Columns

June 24, 2023 is a day to celebrate the landmark Supreme Court overturning the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion. It is estimated that 40,000 Texas babies have been rescued from abortion in the last 12 months because new Texas laws provide protection for the most vulnerable, preborn citizens. But changed laws don’t equal changed hearts, or circumstance. No court can outlaw unplanned, unexpected, or complicated pregnancies which occur in more than 60 percent of all pregnancies. In an environment of such moral confusion, the role of pregnancy resource centers is even more critical.

During my coaching career I initiated drug testing student- athletes at Ft. Scott Community College and a 6A high school in Texas. Having our student-athletes drug tested received mixed reviews. Both times, this was new procedures for the institutions.

Van Zandt County may not have the latest and greatest voting equipment, but it does have one of the safest, most efficient, and most accurate voting systems in Texas. It may be old technology, but it works, and the voters can have confidence in the results.

I write a lot about my “little friends” at church, and I think the most rewarding connections I make with them are those that are hard-won. I patiently worked over a period of months to get one shy, red-headed boy of about three just to look at me – further interaction was impossible for him. The fact that his parents volunteer with me, helping our Children’s Pastor, meant that he and I were around each other a lot, and I was determined to break through.

Summer camps for athletes are in full swing.Although, school has recently let out for the summer, students are already off to sports camps. Sport camps are very advantageous for student-athletes.

Years ago, as elementary students at a tiny country school, our bus driver took us to school in his huge station wagon. That meant we kids got to talk with him for an entire hour – both ways. Good-natured and chatty, he would entertain us as he drove. True stories, gigantic whoppers, or funny gossip, it was all fair game to that man.

Relationships help bring connection and purpose to our lives. Having a strong network of family, friends or neighbors not only provides us with meaningful connections but can also help reduce social isolation that can lead to loneliness. It is imperative to focus on social wellness as much as physical health, and July provides the perfect opportunity during Social Wellness Month.

Last week I wrote about the new spring football leagues; XFL, USFL, and the IFA. When the International Football League (IFA) begins play next year then there will be traditional professional football year around. I also need to mention another professional football league, the Arena Football League. Although it is not the traditional game, it has become a viable game of professional football.

A House Committee that oversees the U.S. Postal Service May 31 received a statement from the National Newspaper Association and others in a broad coalition of mailing and package shipping groups that criticizes the twice-yearly postage increases implemented by USPS. The Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21), a group to which NNA has belonged since C21’s founding, issued a statement for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in response to a May oversight hearing in which only Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was invited to testify. C21 represents organizations that amass more than $1.6 trillion in annual sales from mailing-related activities, which amounts to about five percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product. The Postal Service’s Delivering for America plan has driven total increases in Periodicals postage of around 35 percent since January 2021. Any good news from the plan has been overshadowed, C21 told Congress, by “relentless, twice-yearly, postage rate increases endangering the Postal Service’s mail business and destructive to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers often considered the backbone of American employment.”

I would argue hiring great coaches is not a difficult task. I would say retaining them is another matter entirely. Have you ever heard winners win and losers lose? There is a lot of truth to this statement. When winning is consistent every year, I believe there are tools in place perpetuating the program. Community, administration, dedicated players, and competent energetic coaches are necessary tools. Programs losing consistently lack one or more of these.