The old trash bin

I couldn’t decide upon a good topic for this weeks column, so I am going to graze through my trash bin of thoughts and empty the following:

Local schools will open soon. I noticed on the R-5 calendar that the teachers have a workday set for today. Along with this schedule, families will be gearing up to purchase a host of needed items for their kids. School supplies and clothes top that list and the state of Missouri also holds a sales tax free period each August in anticipation of those acquisitions.

I continue to have mixed feelings about this early August starting period. I know that this schedule is permanent but it has been my position for the past couple of decades that the old school calendar was the best. In my era we never started classes until the Tuesday after Labor Day. Tonight NHS goes to a football jamboree and the first game is next Friday the 18th. In my time we didn’t start practice until the 15th of August. Thankfully, the weather is a bit cooler this summer; I am always fearful of heat related issues when football starts too early.

Opinions are the next item in my trash bin. I have been writing this weekly column for almost two decades. Each weekly essay appears in the opinion section of the paper. My discourse runs under the title I selected back in the 90s, “Pros and Cons.”

During that period of time, I have worked with several editors. These editors and Rust Communications, the chain that owns and operates this paper, have graciously allowed me to tell my stories. They have some basic guidelines but for the most part, I am free to offer my thoughts as I see fit. In recent times there has been a word that we often hear in the national news, “colluded.” That word is defined — “to act together through a secret understanding, especially with evil or harmful intent.”

Currently there is another term that we hear expressed regarding media of all types, “fake news!” I have endeavored to make sure that each and everything I put in my weekly column is accurate. My editors also check me for accuracy. It is the time honored tradition for any journalist that you follow this process of making sure what you write is the truth. When and if you make an error you are also required to correct it.

In regards to opinions, Rust Communications and the Nevada Daily Mail try to remain neutral when it comes to such areas as politics and religion. The paper does offer a “Letters to the Editor” section for those who wish to express a personal view but it is not intended for regular offerings on such subjects by individuals.

I am speaking my own personal view here and this is not in anyway the official position of the paper or the editors. Personally, I am glad that the paper does not try to deal with such overly contentious subjects. The old adage perhaps says it best, “stay away from religion and politics.”

Nevada Regional Medical Center occupies a regular worrisome spot on my concern list. All over the country small town hospitals are for want of a better term, “in serious trouble.” It is an issue for which, we, as a region, definitely need to try to find solutions.

I use the word region because this hospital serves all of our town and county. I was born in that hospital, have had my life saved in that hospital and hopefully I will leave this life with that hospital still in operation.

I addressed this issue in the past and feel that if we want to save this institution it is something we need to deal with at the local level. As I stated in a past article, local taxpayers do not pay direct taxes to support our hospital. It depends upon income from patients, insurance companies and government programs. The day is fast approaching when much of that government income might end.

In the recent past, Barton County passed a countywide sales tax in support of their hospital. I put the following question to you. How long do you think our community would survive without a hospital? What would a company like 3M do if their facility operated in a place that didn’t have a hospital? What about all our senior citizens who live here? Who would service the nursing homes we have in Nevada?

Like anything in life there is always a price tag. We can no longer expect to have our level of medical care available to us if we don’t try and make sure it has the funds needed to survive.

My final item concerns local charities. I was reminded of this when I read Jamie Vantellman’s Daily Mail article regarding the upcoming Vernon County Cancer Relief dinner/fundraiser. This annual event raises money for local cancer related costs that patients and families incur. It is a very worthy charity and I would remind everyone that it has no employees or salaries. Every penny raised goes directly to help people in need. Also, if you cannot attend the dinner, that does not mean you cannot contribute. Year round, the foundation accepts donations. They are often listed as a memorial charity when a family loses someone to this dreaded disease.

The NHS scholarship foundation is another worthy charity. There are very few communities that raise as much money as we do for our college bound students. Like a hospital, education and the funding for higher education are community necessities.

Our local newspaper is a vital part of our community. Unlike the modern day television cable news shows this paper does not try to take positions of influence where politics or religion are concerned. The day we as a community quit reading news because it doesn’t push an agenda is the day we loose freedom of the press!