This past Monday we were alerted to more snow arriving later in the week! Faith Lutheran had Lenten service on Wed. (March 8) and I was to bring one of the soups. The snow stayed away until Thursday. It was Faith Lutheran’s turn to do Meals on Wheels the week of March 6 and week of March 13. Saturday March 11 was the MMCRU Royal Scholarship Dinner. Well, it snowed on Saturday morning and off and on during the day. The Dinner was held at the Marcus Community Center as the parking at Marcus school area is a disaster!
Friday night the streets in Marcus looked like Saturday night in the ‘6o’s! Evidently people were bringing in their items to be sold on Saturday night to the Center. The Silent Auction items (those you placed a bid and could raise a bid on someone’s if you wanted it) were on the north side of the Center. There were tables set up for eating and a slide show of Class of 2023 was shown on the south wall. Live Auction items were on the stage and would be auctioned off by Colt Berger at 7 p.m.
I have no idea what the Silent Auction items went for but I am thankful for my secretary (Steve) who recorded what he could of the Live Auctions. It was a profitable night and the Class of 2023 is thankful for those who came and those who brought items to be sold and to those who purchased them.
The Class of 2023 brought us our food. The Cherokee County Cattlemen donated toward the meat and grilled it. Menu was Steak Sandwiches, Cheesy Potatoes, Lettuce Salad, and Oreo Fluff. While we were eating, the Speech Class was giving their performances.
At the end of the evening, the names for the Cash drawing were drawn and I did not hear the name of the $500 winner but was told it was Jake Wetter’s father-in-law. When I went to find his name, the crowd was so many that I couldn’t get to a person to find his name.
This Sunday (March 12) we “spring ahead” for Daylight Saving Time. My stomach will not be used to this time for some time to come! Maybe that is why some people gain weight as they are not used to the time and eat at odd times and often!
We had two Pop Concerts in Remsen—Band Pops Concert on Tuesday night and Choral Pops Concert on Thursday night. These kids have talent and I hope they are able to keep it when they go on to High School. Too many of them have no encouragement from home. I have seen where, as soon as their child is done playing/singing, the family leaves. Until Mr. Moore (past band instructor) said at each concert, “Unless it is absolutely necessary to leave, please don’t do so as it disrupts the program.” (I have been to enough concerts where judges are. There is positively NO coming in or leaving once the door is shut. Can you see how disrupting this would be?)
We have Meals on Wheels for six times in two weeks. Zachary drives and I deliver! These people that get the meals are so grateful for them. (The one meal that they are not getting is liver as it is on a Thursday. You either like liver or not! I happen to like it!)
There is a City Council meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. Taxes will be up or not, but there is a Public Hearing where people can come and complain or whatever. By the time you get this paper, the meeting will have already settled the tax matter. I know Sioux City is larger, but they always have people attending their meetings. (Maybe if refreshments were served, people would come!) If you read about gatherings or meetings in the past, there was always something served and people came!
I came downstairs early Sunday morning (after changing the clocks) and looking out the south window, I saw “red” in the upstairs window of the house across the street (where Wayne Sanow used to live). I stood there and watched if it moved or was a light. It really was something I was concerned about and would have done something if it had moved—like a fire. An hour later it was still in place so it must have been a light.
Now there are officials in Iowa that are concerned about students that are not being tested in the school they are going to. Parents should be concerned how their child is compared to the “whole” of students that age. It seems that reading is where they are lacking. If you cannot read or comprehend what is there, how can you excel in anything?
I read where a bill in an Iowa Senate committee would create a new state web-site to publish public notices and eliminate a long-standing requirement for cities, schools and others to publish notices in newspapers. They are saying that there are thousands of public notices that get posted every year and those local entities are paying thousands of dollars to print them in newspapers. The committee says that this would save taxpayers between $8 and $12 million. The state would charge a $5 fee for each public notice posted to the proposed web-site. Could this be to compensate taking taxpayers’ money out for private schools? All this that is going on seems to be more political than practical. Those pushing evidently want your vote when it is necessary. I don’t know for sure what relationship Pat Grassley is to Chuck Grassley, but he certainly isn’t following in the elder’s footsteps. If these are taken out of newspapers, just how many people are going to go to or have access to a web-site to find out information? Newspapers depend on these and at least we have some idea what is going to go on as far as a Public Hearing at a meeting. Maybe owners of newspapers should get together and go down to Des Moines—that is how some of these controversy bills were passed because people stormed the capital for what they wanted!
It was said that newspapers should not just be used to publish public notices but to more or less inform people of what their community is doing. People are not telling all of what is going on for private reasons (they say). So how long is a newspaper going to continue with not much information? Even meetings don’t say exactly what is happening. Some city meetings use one vote for a number of items and not mention anything about any one item. If taxes are going up, how much going up? Not just a vote that says they are going up.
Someone wrote the S.C. Journal that they see the police in S.C. is supposed to be getting a tank but it really is an armored car for $250,000. He wanted to know how this armored car would be used—to help with transients sleeping in the lobbies and stairwells of downtown apartments? How many speeders will it catch? Or—will it be used in parades? He feels there is better use for the $250,000 and it could be for other equipment that could find better use than for this armored car.
All this free money has to be coming to an end soon. It would seem that before this free money was offered, some of these expensive items were not even thought about because there was no money.
Jennifer and Scott are in Houston again. Scott sent a message to church that another spot has been found on Jennifer. So far, these outbreaks have been close to the original one and have not traveled to any other part of her but her leg. Please pray for her and count your blessings that it isn’t you.
Remember in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost friends/loved ones to death and how their lives have changed, have a health problem some of which is terminal; are struggling to make ends meet even though they have a job; help those who desire “wants” rather than needs that prestige isn’t everything; and be with those who are still trying to shorten the distance between family/friends to build a bridge instead of a wall. Count your blessings.
I will close with this message: Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; and Today is a Gift.