this country. The Republicans have long believed that the government needs to stay out of people’s lives and allow them to fend for themselves. They believe that that is, in fact, the true definition of freedom. That people should be allowed to attain the greatest heights or fall to the deepest depths, depending on their own behavior and the choices they make or don’t make.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have long believed that some people from time to time need a helping hand and that it is the government’s responsibility to step in and help people who can’t help themselves. Sometimes, I agree with this perspective, other times I don’t, depending on the situation. I’m not, for example, in favor of constantly throwing a lifeline to people who have sunk to the bottom of the barrel because of bad choices they have made in their lives. I think we should all be prepared to live with the consequences of our actions without constantly expecting someone, i.e. the government, to rescue us from our failings and our mistakes.

But amazingly, in this politically correct society we have become, even the Republicans have fallen victim to this trend. Our lives are micromanaged by more rules, laws, and regulations than ever before in the history of this country and individual freedoms are the greatest casualties.

Which brings me to the statewide smoking ban, passed by our Unicameral that is strongly dominated by the Republican Party. In passing this ban, they are interfering directly with independent business men and women who are trying to make a living in less than favorable economic times. These business people invested their own time and money and effort to fulfill a dream. They bought or built their own restaurant or bar or club, signed on to the many rules and regulations that already existed to control and regulate their business and opened their doors in hopes of pursuing and achieving the American dream.

Then the government comes along and passes a law, after the fact, that mandates no smoking on their premises. On THEIR premises. Privately owned premises, often bought and paid for by the blood, sweat and tears of the small business owners who only want to be left alone to tend to the business the best they can.

But government always seems to know better. Government always seems to have the right answers while the rest of us obviously don’t. The government gets caught up in popular social trends it just can’t say no to. There’s no question smoking isn’t the best thing a person can do. It’s not healthy. It shortens a person’s life expectancy. It smells up the house and smells up your clothes, and yellows your teeth and causes your breath to smell bad. But shouldn’t that be our choice?

Shouldn’t that be our choice just like it’s our choice to exercise or not exercise? To eat healthy or not eat healthy. To drink or not to drink. To sleep too much or not enough. And a thousand other choices we make every single day of our lives.

The people who favor the ban say, of course, that all these other things don’t influence THEIR lives but smoking does due to second-hand smoke. I would say to those folks to don’t want to be exposed to second-hand smoke to not go where there IS second-hand smoke. Shouldn’t the individual business owners make the decision about whether their establishment is smoke-free or not? Even before the citywide smoking ban was passed in Lincoln, there we several bars and many restaurants that were smoke-free so it’s not like people didn’t have a choice. The same holds true for McCook today. There are smoke-free restaurants and restaurants that allow smoking. There is now even a smoke-free bar in McCook. So if you want to go to a bar without being exposed to second-hand smoke, go to the bar that doesn’t allow smoking.

Isn’t that our right as American citizens? Isn’t that the basic concept of being free; to do what we choose to do as long as it doesn’t harm other people against their will?

You’ve all heard of the establishments in Lincoln that had to close their doors because the smoking ban so negatively affected their business. You’ve also heard of the other numerous businesses that are working “around” the law so that their smoking patrons won’t go someplace else and the same thing will happen all over the state. This ban will encourage patrons and owners to figure out ways around the ban, because their businesses could very well fail if the ban is strictly applied. A ban imposed on them by their own government, even though the government didn’t give them the money to start their business, didn’t give them the money to maintain their business, and certainly won’t reimburse them for the money they will lose if they have to close their business.

If I don’t like loud music, I won’t go to places that play loud music. If I don’t like people drinking in public, I won’t go to places where people drink in public. If I don’t like dancing, I won’t go to places where people dance. It should be my freedom to go to the places I want to go and stay away from the places I don’t. And it should be a business owner’s freedom to offer the kinds of services his or her customers desire, as long as they don’t violate laws that were already in existence when the business began.

But to come along after the fact and impose a ban that will, at the least, hamper a person’s business and, at the worst, close it down is simply un-American.

I became involved in the prevention and elimination of domestic abuse eight years ago and twice a year, usually in March, and always in October because it’s national domestic abuse month, I write about this horrible tragedy that goes on behind closed doors and drawn shades and blinds all across America. It is, for the most part, not only done in private but it is also kept private. Women (90% of domestic abuse victims are women) tend not to tell anyone about the emotional, psychological and physical trauma and harm they experience for obvious reasons. They don’t feel like they can tell their friends or other family members because the first thing out of the other person’s mouth is almost always, “Why don’t you leave?” and the abused woman knows she doesn’t have an answer that will satisfy them.

They don’t have answers that will satisfy most people because they often don’t even have an answer for themselves. We’ve all heard the phrase, “too close to the forest to see the trees” and this is often the case with abused women. The abuse usually starts early on in the relationship in the form of emotional and/or psychological abuse. The victim is constantly put down and humiliated by her abuser. He tells her she’s ignorant, or stupid, or unattractive or a thousand other ugly slurs that robs her, bit by bit, of her self-esteem and self-respect. She eventually hears it long enough and often enough that she begins to believe the assaultive things he says. When he gets her to that point, the physical abuse often begins. He has convinced her that she has no worth outside of him and he only “hits’ her to correct her behavior. He tells her that all she has to do to avoid punishment is to “act right”, thus cementing the belief in her mind that whenever the abuse happens, it’s always her fault.

The abuser is intimately aware of this process. He knows what he’s doing and saying and why. He knows he will be able to convince her that everything is always her fault and that whenever he “disciplines” her, he’s doing it for her own good and because she deserves it. If she would just “act right”, he would never have to abuse her at all and she believes it.

Because of this psychodrama played out over and over between the abuser and his victim, a “cycle of abuse” develops, because abuse is seldom continual. Things will be okay for awhile, the wife convinces herself that there’s never going to be any more abuse, then she makes a mistake by doing something he doesn’t want her to do or not doing something he does, and the psychological and emotional abuse always follows. Heated arguments ensue with the same name-calling and verbal put-downs he has displayed many times before and this emotional/psychological abuse eventually ends up in physical abuse once again. The husband reminds her once more that if she would just act right, he would never have to do these kinds of things, she promises herself and sometimes him that she won’t ever do anything again to deserve being abused, and the honeymoon period follows until the next time. This process is repeated over and over and over, and each time it happens, she thinks it’s the last time. And it is, until the next time.

Abusers themselves tend to have low self-esteem, so controlling and abusing their victim is perhaps the only thing in their lives they have complete dominance over. By abusing their wives, it builds them up, at least in their own minds, because there’s at least one small corner of their world they can control completely.

In addition to the kinds of abuse already mentioned, other kinds are part and parcel of this process as well. The abuser convinces his wife that she wouldn’t be able to make it without him; that no one else would want her but him. She often has a lower paying job than he does and is convinced that she couldn’t make it on her own, especially if she has children. The abuser often finds a place to live that is secluded and away from others, so he can not only isolate her but carry out his abuse as well without anyone else seeing or hearing it.

The victims of abuse try to put on a happy face when they’re out with others, not wanting to do or say anything that might give away the shameful secrets of their lives that happen behind closed doors.

And it happens in the heartland, just like it happens in the big cities. The domestic abuse hotline in this area receives approximately 1500 calls a year and this tends to happen year after year.

Men who physically abuse their wives are cowards of the first order and the only possible way to ever decrease this crime is to drag them out from under the rocks they hide under and expose them to the bright sunlight of ridicule, shame, and punishment. Only when they have direct consequences to pay will we ever start to solve the problem of domestic abuse. Because every time a woman is struck, thrown against a wall, or drug across the floor and she stays, it only encourages her abuser to do it again.

If you know about abuse, report it. If you see abuse, stop it. It will take the efforts of all of us to put a dent in these horrific acts of domination, control, humiliation, suffering and, sometimes, death.

Wrightstone Gallery features art by Connie Kleckner

McCook artist Connie Kleckner is the featured artist at the Wrightstone Fine Arts Gallery on the McCook Community College campus and a formal opening is set for Friday.
Kleckner, a wife, mother, grandmother and artist said she expresses her joy of life through her many works of art.
“Being a committed wife and mother my only spare time has been dedicated to my art,” she said.
Despite the limited time she devotes to her art, Connie has received numerous state awards and has exhibited her work in Denver, Omaha, Grand Island and other venues in Nebraska and Kansas.
She has also received recognition in the Nebraska Association of Art Clubs with certificates of excellence and many honorable mentions. Along with these honors, she has received the Purchasing Award from McCook Phi Theta Kappa and Patrons Award in the Six State Competitive. She also received Best of Show on several occasions.
Kleckner has become adept at giving demonstrations in several media. She likes to use old and new material to make unique pieces of artwork. She works in oil, watercolor and acrylic, and creates collages and has even done sculpturing.
The artist admits her first love and priority is her family, which she captures realistically in the many family portraits – many of which are on display in Wrightstone. Because her portraits reflect the personality of the subject, she has been commissioned to do portraiture work in five states.
Kleckner is an artist who believes that art should visually express the artist’s reaction to life in ways to interest, entice and stimulate the beholder.
Her work will be on display through Friday at the gallery, which is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 9 p.m.
MCC’s annual high school paint-in show is scheduled for March 24-April 4.

Thursday workshop for ‘Science for Young Thinkers’

“Science for Young Thinkers” is the title of a workshop being presented by the Center for Enterprise at McCook Community College and provided by Penn State Cooperative Extension.
All child care providers and interested parents can participate in the workshop from 6:15 – 8 p.m. on Thursday in McMillen Hall, Room 208 (upper level) at 1205 E. Third.
The workshop is part of a statewide Better Kid Care child care provider professional development program produced by the Penn State Cooperative Extension Better Kid Care Program and partially funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Office of Child Development.
For more information on the program, support materials and other services from the Better Kid Care Program, call Carol Stensvad at 308-345-8122 or 800-658-4348, ext. 8122 or email cfemccook@mpcc.edu.
There is no cost to attend but pre-registration is mandatory since seating is limited. You can also visit the Better Kid Care Web site at (www.betterkidcare.psu.edu).

MPCC fills position at Center for Enterprise

A McCook Community College instructor has been named the Area Dean of Economic Development and Training with the Center for Enterprise.
MCC English Instructor Doug Joyce will move across campus and begin his duties June 1, in the Hormel Center in McMillen Hall.
According to Cinch Munson, Mid-Plains Community College Associate Vice President of the Center for Enterprise, Joyce’s institutional knowledge and involvement in the community were important factors in the hiring decision.
“Doug also brings interests, experience, and skills that will be important as we deliver market-driven education, training, support and services that contribute to growth and success for our stakeholders,” Munson said.
Joyce has been an English instructor at McCook Community College since 2002. In addition, he has five years’ experience teaching computer/information systems and programming. He also has nine years of experience with project management and consulting on computer software systems development for federal, state, and local government agencies, including systems analysis, programming, and technical writing.
“I believe the college and our area is poised on the verge of great things,” Joyce said. “I’m looking forward to the adventure.”
Joyce will finish teaching his current courses and officially start this position on June 1.
“However, since Doug is already involved in community development and will become progressively more involved in the Center for Enterprise between now and the official start date, he will be delivering value immediately,” Munson said.
The office for this area position will be located in the Hormel Center in McMillen Hall at MCC.

‘Super Soph’ finds niche in MCC Graphic Design

Becky Hock is a self-described “non-traditional, traditional” student at McCook Community College – a “super sophomore” she jokes. She attended two previous colleges and traveled the country in search of the right profession. She believes she found it at MCC in the college’s Graphic Design Program. Through an internship this spring, her work will be featured in Nebraskaland Days promotional materials and through the Colorado jewelry, company, Crishara Inc.
At 26, the former McCook High School graduate lived in, Philadelphia, St, Louis, Tulsa and Kansas City. She took business classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majored in Art Education with a minor in Theology at Benedictine College in Kansas, and studied Theology in St. Louis.
Then she returned to McCook to be closer to her family when a chance conversation with MCC Business Instructor Donna Harr changed Becky’s life.
“Donna knew I had an interest in art and she mentioned that MCC had a new Graphic Design program,” Becky said. Her first thought was to dismiss the idea because she didn’t know much about computers.
The more she thought about it, she liked the concept of enhancing her art and business backgrounds with more marketable computer skills. She enrolled in the newly formed program at MCC, headed by Becky Meyers.
“It was difficult at first for me getting to learn the computers and all the applications, and different software but Becky really gave me the confidence. I have really learned a lot on the computer side of it,” Becky Hock said.
As her computer skills improved, the opportunities arose for Becky and her classmates to start using their talents as graphic artists. Several area non-profit organizations approached MCC and asked students to design logos, letterheads, and web page themes.
“That’s been the great thing here at MCC. We have the opportunities for success! We’ve had the opportunities to work with these groups to design logos and letterheads and get that ‘real world’ experience and ‘real world’ interaction,” Becky said.
In November, MHS Graduate Lori Bortner, in her capacity as Executive Director for Nebraskaland Days, contacted Becky about an internship to help develop some of the graphic design functions of the North Platte Celebration.
Becky met with the members of board. They imparted their ideas and parameters, revealed the theme and supplied some photos. Becky was charged with transforming all of it onto the screens of the computers in graphic design lab in the Wrightstone Fine Arts Building. She developed a flyer, a poster, a brochure and a letterhead. She’s even had discussions about possibly developing a T-shirt design for the 40th anniversary event’s theme which will be: “10 Days of Disorderly Conduct.”
The event is scheduled for June 12-22 and will include concerts from the rock band “Finger Eleven” and country star Dierks Bentley. The legendary Buffalo Bill Rodeo is set for June 18-21.
In addition to her work with Nebraskaland Days, Becky has designed six large store display banners for her uncle’s new jewelry venture, Crishara, Inc.
She’s on target to receive her Associate of Applied Science degree in Graphic Design this May, but she’s still not sure what the future holds. In addition to her internships her class load includes Portfolio. Graduating sophomores take a portfolio class and when they graduate they have three portfolio formats to use as they start their job search: a hard copy portfolio, a digital portfolio, and a Web portfolio.
“I’ve had a few offers, but I don’t know for sure what I’ll do. It’s exciting because of all the possibilities,” she said
Many of Becky’s design projects and those of her classmates will be on display at the end of the semester in the Graphic Design Student Art Show at the Wrightstone Fine Arts Gallery held from April 28th to May 2nd.

MCC campus groups hosting Bloodmobile March 13

Phi Theta Kappa and Phi Beta Lambda are once again hosting an American Red Cross Bloodmobile on the McCook Community College campus on March 13 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in True Hall Gymnasium.
The American Red Cross said that advanced medical procedures have led to an increased need for each unit of whole blood, which can be separated into three main components – red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
Blood transfusions are used for trauma victims – due to accidents and burns – heart surgery, organ transplants, complications during childbirth, newborns, and premature babies, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease. Under normal circumstances, about every two seconds someone in America will need a blood transfusion of some kind.
To make an appointment to give blood, contact Sharon Kircher at 345-8108 or email her at (kirchers@mpcc.edu).

McCook Community College Theater Instructor Sue Watts has been included in the 2008 edition of Who’s Who in America.

Ms. Watts, who has been teaching at MCC for 18 years, was the first Humanities Division Chair at MCC, and member of the Instructional Services Committee. She is the former president of the McCook Community College Education Association.

She is also a member of the International Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the professional stage director’s union. Membership is based on achievement in directing over a period of time, and on the completion of an internship at a professional (Equity) theater.

Ms. Watts interned at Starlight Theater in Kansas City, MO, an 8,400 seat professional outdoor summer theater, where she worked with Donna Murphy and Davy Jones.

Her recent accomplishments include the presentation of a paper, “Truth and Mendacity in Edward Gorey: The Hapless Child and L’enfant de Paris,” in Atlanta at the 19th International Conference on Truth & Mendacity in Literature and the Visual Arts, Including Cinema.

She is a charter member of Leadership McCook; a charter member of the McCook Arts Council, where she served as its first Secretary; an eleven-year past member of the Southwest Nebraska Community Theater Association; a past member of the Board of Directors of the McCook Humane Society; and a member of Alpha Delta Kappa and Delta Kappa Gamma, education honorary societies.

A couple of hundred folks attended the Democratic caucus for President, held at the Red Willow County Courthouse, last Saturday. The turn-out was such that the caucus room had to be changed from the County Commission room to the District Courtroom. Since it was everybody’s first caucus, there was some confusion about what was supposed to be done and how it was supposed to be done but everyone was pretty good-natured about everything until the votes were tallied. We were told by the caucus chair that they weren’t allowed to tell us how many votes each candidate had. Their instructions were to send the results to party headquarters in Lincoln and the party would release the results. This was the only part of the process that really upset people and a lot of people were upset. Since it was an open caucus and the Obama people were on one side of the courtroom and the Clinton people on the other, few people on either side of the aisle understood why the results should be a secret since we were all in open view of each other. In other words, we weren’t casting secret ballot and anyone in the room could have counted the number of people on each side, so no one understood the need for secrecy. I have e-mailed Democratic headquarters trying to get a clarification on this but did not receive a response before this column had to be submitted. If the rule was interpreted correctly by the officials at the caucus, it’s a bad rule and needs to be changed before we caucus the next time.

Many of you saw the front-page photo of me and other caucus goers standing in line to register that was published in the McCook Gazette on Monday. Some kind soul mailed the photo to me. Whoever it was took the time to write the following words on the bottom of the photo: “Looks like the food-stamp line at the Welfare office.” I’m not sure how he would know what the food-stamp line at the Welfare office looks like unless he’s been there himself. I assume it was a “he” instead of a “she” since, of course, it was sent anonymously with nothing on the photo or the envelope that would reveal their identity. Since my name appears on everything I write, it would be nice if others would show me the same courtesy when they write to me. There are few things more distasteful than people hiding in the darkness of anonymity. ***** I received a call a couple of weeks ago from the same young man who is considering a run for the City Council that fellow Gazette columnist mentioned in his column last week. I failed to ask the caller during our conversation whether or not he wanted his inquiry made public at the time so I didn’t take the liberty of mentioning it in my own column. I agree with Dick that the young man will make an excellent addition to the Council, should he decide to run and I told him that. I think it shows his foresight and his knowledge of the political process that he is seeking the advice of people from a wide range of political persuasions before he makes a decision. That kind of objective decision-making is exactly what we need on the Council and I wish him well if he decides to throw his hat in the ring.

Hats off to Dr. Richard Tubbs, the Vice-President of McCook Community College, for coming up with the idea of a special Valentine’s Day program that was held at the Weeth Theater on the campus of MCC Thursday night. The idea was implemented and brought to life by English, Speech, and Drama instructors Sue Watts and Doug Joyce, along with excellent student assistance, and the program went off without a hitch. There was music, dramatic readings, demonstrations, and essays all centered around the concept of romantic love and it appeared that everyone, both participants and attendees, had a good time. Here’s hoping this becomes an annual tradition at MCC.

Finally, I’ve never been much of a fan of Valentine’s Day because I think when you’re in a loving relationship, EVERY day should be Valentine’s Day. We should never take a day off when it comes to demonstrating our love to the person who chose us over everyone else.

“You’ll risk it all, no matter what may come, when you love someone.” (Bryan Adams)