FAIRBURY - The public taking advantage of a final chance to submit feedback to local government, and four county employees taking a final stand against those that fired them.

Jefferson County government hosted two separate hearings Tuesday, and neither has reached a full conclusion yet. Here's our initial report on both events - we will have fuller stories on both proceedings later this week on News Channel Nebraska.

Not much closure in either of the hearings hosted inside the Jefferson County courthouse throughout the day yesterday, but plenty of progress was made. Tuesday morning, the Jefferson County board of commissioners hosted a public hearing to review the proposed planning and zoning comprehensive plan and solar regulations. Created in part by Marvin Planning Consultants, the plan passed through the county's planning and zoning commission earlier this month after plenty of discussion. The county board is the final checkpoint before that proposed plan can be enacted for the next 20 years.

About a dozen people were in attendance Tuesday, many of whom shared their feedback on the plan, outlining what they believed should be adjusted in either the zoning regulations or, more commonly, the proposed solar regulations. 

"These regulations would basically stop the opportunity for any solar development in Jefferson County," said Gale Pohlmann, the former Jefferson County commissioner, in his testimony. "This added source of income for a farmer could potentially provide the opportunity to bring a son or a daughter back into the farming operation. We all know - we need young farmers to return to the farm."

The board heard sufficient public comment to make it clear that the plan could not be approved as currently proposed, so they elected to reconsider the plan at the county board meeting on March 24. In the meantime, they will be hosting public working meetings as they work through some of the changes they are considering.  

Then on Tuesday afternoon, in an uncommon event, four men who were fired from their roles on the county highway department at the end of last year engaged the county in a grievance hearing. The highway department alleges these four workers - Roben Ruhnke, Danny Meyer, Steve McNitt and Ron Bray - improperly used company vehicles and company time and did not take time off when they tried to schedule a meeting with the commissioners on November 18.

The workers claimed they had tried to get on the commissioners' agenda to review complaints about their work that were never shared with them by department supervisors Jason Eyer and Terry Blas. They did not take time off to attend this meeting - which ultimately did not occur - and all four were fired a week later, on November 25, after meeting directly with Eyer and Blas. They feel they were wrongfully terminated, the basis of Tuesday's hearing. 

"We had made this appointment three weeks ahead of time, everything was kosher," McNitt said in his testimony. "As far as I knew we had the right to be there, we had the right to take the paycuts, I mean...we're county employees going to talk to the bosses [the commissioners]. Why are we in trouble?"

Per county governance structure, the board of commissioners serves as the "jury" in cases like these with county attorney Joe Casson acting as an arbiter. The counsel for the grievants began the hearing with a motion to have the commissioners recuse themselves from the proceedings, saying they would not be able to present an unbiased perspective; the county argued that the board had no say in the termination of these workers and therefore could remain impartial in the proceedings.

Blas testified on behalf of the county. The terminated employees testified on their behalf, along with Roger Behrends, who retired from the department in April after more than 40 years on the team. After hearing testimony well into the evening Tuesday, the hearing was officially recessed to the morning of February 10 – that's when both sides will present their closing argument and the county board will make their final decisions. We'll have more on these stories later this week on News Channel Nebraska.