Tuesday coffee topics range from traffic to drug abuse

By Connie Jo Discoe, McCook Gazette
Original article HERE

Mid-block U-turns are legal in Nebraska. Marijuana is legal in Colorado, but not in Nebraska.

Those were some of the snatches of discussion during the “Coffee with a Cop” session at Sehnert’s Bakery in downtown McCook Tuesday morning.

While marijuana is legal in Colorado, the bigger issue may not be the drug itself, but the homelessness, health issues and welfare costs (and even driving under the influence) that are worsening and outweighing the benefits of the millions of dollars generated through tax revenue and fees from sales, according to Police Chief Ike Brown and Sgt. Kevin Darling.

Discussing traffic topics, Brown said that mid-block U-turns are legal, “as long as it’s safe” in existing traffic. And, Brown explained, vehicles parking illegally in handicap parking spaces are enforced on a complaint basis and also by officers who themselves witness the violation. The handicap parking law is enforced, too, on the privately-owned parking lots of large businesses, Chief Brown said.

Opioid misuse is a problem nationwide, Brown said, and, according to Darling, “it’s here” in McCook. Another drug problem is the increased importation and use of heroin, to the point where statistics indicate it’s becoming a nation-wide epidemic, Brown said. “Heroin is being pushed as a replacement for cocaine,” Brown said.

Other little tidbits of “Coffee with a Cop” conversation included:

* The city curfew applies to those under 17, from September 1 through May 31 (roughly during the school year), from 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and midnight to 5 a.m., Friday and Saturday; and from June 1 through August 31, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday and 12:30 p.m. to 5 a.m., Friday and Saturday.

Brown said officers do make reasonable exceptions in the case of emergencies, or if the child is en route straight home after a school-sponsored function or from work.

* Parking: Both north and south sides of the 100 block of East G, south of Norris Park, are city right-of-way, and neither is private property.

* House addresses: According to city ordinance, homes must be labeled with numbers that are large enough and legible enough to be seen clearly from the curb and street.