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Some of the most wonderful gifts are those that do not cost a penny.

For 6 weeks, we're adding to the list of 'gifts' that anyone can give. You don't even have to wait for a holiday or special occasion to give these gifts and you'll be giving yourself 'the gift of giving'!

This is for Week #3:  THE GIFT of LISTENING.  

You might hear someone talking, but are you really listening to what those words mean?  To truly listen, don't be thinking about your response, don't interrupt the other person or be distracted by watching tv, texting, etc., just listen.  How many times have you said to someone, 'Just listen to me?'.  Now it's your turn to give the GIFT of LISTENING.

Week #2:  THE GIFT of AFFECTION. 

Appropriate hugs, kisses, a pat on the back and reaching for someone's hand can demonstrate your care, love and support for family and friends at a time when they might most need it.  Be generous!

Week #1: THE GIFT of a COMPLIMENT.

Give at least one person you meet each day a compliment. To a friend or co-worker say, 'that color looks good on you', or to a waiter, 'you're a wonderful server'. A parent would like to hear, 'your child is so well-behaved. You've taught them well' or you could tell a grocery clerk that she has pretty hands. Someone would even like to hear that they have a beautiful smile...maybe they'll smile more!  Surely you've heard that smiles are contagious!  What an awesome gift!  When you give a heartfelt compliment, YOU could be remembered for a lifetime!

 Remember PEARL HARBOR this Saturday, December 7, 2013. 

RECYCLE!

 Do something good for your community and our earth!

CASS COUNTY GOING GREEN

 

recycle trailer will be located on these dates in the following towns:

Murray:

Dec 14 - 20 

Beaver Lake:

Dec 4 - 6

Dec 21 - 27 

 

Union:

Dec 7 - 13

Dec 28 - 31 

 

 

Nehawka:

 Dec 4 - 6

Dec 21 - 31  

 

(The recycle bin located behind Town Hall is for Murray residents' use only.)

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This holiday season and always, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development staff would like to offer our many thanks for all you do for Nebraska! Phil Michel is DED Employee of the Year Congratulations to Phil Michel as DED’s 2013 Employee of the Year. For more than 30 years, Michel has recruited businesses to Nebraska for DED. During that time, he has worked on many successful business recruitment projects, including Case New Holland, Neogen, and Bayer Crop Sciences, among many others. He quickly understands and deciphers locations that best fit the resources and geography needs of projects, and his extensive connections and relationships further attest to this intuitive ability. phil.michel@nebraska.gov Travelers Insurance breaks ground on Sarpy County data center Travelers Insurance and state and local officials recently broke ground on a 190,000 sq. ft. data center in Sarpy County. It would be the second company to qualify for a new tier of Nebraska state tax benefits for companies that invest $200 million or more in a data center and employ at least 30 people. The Buckle breaks ground in Kearney The Buckle, a popular teen clothing company, recently broke ground on a new 80,000-sq.ft. building that will provide more office space as part of its home office campus in Kearney. Construction will begin during first quarter of 2014. $50,000 prototype grant awarded Lincoln company for bottling system With help from a $50,000 Nebraska Innovation Fund Prototyping Program (Pre-seed Stage) grant from DED, Norland International is on its way to developing another state-of-the-art bottling system. This new system is being developed for beer and other carbonated beverages as part of the company’s American Beer Equipment Division’s product line. A bottling system currently being designed in partnership with Storz Brewing Company will process about 60 bottles of beer per minute. Norland will develop and market additional smaller systems that process 30 and 15 bottles of beer, respectively, per minute. Norland expects to create four to six full-time positions, including mechanical engineers and technicians as a result.  Nebraska earns 4th “Best Run State in America" 24/7 Wall St. has ranked Nebraska 4th Best Run State in America. Nebraska received strong scores for fiscal management with a perfect credit rating from Standard & Poor’s, and extremely low debt as of fiscal 2011. Its pension plans were well-funded relative to most states. Nebraska also faced a total budget shortfall of 4.8% in fiscal 2012, one of the smaller deficits in the country. Nebraska’s unemployment rate was 3.9% last year—less than any other state except for North Dakota. The state also had an 8.8% underemployment rate, which was the third lowest in the nation. Several quality of life measures performed well, too. Violent crime and poverty rates were lower than the national rates in 2012, while a higher percentage of residents had health insurance, and a high proportion of adults were high school graduates.   And speaking of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Credit Ratings…   Nebraska was one of only 13 states to earn a AAA rating from S&P’s Credit Ratings in 2013 indicating it has an extremely strong capacity to meet financial obligations. Nebraska ED teams recognized with international awards Holt County Economic Development and Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development recently received awards from Blane Canada/Synchronist. Holt County ED’s “Challenging Status Quo/Leading By Example" category award was made for its business retention/expansion work. DED briefing scheduled for Dec. 12 DED’s free 2013 briefing has changed its Lincoln location to Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET), 1800 N. 33rdSt., NET boardroom, and will be video conferenced to two additional sites. The briefing is scheduled for Thursday, December 12, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (CST), with lunch provided by NPPD. The two video conferencing sites are: North Platte: ESU #16, 1221 W. 17th St., Distance Learning room Scottsbluff: State Office Building, 505A Broadway, Suite 500, Voc. Rehab. Dept. Reservations are required by Thursday, December 5 with Lori Cole at lori.a.cole@nebraska.gov. Sites with less than 5 registrants will be canceled. New collaborative serves distressed business areas of Nebraska Small loans, training, and specialized help create job opportunities for entrepreneurs The Nebraska Small Business Collaborative (NSBC) is a dynamic collaboration of experienced microenterprise development service providers, including the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project, Community Development Resources, and Catholic Charities-Microbusiness Training and Development Program. The collaboration offers a full complement of services for micro businesses, including one-on-one technical assistance, various small business trainings, loan packaging, and micro loan access up to $50,000. Linking to other resource providers and lending sources, including commercial lenders is also included. Contact Jeff Reynolds at 402-656-3091 or jeffr@cfra.org, or www.cfra.org/reap/nsbc.

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2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor
 
2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

2013 Community Sustaining Sponsor

That's right! These are all items that can appear FREE of CHARGE in each Wednesday's Murray Newsletter and/or Calendar! All YOU have to do is send the information to us - it's that simple!

DEADLINE for submissions to each week's Wednesday Newsletter is NO LATER THAN NOON on the prior MONDAY.

1) You may call your information to 402-235-2926 and specify that you want your info inserted in the Newsletter. Leave a voice mail with your name and phone number.

2) Email your story in plain text to:   Editor@MurrayNebraska.com with your name and contact info.

Send photos ONLY in .jpg format, no larger than 450 pixels wide.

Photo editing is super easy! Just go to http://www.picmonkey.com.

Click on 'Edit Your Photo', then 'Resize'.

Enter any number below 495, then save as .jpg. That's it!

Then just send it to us here at the Murray Newsletter with your story in plain text.

3) Send items via the U.S. postal service to: Editor, MurrayNebraska.com, 201 N How Ave, Murray, NE, 68409-8403. (When mailing items you'd like to get back, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)

Remember to include 'who, what, when, where and why', along with any other helpful details, such as a contact person and phone.

DO NOT SEND PHOTOS LARGER THAN 450 PIXELS WIDE!

DO NOT SEND 'ZIP' FILES!

Again, you must have your name and contact information included with the information.

Thanks for helping to keep YOUR Murray Newsletter fresh and up-to-date!