We had a lovely Easter gift in the form of a refreshing rain. We had another gift in the form of the safe return of that captain on the Alabama who was rescued from the pirates.

I think our dislike of pirates and their form of cruelty comes from our Founding Fathers. They had to deal with Arab pirates almost immediately after we won our independence from England. Since we had no ships with which to defend ourselves we were forced to pay over one million dollars as ransom to them. As soon as we possibly could, we stopped the tribute/ransom and started to fight back. All in all, a wonderful Easter weekend!

The Alstons are back from their genealogical fact finding trip. Although they did not get to enter the original homestead, Thomas Lee said they were very pleased at the outcome of their trip. I believe he is putting something in the paper but I’m not sure.

The apricots have disappeared from my tree. I don’t know if the last cold spell took them away or whether they were going away by themselves. So Scott will not get any homegrown apricots.

My cousins Ruth and Glen had the best apricot tree. That is where Scott developed his love of that particular fruit. I guess he is doomed to disappointment again this year. I must say I am, too. There were dozens of blossoms on that silly tree; surely a few of them could have made fruit!

We bought some of those hanging tomato planters. Although we don’t think they will work, the kids had a blast putting them together. Hopefully they will grow better in town than we suspect they will grow here. I’m not having much luck with the tomatoes either. I guess I’ll have to talk to Maxine and Gladys. This person is not turning anything green, but I seem to have a real good hand at killing plants!

The first of the two town hall meetings took place Thursday. There is one more on the 23rd I believe. As far as meetings go I can’t say much about it. There were about 60 plus people in attendance. We were handed a pamphlet that had facts and figures about tax rates. Mr. Fowler and Mr. Winn presented the bond package. It is strictly for the retirement of the cafetorium debt. There are no classroom improvements, no sports perks, just cafetorium debt. This will put $58,000 back into the operating budget. The school has a healthy general fund that will allow the school to stay in business for a year, perhaps two if we get more students. The board and administration were clear that we cannot continue to operate at a deficit.

Although there were several statements made by citizens that indicated the depth of resentment a raise of taxes at this time caused, there were really no answers or alternative suggestions made to fix this problem. Hopefully the next meeting will produce some answers.

The school is making as many cuts as possible to reduce expenditures. Approximately $176,000 in salary cuts have been made to date with more items being reviewed by Mr. Winn, Mr. Fowler and the school board. Should you have specific questions that require bookkeeping answers it might be wise to contact the school in advance so that they can run the necessary programs to produce your answer.

Again, I’d like to get a poll going that asks everyone the same two questions. Why would you vote for it and why would you vote against it. If anyone would like to answer, just call my home phone and leave your two answers. I don’t need names.

Mary Cummings is at home under hospice care. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. The benefit for Sputnik Bush went well on Saturday. It was not the best of days as far as weather was concerned. I wore a heavy sweater, but it didn’t do one bit of good against that cold wind! I regret to say I did not make the wedding ceremony for Katie and Aaron McCoury. I understand it was a lovely ceremony. Best wishes to the new couple for a long and happy marriage. There was a service for Joe Bob Wells’ sister Darlene at Holt on Monday I believe. Donald Skelton asked for prayer for a gentleman called Dolpho? As a result of an accident he will be undergoing surgery on both legs. Please pray for him as he goes through this ordeal.

Church was full of family and friends on Sunday. I know that scenario was being played out all over the United States.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I give a hearty thanks to God and the Navy Seals that rescued that captive from the pirates. Please pray for our precious troops, our President and our wonderful country.