Commentary

The calendar says late July, which can only mean one thing -- it’s showtime!
The annual Hamilton County Fair promises to be a feel-good event again this year, the 147th version of what has become a traditional celebration of our ag-based heritage. There is indeed something for everyone, including events as old as the fair itself, combined with a few new activities, by design.
The next few days will culminate months of hard work for 4-H and FFA youth who have been preparing their animals and entries for the fair. Lots of ribbons and trophies will be handed out, but what are even more valuable are the life lessons learned along the way. It takes so much dedication, time and effort to prepare and show these animals and various entries, nurturing a Midwest work ethic that will serve our young people well throughout their lives. It’s worth your time to tour the barns and exhibits, showing support for young folks who represent the next generation of agricultural leaders.

We’re ready to go back to the simple times and ironically “time” is the reason. For days now we’ve operated on Eastern Time, or one-hour ahead of the good old Central Time. The reason? Our not so-wonderful automatic clock that gave us temps, days, dates and of course time, ceased to operate because of weak batteries.    
Several years ago our household advanced from the windup chiming clock to rely on a system of electric clocks. Our tiring of winding clocks was replaced by those electric clocks that several times after a lightning storm would require our room-by-room tour of our household resetting a multitude of blinking dials. Then this advanced thing called an “Atomic Clock” came on the scene.

Two thumbs up to the new Bands on the Bricks concert series unfolding this summer in Aurora.
There was a lot of energy on the downtown square for the debut event and the reaction from the crowd was unanimous. The smiles on the faces of youngsters playing with hoola hoops matched the relaxed expressions of twentysomethings and retired folks alike. Right out of the gate it was clear that this was a good idea for people of all generations.
Max Temple gets much of the credit. The South Dakota-based musician spends a majority of his time now coordinating community concert series through his Annie Creek company. Using his extensive contacts in the music world, Temple is able to bring top-notch entertainment to places like Aurora at a reduced rate, and more importantly gives local residents an opportunity to get together and have some fun.
And that they were!

Today’s needs for the education of our students are on the fast track. Curriculum, technology, physical facilities, student numbers and safety are all items that once changed every few years and now seem on the public education agenda daily.
Proposed 5-year plans for schools in the Omaha schools to be built or remodeled in the Omaha area were aired recently. While the metro area plans hinged on pupil growth, it was quite evident the task of educating not only for the metro students, but for our rural out-state students is rapidly changing to meet the demands of our rapidly changing world. Here are just a few “then and now” examples we can recall from our old high school days. For example:
We were required two years of science and could “duck” chemistry by taking frosh general science and biology the next year. Today it is reported 70 to 90 percent of high schoolers are enrolled in four years of a science curriculum.

Fifty years after the late Irv Wedeking helped create the vision for a youth ag training facility in Aurora, The Leadership Center celebrates its golden anniversary on a campus that has come to represent so much more to its founders, guests and host community. The 43-acre campus on the east edge of town shines as a pillar of success, giving Aurora and the center’s founders an earned reputation for progressive leadership.
During this golden anniversary year, The Leadership Center is celebrating its proud history while sharing the story of how Mr. Wedeking, Dr. Ted Ward and Norval McCaslin launched this remarkable endeavor. (See related story in this week’s edition) Those three men put up $27,000 of their own money, a huge and risky investment in 1968, to plant a seed that has continued to grow.

What does the First Amendment mean to you and how does it affect your life as an American?
That’s a question not often asked in today’s society, but the results of a recent poll which asked young people that very thing was alarming to say the least. According to a civics survey taken by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, four in 10 students couldn’t name even one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.
That’s not good. In fact, it’s shocking to think that a whole new generation of Americans may not understand or appreciate the freedoms that let them do what they want to do, say what they want to say, worship in whatever manner they so choose and in general live in a society founded on principles of freedom.

Several weeks ago we mention in this column we came across our old electric Smith-Corona portable typewriter and it brought back memories of writing our column and how our computer world has now changed the old-style mechanical “typing and deleting” to more physical ease. The evolution has also brought frustration to many of us who are still slow learners in this computer-tech world.

 It was refreshing this past week to have our attention diverted from what has become the regular news coverage concerning presidential tweets, immigration, political investigations and the negativism of the human race.
That diversion is exactly what happened when in a metro population of over 3 million people who were concerned with the antics of a raccoon who soon was about to become a death-defying hero.
What got more attention than even a top publicity agent couldn’t achieve was national social-media audience’s awareness of a raccoon that chose to scale a 22-floor skyscraper in downtown St Paul, Minn. The raccoon was assumed to be searching for a pigeon egg meal and captured over 24-hour attention from an audience with the question, “Will he fall or won’t he?”

A conversation that will ultimately determine who responds to emergency calls when local residents dial 911 is headed for a decision within the next 90 days or so, demanding the attention of anyone who calls Hamilton County home.
This issue has been in the public eye for more than a year now, if not longer, though an Oct. 1 transition deadline and the emergence of three possible alternatives promises to bring some finality to what has become a very sensitive and at times controversial topic.
The core issue involves the Hamilton County Ambulance Department, which has provided countywide emergency medical service for many years. The quality of advanced life support (ALS) service has never been questioned, and in fact is unanimously applauded, though the cost for that service has been documented to be higher than that of other communities of similar size.

It seems in this day and age about everyone agrees that our country and democracy are not better off than 50 years ago. They cite in particular the year 1968 as the beginning of a deep decline because of assassinations of Robert Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., riots in American cities, violence at the Democratic National Convention and the list goes on and on.
Personally, I really can’t figure out how to point to one year or century as the start of good or bad in our country.
I judge my opinion on a book titled, “20th Century Year by Year” that tells about the good or bad of people and events that shaped the last 100 years.
Rather than dwell on the negatives, I would like to point out what I feel is the humor in many situations of this current 21st century. It is quite evident change still continues and hopefully it will for years and if lucky, for centuries to come.