So far, the bark of the Y2K bug has proved to be far worse than its bite.
As the new year turned on Friday night, television viewers could see the lack of imminent results as celebrations from around the world were broadcast. Some isolated instances of problems were reported but major utilities and services operated without interruption.
Locally, precautions were in place in case of any problems. The police and fire departments had officers on duty in case of an emergency, and the hospital and city had extra personnel on hand.
At the hospital, each department had staff on hand to deal with any problems, but the hospital reported no problems on Monday.
At city hall, a public works employee tested city equipment, including the lift stations around town, and found no problems.
What had once been predicted as a doomsday passed without incident. Y2K proved to be the nonevent that many people forecasted in the last six months.
City administrator Dennis Wilde said that the lesson of Y2K was preparation. For years, the city had considered buying an emergency generator, and purchased one last spring, in part due to Y2K. "For emergency purposes, a city this size should have one," he explained. "It forced us to take a real critical look at what we were doing."
With people returning to work on Monday, some problems could still arise, but at present they appear to be limited to inconveniences.