Commentary

Election day is upon us, or soon will be, which means it’s time to start listening in to what local candidates have to say.
There are several choices to be made in the May primary, a healthy sign of interest in any community. Voters will decide who will fill the District 1 and District 5 seats on the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, while also narrowing the field of candidates running for Aurora mayor from three to two.
Incumbent Becky Richter faces a challenge from Rich Kinsey in the District 1 race, while District 5 voters will have a choice between incumbent Tim Bergen and challengers Roger Nunnenkamp and Ivan Hongsermier. In the race for Aurora mayor, Phil Hupf, Marlin Seeman and Stan Valasek have thrown their hats in the ring, with the top two vote-getters to advance to the general election in November.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says we adults are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. Federal guidelines recommend having 1-1/2 to 2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables daily. Now that figures out almost 4-5 cups of the so-called “health foods” each day.
Looking at my own intake of food if I followed the CDC’s recommendation I believe there would be little room left in my tummy for the “good stuff” like meat and desserts.
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Here’s some advice based on our past experiences. “If a woman wants a welcome when she gets  home, she should leave her husband with the baby when she goes.”
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The topic of “flipping a coin” drew a smile from the Betterhalf recently. She recalled how when she and her sister were youngsters, her dad flipped a coin to see who would go up the farm lane to get the mail. He pointed to each girl and said, “Heads you go, tails you’re sister goes.”

We are not immune.
That, unfortunately, is the lesson learned last week after a weapon was confiscated on school property in Aurora. Though there was no reported threat of violence, the fact that a gun was illegally brought on to school property was in and of itself alarming.
Just weeks after a deadly school shooting in Florida, an alert like this coming from right here at home feels like a punch to the gut. Incidents involving teens and guns can and do happen anywhere, but it still seems unbelievable that someone would think it’s okay, for any reason, to bring a gun with them to school.
The student in this case faces pending criminal charges and is reportedly not allowed on Aurora school grounds. That seems completely appropriate, though you can’t help but wonder what is in that young person’s immediate future.

Over the years we males have had a back seat driver. Well, my era has ended and it may not have concluded the way I wished. I have a front seat driver...and I am reluctantly fortunate.
Recently coming out of heavy traffic, I made a left-hand turn and the Betterhalf mentioned the car’s left-hand turn signal was not working. In our 10-year-old car that didn’t surprise me, but it was embarrassing when she pointed it out to her hubby that he was still not familiar with a car that he had been “captain” over for the past 60 years.
“Your left rear turn-signal on the car is not working,” she said. “The dash left signal is blinking more rapidly than the right,” she added.
As any smart husband, I bluffed and said, “I know, I’m taking it in to get it fixed tomorrow.  Unfortunately, she saw through my bluff and we road home quietly without pointing out my lack of observation.
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There was a whole lot of learning going on when Aurora seventh graders lifted their chins and came to life as famous characters from our nation’s past.
Thursday’s 12th annual People of the Past event was a fantastic experience all around, from my vantage point behind the lens. Students were TOTALLY engaged in their character and the audience was TOTALLY enthralled with the performances of young “actors” who themselves seemed to be coming of age right before our eyes. It was a feel-good evening for everyone involved.

A new visitor arrived in our household a week ago and the guest has upset our routine to the extent our “normal” is not “normal” anymore. In fact the visitor’s demands have even challenged our dog “Missy’s” lifestyle.
This tale, or should I say “tail,” started innocently enough when our son requested if we could bring “Oscar” back to Nebraska to his original home. You see Oscar is a middle-aged overweight Pug. He had spent most of his life in Tennessee on the lap of his mistress, but because of the mistress’ health issues she wanted Oscar to be returned to his original home in Nebraska City. There was just one little catch; the Nebraska family won’t be able to accept the dog for a couple of weeks.

The sun is shining a little brighter this week, and not just because of Sunday’s switch to Daylight Savings Time.
This is Sunshine Week in America, part of a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Though the political landscape is more polarized than ever at the national level, keeping the light on the people’s business ought to be something everyone can agree on, especially here at home.
Toward that end, I am pleased to report this week that the News-Register will be shedding sunshine on a conversation of extreme importance to our community involving the future of emergency medical services.
It’s been well documented that the county board voted to end its role as owner/manager of what all agree is a top-rate ambulance service, setting an end date of Oct. 1, 2018. The city has therefore launched a new study, with a committee focused on the merits of converting to a fire-based EMS system.

We men have heard much about the “Man of the House” and the priorities that come with that description. While we tend to revel in that title we need to look around a bit and take a more serious look what that really means.
In our case, the “Man of the House” could be described as a misconception or what my Betterhalf would term a great “snow-job” on her male spouse.
After many years of marriage, I totaled up my dominance throughout the marriage years only to discover my much believed dominance has finished second. Bluntly, “second” is interpreted as the same as “last.” The best example for my reasoning comes from the recollections of my sitting at the head of the dining room table at meal times with family members or guests. The Betterhalf always sat at the other end of the table. I have become aware the “head of the table” and the “end of the table” is a matter of interpretation.

The field is set for local elections in 2018 and the good news is that voters will have some decisions to make when they go to the polls in May and November.
The slate of candidates grew considerably in the final days before last week’s deadline, which is always an interesting wait-and-see process. There were no doubt many, many phone calls, emails and conversations over coffee in the last few weeks about who should throw their hat in the ring, knowing that it’s a huge step and commitment to write your name in as a candidate for public office.
Thank you to all who have offered your time and talent to serve!
Now that the filing deadline has come and gone, the campaign season has arrived, though several of the local races will not be decided until November. On that note, the News-Register offered a brief introduction to candidates in each of the contested races this week and will be getting more in depth with profiles before election day in May and November.

Hooray! It’s Feb. 28 and that means another “winter month” has passed and spring is just around the corner. We’re well-aware of those March snow storms, but at least the snow will melt a little quicker in March than in December.
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We’ve heard much about driverless cars. At one time there was research on a car going faster than the speed of light. There’s a report of a land record holder who had achieved around 800 mph. That’s still a long way to go because the speed of light is 7,680,000 mph.
One speed of light hopeful still is optimistic. With a speed of light vehicle he could sleep late and still get to work by 8 a.m. And traffic enforcement would be limited to police with PhD’s in quantum physics.
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Recently we assisted the Nebraska School Activities Association at the state wrestling tournament by helping verifying credentials to allow photographers to be on the arena floor during meet matches.