Save the Dates For:
Nebraska Weed Control Association Annual Conference
- February 13-15, 2017
Ramada Inn
Agenda -
Registration
Nebraska Planning & Zoning Conference
- March 8-10, 2017
Kearney
Younes Center
Agenda -
Registration
Spring District Meetings
Central District
- March 16, 2017
Holiday Inn, Kearney
Northeast District
- March 17, 2017
Northeast Community College, Norfolk
Panhandle District
- March 22, 2017
Gering Civic Center
West Central District
- March 23, 2017
Ogallala Quality Inn
Southeast District
- March 24, 2017
Mahoney State Park
ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
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Place your logo here and link it to any website
For details contact:
LeRoy.Janssen@nacone.org
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| WHO SUPPORTS NACO AND THEIR MISSION?  Associate and Sustaining Members
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NACO Associate and Sustaining Members enable NACO to enhance its continuing education programs for county officials across the state. Visit NACO's complete associate and sustaining membership list
here.
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| 2017 Institute of Excellence |
Today is the last day! Register for the 2017 NACO Institute of Excellence
Note: Please call Carroll Welte at 402.374.2954 or Jessica Jones at 402.335.3669, if you registered for the NACO Institute of Excellence using the registration form link contained in the last NACO newsletter. If you haven't registered for the Institute, read on!
The public perceives those elected or appointed to county office as being leaders, capable of making decisions in the best interest of the people they serve. Leadership is more than just answering to the public, though; It's about listening and working with people to bring about change that ultimately leads to a better condition, place or situation.
To better work with people they serve, leaders continuously seek opportunities for self-improvement. An opportunity for county officials to improvement themselves is the 2017 NACO Institute of Excellence beginning in March. Registration is open and online here under Upcoming Events. You will also find program details, dates, times, and locations.
Registration is easy, just fill in the form and click the "Submit by Email" button. The information will automatically route to NE Extension educators coordinating the Institute of Excellence. Beat today's deadline deadline and register before the end of the work day today!
If you prefer to register by phone or have a question call Extension Educators, Carroll Welte (402.374.2954) or Jessica Jones (402.335.3669).
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Scholarship Applications Available for 2017 Graduates
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Nebraska high school seniors who are the children, stepchildren, or under the legal guardianship of county officials or employees are encouraged to apply for one of twelve $1,000.00 NACO scholarships. In addition to the twelve NACO scholarships, a special award, the Ronda Dix Memorial Scholarship, may be awarded to an applicant planning a career in nursing, physical therapy, or other medical field. Additional information and the application form can be found on the front page of the NACO website.
The scholarship application deadline is March 1, 2017. To access the application from this article, click
here.
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Crime Commission Grant Funding Available
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The Nebraska Crime Commission has announced the availability of the
2017 Office of Violence prevention Grant [OVP]
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The Application Instructions outline general guidelines, eligibility, and funding requirements.
The Request For Application and the OVP Application are available by clicking on the highlighted titles. The application deadline is Wednesday, February 15, 2017, no later than 5:00 p.m.
Competitive Funds Available: $350,000.00
The Nebraska Crime Commission has also posted the application for the
County Justice Reinvestment Grant. Included with the application are instructions and the statute/rules and regulations governing the grant program.
The application is due by Wednesday, February 15, 2017, no later than 5:00 p.m.
This information
can also be found on the Nebraska Crime Commission website.
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Kearney County Highway Superintendent Receives Award
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Randy Smith, Kearney County Highway Superintendent, is the recipient of the 2017 Conservation Partner Wetland Stewardship Award, presented February 2 by the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture at its annual Informational Seminar in Grand Island. The award recognizes significant contributions to wetland stewardship and habitat conservation in the Rainwater Basin and Nebraska's mixed-grass prairie regions.
Over the past eight years, Smith has collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, RWBJV, and many private landowners on a variety of projects that improve habitat for millions of migratory birds. He has worked to find solutions that reduce the impact of county roads on wetland function, improve safety for area residents, and minimize maintenance costs once projects are completed. Examples include installing under-road culverts, filling road ditches, and procuring needed fill without deepening the existing ditches.
USFWS Wildlife biologist Laurel Badura, who nominated Smith for the award said, "It's local partners like Randy who make the RWBJV function to the best of its abilities. He is a leader in his county and a model for other counties to follow."
The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture is a public-private partnership composed of conservation agencies, local government bodies, non-profit organizations, and individuals, all cooperating in the protection and restoration of wetlands and other native habitats in Nebraska's Rainwater Basin and mixed-grass prairie regions. More information is here.
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MIPS Bytes
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Ransomware
Lately we have been seeing a new type of virus affecting servers and computers. Ransomware is a denial-of-access attack that prevents users from accessing their files.
The most common type of ransomware that we are seeing encrypts your files and renames them making them inaccessible. Typically, the virus will come with instructions on how to remove the virus. These instructions will tell the user how to obtain the key by paying the virus creator a ransom. The virus creator's goal is to get as many people as possible to pay the ransom. The ransom price varies, but you can expect to see a price tag of $300 or even more. Once the virus creator receives payment they may provide you with a decryption key that should allow you to decrypt your files and make them usable again. Even if they do provide the key, there is no guarantee that it will work and they probably will not try to help you if it does not work.
The best defense against ransomware is to use safe habits while on the Internet. Do not download files from untrusted websites, do not open attachments if you are not 100% sure they are safe, and always keep your operating system and antivirus software up to date. In addition, always backup your important data. If you do get hit with a ransomware virus often times restoring the files from a backup is your best option.
If you do get an infection you will want to disconnect the infected computer from the network as soon as possible because most of the time the virus will search out other computers and especially servers on your network and encrypt the files located on those machines as well. Once disconnected from the network you can start your recovery.
Recovery should always start by removing the virus from the infected computer. Once that is done, you can begin the process of recovering your files. If a good backup is available, find all of the encrypted files on the machine, delete them and restore the files from the backup. If there is not a good backup available, some well-known antivirus companies have free decryption software available that may be able to decrypt the files. However, most of these come with no guarantees because the encryption methods used by the virus creators are always evolving.
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2017-2018 Directory of County Officials
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NACO's 2017-2018 Directory of County Officials is a valuable resource that not only gives you names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of every county official in the state, but includes a listing of county board meeting days, NACO districts, county seats, NACO officers and directors, affiliate officers and NACO staff. In January, county clerks for each county will receive one complimentary printed copy of the directory intended for use by all offices in their courthouse.
The NACO Directory will also still be available in electronic format by selecting the
"Directory of County Officials" icon on the NACO
webpage. The electronic version is updated on a regular basis and contains the changes that occur between printings of the hard copies.
A printed directory is available for $19.00 if non-taxable and $20.00 if taxable.
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County Government Day PowerPoint
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The PowerPoint presentation is available electronically at no charge (sent via e-mail) for use by counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska and can be customized by each county. CD's are also available for $10.00 each to cover processing, shipping and handling. To request the County Government Day PowerPoint electronically, please e-mail your request to
larrydix@nacone.org
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The CD order form is available
here.
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2016 County Board Handbook and Revision
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The 2016 County Board Handbook and related revisions are now available.
The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2016 session, is $80.00/book plus $18.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2016 Supplement to the County Board Handbook is available for $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. The order form is available on the NACO website or by clicking here. If you are interested in purchasing a complete handbook or a supplement please contact
Deb Eberly by email
or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 232.
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| News From NACo |
ANNOUNCING THE COUNTIES FUTURES LAB
The National Association of Counties (NACo) Counties Futures Lab brings together leading national experts to examine and forecast the trends, innovations and promises of county government with an eye toward positioning America's county leaders for success.
Focusing primarily on pressing county governance and management issues - and grounded in analytics, data and knowledge sharing - the Lab builds on the NACo Research Department's existing products and delivers research studies, reports and other actionable intelligence to a variety of venues in collaboration with corporate, academic and philanthropic thought leaders to promote the county government of the future.
GO TO THE LAB
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| NACo Webinars |
Webinar
Becoming an Employer of Choice: Benefits Best Practices for Counties
Mar. 9, 2017
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm CST
Join Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for an informative webinar highlighting benefits best practices by counties and other public sector organizations throughout the country. During this session we will highlight data pulled from Gallagher's 2016 Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey, and discuss the value to your county of participating in Gallagher's 2017 survey through partnership with NACo.
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