Columns/Opinions

    Many years ago, when I was Patrol Sergeant here in Edna, my son Justin was in Elementary School. I worked straight nights and missed a lot of family time. I remember leaving for work one evening and Justin refused to tell me goodbye. I had done something to make him mad, like parenting, so he refused to speak to me.  I thought it was cute but it bothered Jan. I learned that after I had gone Jan talked to Justin about his Daddy having a dangerous job and how badly he would feel if that turned out to be the last time he would ever see me. Justin is now 28 years old.  From that time Justin and I almost always end our conversations with “I love you”. 

    Yet another month has come and gone. While we continue with classes and having volunteers sit at the center to keep it open during part of the day, we are trying some new things too. We offered a free stained glass demonstration this month and will be offering a quilting demonstration in the future.
    If anyone else would like to demonstrate their art to the public or offer a class in your medium, please call or e-mail the Art Center and let us know. We would like to see what you can do! We would also like to see your art. If you have any pictures you could lend us for viewing, please contact us.
    If you come in the Art Center, you will see a change in the setup. The front portion of the center will now be open for the public to come in and view the art. Classes will be held behind this in a classroom section. Let us know how you like this new setup!

    We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work our way through the new procedures intended to improve student safety in terms of our car ridership. We have flipped cars to the back and buses to the front in order to better stage our car ridership in terms of organization and bad weather occurrences.
    A few things which I believe we will improve by these changes are:
    We can now line them up in the cafeteria and gym by grade level and dismiss them to you without you having to get out of your cars and enter the building to pick up your students.

    As most of you have noticed by now, we have increased the price of the newspaper to $1 an issue. This has not come without lots of thought and preparation, but we all know how good old Murphy’s Law works.
    This was the first time I have had to deal with a price increase and believe me there are many steps to the process. We have numerous dealers and racks around the county. The dealers scan the bar code on the front of the newspaper each time a customer purchases one, so we sent them a letter three weeks ago informing them of the increase so they would have time to adjust their scanners.
    We notified Nexxus and IControl, companies who handle some of our bigger accounts, so they could adjust their systems as well. I had to order new price plates for the front of the racks and Handy Honey Hubby spent several hours changing the change mechanisms in the racks and installing the new price plates to reflect the increase.

    We have just recently observed Independence Day and not long until Constitution Week. How many of us really appreciate the meaning of those two historical events? Seems to me they should become more and more important as we see personal freedoms and national independence and sovereignty eroding. And then we hear about chaos on the border, IRS scandals, the Common Core Education plan, EPA’s growing regulation threats, and turmoil in the Middle East.
    We don’t hear much about the call for a Constitutional Convention or about so-called Free Trade agreements that are being planned. Commonly referred to as Con-Con, Convention of the States, or Article 5 Convention makes no difference. They all amount to the same thing with Conservatives having good intentions, like adding a Balanced Budget Amendment.

    At a special meeting of the American Legion Post 346 on Aug. 4, the Post held their Post Everlasting Ceremony which recognized our veterans and auxiliary members of Jackson County who passed away this past year.
    Commander Toman stated that “It is my sad duty to report that 35 comrades and five auxiliary members from Jackson County have been called from our midst and gone to report to the ‘Commander of All.’”
    This solemn occasion is held annually to honor those veterans who offered their life in service of our country and have now enrolled in that Great Spirit Army, whose footfalls cause no sound but will be remembered by comrades, friends and families.
    As each deceased veteran’s name was called, their names are put into a flaming brazier and the ship’s bell run to honor their spirit. Stacked rifles were arranged to indicate that these men will no longer be with us to defend our country in the event they are needed again.

    The first day of school is right around the corner. It’s time for parents and faculty alike to prepare themselves for the annual traffic circus. If you go the traffic circus keep in mind it will get better soon and, like a woman once told me, Clinton, don’t forget to breathe.     
    The Edna Police Department always dedicates all available officers to help with traffic the first few days of school. The High School and Jr. High campuses are usually not too bad, but the Elementary campus, well, Katie bar the door. Pun intended. 
    Here are a few laws that I think are important to keep in mind during the school year.