OUR VIEW: Week in review: The best and worst

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OUR VIEW

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CHEERS to discussions under way that may lead to the purchase of a new city fire truck. Mayor Ken Tracy has been saying that one of the city Fire Division’s trucks is ready to be retired, noting that it is all but held together with “baling wire and duct tape.” He’s exaggerating, of course — at least we hope he is — but his comments do provide credence and leadership during these discussions. A new truck won’t be cheap, probably as much as three-quarters of a million bucks. But if the current, 30-year-old truck is as rough as local officials say, we hope they move forward and pursue purchasing a new truck as soon as possible.

CHEERS to news that sales tax collections in Mitchell recently set all-time high marks. The city recently reported that sales-tax collections for April through June were up 8.6 percent, compared to the same period in 2011. During that span, the city collected $2,436,241, which broke the previous mark of $2.3 million. The extra 1 percent entertainment tax on lodgings, alcohol and prepared foods was up 7.39 percent during that time and also set a record. This tax revenue funds services for the people of Mitchell, so it’s good to see a healthy trend.

CHEERS to news that there evidently were no major problems associated with fireworks in and around Davison County. The Daily Republic did not hear of any significant fireworks-related blazes, and for that, we’re thankful. Fireworks are great fun when done properly, and it appears this year, they were — save for the usual litter, which we can all help clean up.

CHEERS to the Mitchell skate park and disc golf course. These facilities are found along the bike/walking path adjacent to Dry Run Creek and therefore generally are away from the public eye. But we tend to spend a bit of time on that bike/walking path and are here to tell you that both the skate park and the disc golf course are being heavily used this spring and summer. Too, we have seen nothing but good behavior from the folks that are using them. We know that skateboarders sometimes have a reputation for unruliness, but we have not seen that — at least not lately.

HISSES to the extreme heat of the past two weeks. The editorial board of The Daily Republic is relatively young, and because of that, we do not know much about life without air conditioning. After enduring the past two weeks, we wonder how mankind lived so long without electrically cooled breezes wafting through homes and places of work. We commend any and all readers who know what it was like to live in those decades long ago before air conditioning made summertime in the Dakotas so tolerable. Those folks are hearty, indeed, and deserve commendation for being so.

Tags: opinion, updates, editorials