Let volunteers do the job they were assigned

In today's fast-paced society it becomes more and more difficult to find anyone who will volunteer for anything.

Four months ago, 24 individuals decided to give their time and energy to answer a call by the city of McCook to volunteer to work on solving McCook's water problem.

All of those volunteers knew the long hours that would be involved in learning everything they could about the problems facing the city and the possible solutions to solve those problems. They were aware of the meetings they would be asked to attend, taking them away from their families, their friends and their chosen form of recreation. Still, they were willing to put their names on the list because of the importance of those issues.

At Monday night's meeting there was discussion on how to handle the delay in the Olsson Associates report which was expected to be made.

No one can predict the whims of Mother Nature, so once she decided to open her skies and drop half an inch of rain in Southwest Nebraska earlier this month, it was a mixed blessing. We need the rain, but we also needed irrigation wells turned on so we could test the water. The farmers whose wells the city was to test wisely used the water nature had provided and postponed pumping. Olsson Associates had to find different places to go to make the tests.

The original plan was to have 40 wells tested and present the findings for the best six to the committee, which would then submit the best three to the City Council.

Because of that series of events, the city now has two options: to bypass a recommendation by the McCook Water Committee to the McCook City Council or to postpone the decision until all the testing results can be presented to the committee in two weeks.

A postponement could result in penalties by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

In a letter from Jack Daniel, administrator of the Environmental Health Protection Section of HHS, dated Feb. 20, 2002, the city was told the state could impose a $5,000 fine and/or revoke the city's permit to operate a public water supply system.

Knowing full well that the city is continuing to work toward a solution, we doubt the state will impose these strict penalties.

The McCook Water Advisory Committee has asked for an additional two weeks to allow Olsson's to bring its findings to the table.

We believe committee members deserve at least that consideration.

The city of McCook will need more volunteers in the future. That is why it is important that we give these citizens the opportunity to fulfill the duty they signed on for rather than undermining the work they have already done. If we don't, it may become increasingly difficult to find anyone willing to serve in the future.