Those two groups are those who have been or are in the service to America, be it in the Armed Forces, on a police/sheriff/fireman level, and mothers, who play such a major role in what each of us becomes.
Thankfully, we hear year-round about the gratitude we all feel toward our men and women in service to America.
But not enough is said about the importance of mothers and how major a role they play in the knowledge, behavior, fashion sense, social mores and humanity we all bring forth later in life.
Mothers seem to almost always be there when they are needed to lend a little support, tend to a minor cut or scrape, help lead us in the right direction, be it a homework assignment or needing to figure how to handle a particular problem while learning and growing up.
They hold us or our hands when we are frightened; they hold our hand to help cross an obstacle when we don’t know the simple way; they discipline us when we need it; they are there to comfort us when we are in pain; and it certainly seems like they know what to do before we know how to tackle a simple or tough decision.
We certainly owe them for carrying us for nine months and bringing us into this world.
Happy Mother’s Day mothers all over. Like the military, we all owe you thanks that can never be sufficient to the amount you do for us.
What are mothers worth?
The annual value of a mother’s work has risen more than $5,000 in the last two years, according to the Insure.com 2015 Mother’s Day Index. Mom’s work is now worth $65,284 per year, 9.1 percent above the $59,862 her work “earned” in 2013.
This year’s figure also marks a 3.7 percent increase over her 2014 value of $62,985. The Mother’s Day Index uses wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to estimate the financial value of a mother’s contributions to her household.
“Earnings for many of the tasks mothers are associated with, such as event planning and decorating the home, continue to grow and elevate Mom’s overall value,” said Penny Gusner, consumer analyst for Insure.com. “Only a few of the jobs mothers take on at home had their wages decrease this past year.”
Insure.com also asked 1,000 men and women what amount of money a mother should receive if she were paid for her work around the house. The majority, 57 percent, said she should make more than $50,000 annually. The other 43 percent said Mom should earn a salary of less than $50,000.
Here is the precise breakdown on how much respondents said mothers should get paid annually:
Nothing: 2 percent
Up to $10,000: 4 percent
$10,001-$25,000: 12 percent
$25,001-$50,000: 25 percent
$50,001-$75,000: 24 percent
$75,001-$100,000: 17 percent
$100,001-$200,000: 7 percent
Over $200,000: 9 percent
When I was a child and long before the high-tech electronics of today, “snow” was an ever-present sight when you would turn on the television. This was often true through the ‘50s and ‘60s and even into the early ‘70s when higher quality TVs were on the market and they had ironed out all, or at least most, of the kinks.
There was also the problem of having only ABC and CBS on TV back then. It was much later that my family’s household could get NBC as well.
But I digress.
As I sit back in my easy chair and peer out the window, I see a lot of “snow” that has already developed this past year over the Meeker School District. It just isn’t a clear picture no matter how hard you try to work at it or who you talk to.
Have the past several months all been a coincidence? I don’t think so.
I am under the impression that there has been a whole lot going on behind closed doors—on both sides of the MSD issue. And the picture just isn’t getting any clearer as yet.
I would put the sides into the pro-current-flow folks who have shaped what has taken place much of the past year. The pro-Mark Meyer and pro-Kim Ibach troops against the anti-current-flow folks who have been begging for change for more than a year. These are the pro-Dorsett and pro-teacher forces, who, by the way, don’t always agree with each other. These include those teachers who think Dr. Dorsett walks on water AND those who don’t want Dorsett to get any special deals or contracts.
Yes, I believe it all started with teacher Dr. Bob Dorsett and principal Dr. Kim Ibach getting crossways with each other. Ibach was the driving force for no special contract for Dorsett and Dorsett was the driving force behind trying to discredit Ibach on several fronts including the fact that she didn’t have a doctorate when she was hired as she said she did.
The snow gets much deeper and heavier when trying to simplify the problem. Dorsett and Ibach don’t like each other. It is kind of like in real life, the ace (Ibach) beats the king (Dorsett) because Ibach is the ruler at the high school and, it seems, the Meeker School Board and administration is backing her completely, if, perhaps, with snowy vision as well.
And along came Christmas.
Superintendent Meyer resigns, saying he wants to move back closer to his family. Understandable.
Then, Ibach resigns and appears to be headed to Wyoming, a kingdom she has been to before.
Then Meyer, who I believe has probably been kept up nights due to Ibach’s actions, wants to keep his job, which was either announced right before or possibly after the job was offered to the new superintendent.
It appears to be snowing harder now.
Then there are the rumors that Meyer wants to pick the new principal at the high school. There were the rumors that he wanted to pick the new superintendent and there are still rumors out there that yes, Superintendent Meyer committed the No. 1 faux pas when looking for a job and that is to resign from one job before you have another job lined up.
Then there is the rumor that Meyer is going to hire himself to fill a well-paid job within the district and that he may or may not have the approval of the new superintendent.
Another rumor is that Meyer wants to get all the open district jobs filled before the new superintendent gets on board and that the new superintendent, Chris Selle, is laying back and has given Meyer the blessing to do all the hiring so he won’t have to take the heat if problems continue and, in return, Meyer can go ahead and give himself that high-paying job in the the district.
I don’t know how much of what I read here is true. I have heard enough on both sides of every argument that I know for sure that the people who believe one thing are at least half wrong. No one could know for sure what is going on.
I am very happy about one thing for sure. I am happy that the new superintendent is from out of Rio Blanco County because I feel for certain that not a single person within the Meeker School District could come in here, unwind all of the garbage that has been wound over the past year, and still have the support of the teachers, administrators, etc.
The teachers have so clearly taken sides in their own little groups that there is little question who belongs to which group, stereotyped as the pro-Ibach folks and the pro-Dorsett folks, not to mention the pro-Meyer and anti-Ibach folks or the pro-Dorsett folks, who are anti-Meyer and anti-Ibach folks but still don’t want Dorsett to get his “special treatment contract.”
See what I mean about the snow? It’s tough to see clearly out there.
Clearly, new Superintendent Selle has his hands full as he arrives in Meeker.
He has to deal with teachers who don’t appear very happy with whatever has been done, he has to deal with a lot of parents who are very unhappy with what was done to Dr. Dorsett and who want him back at the high school or at least teaching the dual enrollment classes for MHS and Colorado Northwestern Community College.
He will have to placate the two most difficult groups to placate over such situations that have occurred, and that is parents and teachers.
He has to work with a board that has some members who appear to say one thing in one circle and do another at the board meetings, and I believe the majority of the board, especially a couple of the newest members, have lost a lot of credibility already.
Mr. Selle also has to deal with a board that doesn’t always follow approved procedures.
Mr. Selle will need to be tough, show no favorites, run a tight ship and make certain that the board follows the rules and does all this without alienating any major segment of the community.
And he has to do all this while staying within a very tight budget.
Good luck, Mr. Selle. Here’s to hoping you find smooth sailing and a long and satisfying relationship with Meeker and its residents.
