Sendik's Food Market 60 Days Later...

I have yet to encounter a Sendik's associate who wasn't happy to be there and who wasn't happy to help me.

I have noted that the facility remains bright and cheery with a very clean floor, which I thought might be problematic given carpeting.  Winter will be a bigger challenge.  Shelves are always fully stocked; delicious samples are scattered throughout the store.

I don't know about you, but I am happy Sendik's selected Germantown as the site for one of their beautiful grocery facilities.

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Veterans Day 2008...

Remember that the 2008 Veterans Day ceremony will be held at the Veterans Memorial at the corner of Freistadt Road and Park Avenue on Sunday, November 9th at 10:30AM.  If you've not seen the memorial, it is worth your time.

A little history...

Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day when proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson for November 11, 1919 to celebrate all veterans of World War I.  It finally became known as Veterans Day on November 8, 1954 when Congress amended the act to change the name and to have the day honor all veterans who have served their country.  The President was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The American Legion will also conduct a flag disposal ceremony following the program so that you can properly dispose of any torn, tattered and/or faded American Flag you may have.

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County Supervisors Cut Property Tax Levy...

The supervisors agreed to take half of the county's sales tax revenue into the operating budget for 2009.

Unfortunately, this budget cuts the $35,000 for the County Convention and Visitors Bureau and cuts $15,000 from the Fair Park.  The Village of Germantown is working to assist the Convention and Visitors Bureau since it receives significant promotion from that organization and felt that the funding cut by the county would have consequences for the community and its merchants.

The county set a 2009 tax rate of $2.71 per $1,000 which is down about $0.10 per $1,000 from this year.

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SRO Officer In Schools...

I had the pleasure of meeting SRO Tim Miller during the Citizen Police Academy session this past Wednesday evening.  He gave us an overview of his duties in the schools and discussed the changes that have been brought about since this program was initiated.  "SRO" means School Resource Officer.  The SRO is a sworn officer and funding for this position is paid jointly by the school district and the police department on a 75%-25% ratio, respectively.

Our high school is a much quieter place of learning than before the initiation of this program several years ago.  Student fights seldom occur now; the SRO has formed relationships that help both students and administration.  And, students develop, I suspect, a much different view of police officers having had this experience.  The SRO is available for class instruction whenever the subject matter entails.  SRO Miller, in this case, can 'tell it like it is' during driver education and health classes, for example.

This strikes me as a very good use of taxpayer dollars that provides both a current payback as well as future benefits.

It is difficult, at best, to process information and understand whatever bias one might've injected.  There may be bias or it might be imagined.  The bias, if present, could be caused by the processor or it could have been injected into the process itself through the data gathering effort.

There is a certain tone, a certain something that seems to be going on in our fair community.  We have had political change, but it is hard to determine if that was a cause or an effect, or maybe a combination of those drivers.  We have an aging volunteer community that may foretell of more changes.  For example, will there cease to be a Mai Fest in a year or two or three given the fact that many of the organizers and behind-the-scenes drivers are getting almost too old to continue on their chosen pathways.

There are the rumors that one hears and there may or may not be truth, to whatever degree hindsight will prove, but those rumors have gained in intensity and show no signs of diminishing.  Again, that may be a bias that I've injected or that has been provided knowingly or unknowingly by the people involved in the process.

There is the sense that the school bonding issue, if brought back with no change, and if not thoroughly 'vetted' in public, will be a disaster.

There is the presidential race that will continue to confuse and confound us all until November.  There is the state senate race that will continue to elicit feelings, pro and con, about each candidate.  There is the assembly vacancy that will likely have candidates from both major parties, but that is yet to unfold.

My sense is that we are witnesses to something that will unfold over the course of months and, maybe, years.  I sense what some might refer to as a watershed.  But I have not been able to pin down anything of sufficient substance as of yet to begin to draw conclusions.  All I have are feelings and yet those are giving me the sense that there is something on our collective horizon that we'll look back on for years to come.

You know how the hairs on the back of your neck sort of stand up?  What do you think?