Daylight Saving Time ends

Daylight Saving Time ended early Sunday morning. The official changeover occurred at 2 a.m.

Those who forgot the adage “spring forward, fall back” were an hour early for church, work or other events.

Deputy Nebraska State Fire Marshall Pat Gould, of Chadron, says the time change is also a good time to change batteries in smoke detectors.

Gould’s a firm believer that trying to save a few cents by not replacing batteries every spring and fall could prove to be fatally penny wise and pound foolish.

Gould also says as long as you’re changing clocks and smoke detector batteries, you might as well check other fire safety-related items, too, and have the entire family review their fire response plan.

Statistics show almost 1 out of every 5 smoke alarms in an American home doesn’t work, often because of dead batteries, and the death rate in those homes is about a third higher than in homes without a smoke detector at all.