Friday marks the year-and-a-half anniversary of the disappearance of Jason Jolkowski, last seen walking away from his home in the Benson area, on his way to catch a ride to work. His family is now working to help themselves and the families of other missing persons.

“We miss Jason greatly, the ache is still there. It doesn't get any better.” In the first few months the Jolkowskis did obvious things like putting up ribbons in the neighborhood. While the ribbons have faded, their efforts have only grown. The Jolkowskis soon realized there were limited resources for missing adults in Nebraska. Jason's mother Kelly, started working to establish a statewide web site clearinghouse for missing people of all ages. “How it came about is when this first happened, I went on the Internet on missing people and found out the sheer number of missing people and it's astonishing and very sad too.” Kelly also discovered Iowa's clearinghouse, which offers a 24-hour, 1-800 number, and periodical fliers sent through the mail. Kelly developed a similar plan for Nebraska, calling it Jason's Law. "The Nebraska State Patrol will be the entity that runs it. They will establish a web site clearinghouse that will have photos and information of missing people on there of all ages, not just children. There will be an 800, 24-hour phone line for people to call with information.” That site would be in addition to the one Jason's family started, missingjason.com.

Sen. Pat Bourne will introduce the legislation in January. “It's a good idea, I think it will bring awareness. I think it will go a long way towards recovering some of these missing folks.”

“You know they always say take lemons and make lemonade,” said Kelly. “Well, we've really done that. We've made a big batch of lemonade and although it is a bittersweet drink, it is the drink we must drink right now.” All the while, hoping she will someday find the catalyst of these efforts, her son, Jason.

Jason's mother has also made cards with Jason's information. She said she'll gladly send a stack to anyone willing to put them at their business or pass them out. She may be reached through www.missingjason.com.