Readers ask about election results, construction

The following questions were recently submitted to the Wonderline:

Q: Why wasn’t the total number of votes listed for the county commissioner races in the newspaper, after the election?
A: Actually, the totals were listed in the Wednesday edition of the York News-Times. There was a text box accompanying each story for the races, which listed the candidates’ names and the total number of votes they received. The totals were also in the body of the story.

Q: When is the whole highway relinquishment project going to start in York?
A: City officials say that the highway relinquishment overlay project and the underpass restoration project are scheduled to begin in June.

Q: I recently moved to York and have yet to have my appliances installed in my new residence. Is there a public laundromat here?
A: Yes, one is located on the west side of the building that houses Nebraska Land Video, at 110 West Seventh Street. The entrance to the laundromat, itself, is along Platte Avenue.

Q: When you say that cardboard is a recyclable item, does that only mean corrugated cardboard, or does that mean all kinds of cardboard — like that of my Cheez-It boxes, etc.?
A: “Cardboard” means cardboard. The city takes cardboard of all kinds  — and recyclers are reminded that they must break down boxes before placing them in the recycling bins.

Q: When I get on the News-Times website, and go to “Contact Us,” then push “Submit,” it goes to a default place called “Word Press.” What’s wrong?
A: New media director Eric Eckert says he’s not clear as to the difficulty being experienced by this reader. Upon investigation, that portion of the website appears to be working perfectly.
He suggests, however, that in the future, if readers have problems or questions, that they call him at 362-4478 — while the problem is happening, so he can help right away.

Q: I've often seen at meetings, reunions and such that they were offering name tags that had York written on them, and some sort of welcome message. I am planning a family reunion in the near future, and I was wondering where those name tags come from, and how I may get some. I am also curious about the little pins I've seen people wear  — they are shaped and colored like the balloon water tower at the York I-80 interchange.
A: The name tags may be obtained at the York County Visitors Bureau, which is located at 224 West Sixth Street. The same is true for the "balloon pins," which are available in both plastic and metal.
If an individual or group wants a large number of name tags or pins, they are simply asked to call Bob Sautter, executive director, at 362-3333, so he is able to accommodate their needs in a timely manner. That also allows him to make sure that the inventory will support their request.

Q: We were working on some historical research about York County, and found two towns indicated on an old map. One was called Houston (northeast of York) and Knox (south of the interstate). Did these towns really ever exist?
A: According to the York County history book, entitled "Yesterday and Today," Houston had its peak population in 1900 — at 58 people. The post office there was established on Dec. 22, 1881, which was discontinued on Aug. 15, 1928. The former town, platted by Pioneer Town-Site Company, names Joseph D. Houston as the founder the town. He was a settler who immigrated here from England in 1870.
Knox was a station on the Kansas City and Omaha Railroad, the history book says, and was "probably named for the owner of land on which it was established." There was also an elevator located there. This particular site was located five miles south of York.
There were other such sites in York County that simply disappeared over the years. These include: Aikin's Mill, Bluevale, Blue Valley, Charlestown, Creswell, Dana, Danby, Derby, Eureka, Parris, Indian Creek, Lawrence, Lenex, Lisbon, Long Hope, McFadden, Mapps, Niota, Palo, Plainfield, Pleasant Home, Porcupine Bluffs, Red Lion, Seeley, Westerfield and Wickliffe.
It appears that many of these tiny "municipalities" were created through the establishment of a post office, a stagecoach stop, or a train station.

Q: What happened to Stacey Kulow from Channel 8?
A: Wonderline has found that she is now the morning anchor at CBS affiliate WRDW-TV in Augusta, Ga.

Q: If Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have twins (as they are rumored to be expecting), how many kids will they have total?
A: According to the Associated Press, the twins will create a family of six kids.

Q: I heard somewhere that global warming will change the tilt of the Earth on its axis, and that it will alter its path around the sun. Is that at all possible? Is it true? I have no idea where I read this or heard this, but it’s a crazy idea.
A: Wonderline actually found (after some digging) an article written on the subject by Seth Borenstein who is an Associated Press science writer in Washington, D.C.
This is what he found through his research:
“As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, it will slightly affect the rotation and tilt of the Earth, but not our path around the sun. But even in the scenario of a major, rapid polar ice melt, the effects of the changes in rotation and tilt would barely be noticeable — especially compared to the effects of the accompanying sea rise.
“As the ice melts, the water indeed redistributes elsewhere around the globe, essentially giving the Earth a bit more of a bulge near the middle. Just as an ice skater with her arms extended slows down, a bulgier Earth spins slower.
“Not that you’d notice it. The daily rate of slowdown is about 76 one-millionths of one second for every inch of sea level rise, according to calculations by physicist Jerry X. Mitrovica, director of the University of Toronto’s Earth Systems Evolution Program.
“Since 1993, sea level has risen at rate of about one inch every eight years, but scientists fear that will speed up. If the ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica melt, the sea level could rise by 33 to 39 feet — something that could take anywhere from several decades to several centuries to happen.
“That would cause a slowdown in the Earth’s rotation of about one thirtieth of a second a day, which translates into about one second a month, 12 seconds a year, or about two minutes every decade.
That’s on top of the thicker level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that a 2002 study found slows the Earth down by about 1.7 millionths of a second a year.
“And because of various physics and ice dynamics, the tilt of the Earth would also change slightly with Greenland’s melt, Mitrovica said.
“Scientists aren’t worried about what the changed tilt or the slowing of the Earth would do, but they regularly monitor those changes as indicators of the greater and more dangerous effects of global warming. Putting it another way: They say don’t worry about the longer day — worry about the rising seas that cause the longer day.”