McCook Humane Society

100 South Street

345-2372

Hours: M-F: 2-5

Sat: 12-4

LISTEN WEEKDAYS 8:05 AM 12:45 PM ON YOUR

BISON SPORTS STATION

WALK-IN HOURS

7 AM - 5 PM

MONDAY - FRIDAY

8 AM-10 AM

SATURDAY

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY

1401 EAST H STREET 344-4110

NOT TESTING ENOUGH With the delta variant fueling a rise in COVID-19 cases in Nebraska, the state continues to fall short in testing for the virus, according to an infectious diseases expert. The testing troubles are not necessarily new, nor are they unique to Ne-braska. But the latest shortcoming is occurring at a time when case numbers are rising, schools are returning to in-person learning and some employers are weighing whether to bring employees back to the office. The combination of factors has some officials worried that Nebraska could in a matter of weeks be facing a crisis similar to that in Southern states, where hospitals are over-whelmed. “We’re definitely not testing enough ... that part is clear,” said Dr.

James Lawler, co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Cen-ter’s Global Center for Health Security. Despite the concerns, state and local officials say there are sufficient testing options available. And there are no plans to restart the statewide testing program, TestNebraska, which ceased operating nearly a month ago. Testing remains a vital tool in slowing the spread of COVID-19. Federal officials have repeated that point in recent weeks amid a national surge in cases. “Testing and building testing capacity is a key part of our surge response because we know quickly detecting cases allows us to help prevent outbreaks and contain the virus,” according to Jeff Zients, White House

COVID- 19 response coordinator.

BOATING ACCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will begin a nearly $3.5 million boating access improvement project today at Lake McConaughy State Recrea-tion Area. To accommodate construction, the Martin Bay Bayside Boat Ramp and

Beach Area No. 3 temporarily will be closed to the public until early 2022. Boaters in that area will be able to access Lake McConaughy from the Martin Bay Low Water Boat Ramp, which will open to the public at the same time of the temporary closure. While reservations for campsites in Beach Area No. 3 will be closed, beginning Aug. 16, 40 campsites have been added to other beach areas to continue providing overnight beach camping opportunities for guests. Construction also will take place at the Cedar View Bayside Boat Ramp, which was taken out of service in early August due to low water levels. Additionally, the Martin Bay Campground temporarily will close to the public beginning Sept.

8, to accommodate the project. The project will improve boating accessibility and create one of Nebraska's first motorized water trail systems at the state's largest reservoir. It is being constructed by Myers Construction Inc. of Broken Bow, and designed by Felzburg, Holt & Ullegiv, with offices in Nebraska and Colorado.

SNAP PROGRAM RISES 25 PERCENT The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families the largest sin-gle increase in the program's history. Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps officially known as the SNAP program will rise more than 25 per-cent above pre-pandemic levels. The increased assistance will be available in-definitely to all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries. The aid boost was first reported by The New York Times and the details were confirmed by a spokeswoman for

the Agriculture Department. They will be formally announced Monday by Agri-culture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The aid boost is being packaged as a major revi-sion of the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan. In concrete terms, the average monthly per-person benefits will rise from $121 to $157. The increase is part of a multi-pronged Biden administration effort to strengthen the country's social safety net. Poverty and food security activists maintain that longstanding inadequacies in that safety net were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting an op-portunity to make generational improvements that reach beyond the current public health crisis. Activists say the previous levels of pre-pandemic SNAP assis-

tance simply weren't enough, forcing many households to choose cheaper, less nutritious options or simply go hungry as the funds ran low toward the end of the month.

STOCKS

DOW 217.34 TO 35,298.04

NASDAQ 49.68 TO 14,773.22

Newsflash openline@highplainsradio.net 308-345-5400 www.highplainsradio.net

WED Sunny/ Breezy

High

94

WEATHER

TODAY Sunny

High

92

Your Nebraska Huskers play on

MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021

TUES

Sunny

High

94

TONIGHT

AT 7:10

ON 1300 AM OR 97.5 FM

SPORTS

The Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team reports to fall camp today, in prepa-

ration for a season that begins next Saturday with an exhibition match at

Division I Air Force. A 25-player roster will have seven practices before

heading West to take on the Falcons on Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. Central. The Lopers

were slated to face the USAFA last fall but the match was postponed due to

the pandemic. UNK traveled to Wyoming, another member of the Mountain

West Conference, to start the 2019 season. Head coach Rick Squiers and his

staff return All-Americans Anna Squiers (middle blocker) and Madison

Squiers (setter) as well as All-MIAA selections Lindsay Nottlemann (libero)

and Michaela Bartels (middle blocker). However, seven players that ap-

peared in the 2019 Elite Eight in Denver must be replaced. That group in-

cludes 2019 MIAA Co-Player of the Year Julianne Jackson (outside hitter) and

two-time All-MIAA pick Mary Katherine Wolfe (right side). UNK went 38-1 (20

-0 MIAA) in 2019, finishing as National Runner Up after a 3-1 setback to

undefeated Cal State San Bernardino in the finals. The Lopers went 16-3 in a

"non-countable" 2021 spring season that featured a nine-match win streak

and a first-place finish in the MIAA Spring Invite.

Kris Bubic had already allowed three runs by the time he worked Lars

Nootbaar into a two-strike count in the first inning Sunday afternoon, but

Bubic also had two outs and was looking to get out of the frame with mini-

mal damage and a minimal pitch count. Instead, he danced around the zone

to Nootbaar, ending up walking the Cardinals’ outfielder. It wasn’t until

three batters later that Bubic got out of the 34-pitch frame, putting the

Royals in a deficit before they came to bat. And six batters into the second

inning, Bubic was out of the game. The Cardinals jumped on the lefty for

seven runs in the Royals’ 7-2 loss on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, complet-

ing the three-game sweep by their surging cross-state rivals. The Cardinals

completed a perfect six-game road trip through Pittsburgh and Kansas City,

only the second unbeaten road trip of at least six games in franchise his-

tory. The first time they did it was from May 5-10, 2017, led by their former

manager, Mike Matheny. The Royals will kick off a four-game series with

Houston tonight. Pregame coverage on KBRL AM-FM starts at 6:30 p.m.

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ACROSS 1 Axis 5 Central Intelligence Agency 8 Mountain Time 11 Valid 12 Throw in the air 13 The other half of Jima 14 Air (prefix) 15 Stream 16 Bother 17 Stone 19 False stories 20 Sea between Turkey and Greece 23 Crowd 25 Augur 27 Brief autobiographical sketch 30 Can metal 31 Period 33 Shoshonean 35 Surrender 37 Canadian city 39 Killed in action 41 At all times 42 Verse 45 Transparent gem 47 Free of 48 Southeast by east 49 Detail 53 Omega 54 Trudge 55 Parch 56 Heavens 57 Japanese money 58 Berets

DOWN 1 Women's undergarment 2 Downwind 3 Paddle 4 Concluded 5 Helix 6 Muslim's religion 7 American sign language 8 Short 9 Cotton ball 10 Duds 12 Moat 18 Capital of Nationalist China 19 National police 20 Liable 21 Little Mermaid's love 22 Heredity component 24 More so 26 Make lace 28 Canned meat 29 Lawyer (abbr.) 32 Glided 34 Aurora 36 Dam 38 Like an owl 40 White poplar 42 President (abbr.) 43 Pit noise 44 Whirl 46 Black 48 Engage in espionage 50 British drink 51 Feed 52 Mr..'s wife

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Smile in the mirror. Do

that every morning and

you will start to see a big

difference in your life.

FOR

CARRYOUT

OR DELIVERY

CALL 345-4150

TODAY’S PUZZLE HOME OF BISON

LAND OF THE FREE

BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE

G O D M E N S A N O D

U N I V E R S A L O B I

N E V A D A D E B T O R

P A S R E S E T

C E C I L T O T E M

L A U D D I A S T O L E

U R N E R R O I L

E N N O B L E S E T N A

I D O L S A S H E N

A N N O Y P U T

M E G R I M A G E N T S

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