Opinions

It’s been a busy time at the Central City Elementary and Middle School libraries this summer and fall. Our previous reading program, Reading Counts, has been discontinued. In its place, we are implementing Accelerated Reader (AR). The goal of the Accelerated Reader Program is to motivate students to increase their reading and vocabulary comprehension and guide them to read independently. There is a proven link between strong reading skills and academic success; great readers make great students!

2023 continues to fly by and here we are in September. As I was looking at my calendar I noticed that September 12 is National Day of Encouragement. I know that, depending on the calendar you look at, you will find there is a day to celebrate almost anything! Anyway, “encouragement” is such a positive word and I started to think of how this might look in the chamber world. I guess we start with our membership. We have one membership category of just individuals who choose to support their community and chamber businesses through a chamber membership. I like to think of these members as those who encourage, provide the behind the scenes support, expertise and insight. Maybe they were business owners at one time or maybe they just know the importance of community and encouraging each other. This week we are thanking the following individual chamber members.

Early this month a longtime friend of mine was to celebrate her 70th birthday so I reached out with a text greeting. When there was no reply, I Googled her name. Sadly, I found it with her obituary published in a newspaper in another state. I called my friend’s brother who told me the story of a decades-long addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. He said the coroner had reported her death had happened days before, and that she had died at home… alone.

Another week, another Nebraska Cornhusker loss. I’ve determined the worst part about playing Husker games on a Thursday night is that it really puts the rest of a person’s week on a downward trajectory if you are a person like me anyway.

Loren Lippincott, District 34 Senator Exceptional USA While flying for Delta we would go in and out of San Diego, CA a lot. We would land and take off to the west due to the prevailing winds, but also for noise abatement (near idle power over downtown on approach).

Life is not as it once was. We are busier than we’ve ever been. It’s important to make time in your day to take care of yourself as well as your family. Here are some habits to develop to ensure you’re getting the most out of your body and improving your mental health.

The value of work Several years ago while flying at Delta I discovered the co-pilot I was flying with was a fellow farm boy, like me. Being in the cockpit with someone for 20-30 hours lends itself to a wide range of conversations. It was not until talking about our time on the farm that I came to realize something obvious - the value of work!

Welcome and let me fill you in on where we are at in creating this week’s newspaper. It is currently 10:51 pm on Tuesday night and I am in the office. I haven’t ate supper yet, but my desire to finish the final piece of this newspaper puzzle keeps me chugging along. Here are my quick thoughts on the week: *Today is the anniversary of the day that Whitney and I were married. We celebrated it today just as we did that day, we went to work. No, that was not a dirty joke.