Editor’s Column: Good deeds

When my daughter and husband and I were out cleaning up trash along Hwy. 13 two weeks ago I noted the tidy, well-manicured grounds around the eastern Town of Meeker entry sign and remarked on it.

I helped spearhead the project behind the design and installation of those signs and vaguely remember there being some angst between the town and the county regarding maintenance issues after the signs were in place.

I’ve since been informed that Powell Park resident Connie Kelly voluntarily does all the maintenance around the signs on both ends of town. Connie, here’s kudos to you for being the kind of citizen who makes living in a community better for everyone—residents and visitors alike. Thank you!

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Speaking of information… intel is only as good as its source. When we get information from trusted, verified, valid sources, we’re more than likely to run with the ball, so to speak, especially when that information arrives on a Wednesday just an hour or so before we go to print and it’s time-sensitive.

Running those late-hour submissions is a calculated risk. If we don’t run the info, we risk people being irritated because they missed out on a potentially important meeting or event. If we do run the info and it turns out to be less than exciting, we run the risk of irritating people who show up expecting fireworks and get a dud. Either way we risk irritating people. That’s the nature of the beast.

To all who took time out of your Monday to attend the meeting about Hwy. 13, thank you for showing up. I apologize if you were disappointed. Please know your random appearance at a public meeting that wasn’t publicly noticed (and should have been) is good for everyone. You get a gold star for being civic-minded and showing up. Showing up randomly to public meetings helps keep your elected officials on their toes by reminding them who they represent.

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Tomorrow is Flag Day, one of the most overlooked and ignored holidays on the American calendar. As my office view includes flagpoles at the courthouse and the post office in Meeker, I frequently find myself wondering why flags are at half-mast, or why one flag is up and one flag is down. In my attempt to locate info, I found a free smartphone app that has all kinds of flag-related info called “Flag Steward.”

If you ever see the flag at half-staff and ask, “Who died?” this app will answer that question.

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Happy Father’s Day to my husband, who set a stellar example to my children, and to my son Luke, celebrating his very first Father’s Day with my grandson Jackson, and to my son-in-law Chance with the four older grandbabies.

The saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” has changed in the last few generations… it might be the mother OR the father rocking that cradle now.

Whoever is rocking the cradle, be it parents or grandparents, fathers or mothers, we have a tremendous responsibility to the next generation to raise them with wisdom, knowledge, compassion and a hefty dose of critical thinking skills.

By Niki Turner | [email protected]