Commissioner candidates address issues

Two candidates for Red Willow County Commissioner took the opportunity Tuesday night to talk about the issues important to them.

Steve Downer said he feels he has accomplished a lot during his first term and would appreciate the opportunity to continue serving.

He said he's proud of the county's new zoning board, E-911 system, and the household waste facility. He hopes to continue working with McCook Economic Development, the REWARD grant writing program and Southwest Nebraska RC&D.

On the issue of a county jail, Downer said the facility could be built more affordably than most people might think.

He said the county would consider a joint facility with the city, but the county must be the facilitator.

Democratic challenger Bernie Wood said he also supports a county jail. The county is expending $200,000 a year transporting prisoners, he said. But the concerns shouldn't just center around the cost of transportaion, the county must also consider the liability involved with transporting those prisoners.

"If we build this in a practical manner, we can build a cost effective jail," he said.

Wood said he is concerned with the continuing drought and the effect that may have on tax revenues. "The county is a big business, we have to make enough money to keep the doors open."

If the drought continues and revenues continue to decrease, "you only have two choices," he said, "raise taxes or cut services.

Correction

Due to a note-taking mistake, part of the article regarding the candidates forum published Wednesday was incorrect. Greg Larson is not a candidate for the McCook Public School Board of Education. His term will not expire until 2006. The comments attributed to him were made by Mike Gonzales.