2008 Year in Review

Editorial

My entire family certainly enjoyed the fair this year. I have mentioned before how great of a fair this one is, and how much work goes into making it happen year after year. Thanks to all the people who invest their time, efforts and even money into making this a great place to go to the fair.

We attended the truck and tractor pull as usual. It was a very good show, and some great pieces of equipment were competing. It seems like every year, I end up talking to an older gentleman who is sitting near us. They usually speak first, and I always enjoy hearing what they have to say.

This year was no different, and this nice fellow had some great stories about when he was younger and was driving some of the old trucks and tractors like the ones competing. He even talked about run-in’s with the local constable at the small town where he lived back then. This really completes the fair experience for me. He was sure a nice guy and interesting to listen to. When he and his wife got up to leave, he had his hands kind of full because she was having some trouble getting around, and needed his help. They started walking away, and another guy who was sitting near them noticed that they had left their seat cushions. I wasn’t sure if they were coming back or not, so I caught up with them and asked them. They weren’t, so I ran back and fetched their cushions. No big deal for me, but he sure appreciated it. I was just glad I could help in such a small way.

We have a friend who competed in the stock class truck pull this year. He had some troubles prior to his run, and even a few problems during the run. But he did pretty well and seemed to have fun. We enjoyed watching, but remarked how it would be tough to get a truck all set up with no time runs or any sort of practice. Drag racing sure gives a lot of chances to get things sorted out. You better have your truck sorted out before a truck pull. Lots of fun though.

Our town lost an important and talented artist with Mae Domack’s passing last week. Our own Steve Siefken wrote about her in this issue. I didn’t know Mae personally, but Steve pretty much nailed it from what I did know of her.

The front page has an article about Congressman Don Manzullo’s visit to Morrison. One thing I like about his plan was that there was a short term and long term approach to it. We need that. I think opinions will vary on what we really need to do, but we really need to be working on solutions now.

Thanks for reading and contributing and supporting those who advertise with us. That is why we are here for you. Have a great weekend.

by Ben Wolf, Guest Columnist
August 23, 2008