CabinWindow: Thumbs

Some aesthetics. We had mixed thoughts when we took a look at the work underway on the northward extension of Salem Road in Conway. It is to connect with U.S. Highway 64. Instead of running straight through the ridge with a deep cut like Hogan Lane, the route evidently will be with gentle curves and angling up and across the ridge. At this point, our thinking is good, that the appearance will be more pleasing than the harsh faade on Hogan.

Listen to the people. Holland's City Council has rescinded its appointment of Jim Gabbard to fill out the mayoral term of Jason Donham, who resigned. A number of citizens became hot under the collar about this action recently and wanted input. All right, there will be an election rather than the appointment. You seldom go wrong in letting the public vote on a matter like this.

The timing is off. Major League Baseball is going to use instant replay. Good? Maybe yes, maybe no. Our objection is to the drastic change in tradition deep into a season. Why not do it after this year's play is over? Let everybody get the notion in mind and adjust to it. In the limited form of taking second looks at balls reaching the fence, it may be a plus. Calling balls and strikes and reversing an ump? Please, no.

An August day. Vilonia's Chamber of Commerce netted $509 by selling sno-cones during the recent Bargains Galore on 64 event. That's an annual; marathon garage sale along Highway 64 in much of Arkansas. Somebody picked a good activity for the C of C. Selling sno-cones on an Arkansas August day for shoppers just makes a whole lot of sense.

When is it too much? We are high school football fans, and late August means the games are upon us. But we've had weeks of something called 7-on-7. Then there are scrimmages. Benefit games. Black and Blue games or some such. Practice games. Remember the old days when high schools played 10 games starting the second weekend in September? And ending in November?

Check it out. A report by the Arkansas Secretary of State's office on that voting machine foul-up in the Linda Tyler-Terry Fiddler race says in a lot of words that the machines and their programming were not tested thoroughly enough before election day. The error happened. Learn from it and go ahead. Yes, and that means making sure things are working right in advance. Seems simple, but it is human to take short cuts, to slide around some chores.

Handle it gently. The outcome of the suitcase of old explosives at a Mayflower yard sale was fortunate for everyone. There was no explosion. Emergency crews were called before the sale started. It has occurred many, many times, this thing of military people bringing home things that go bang. We recall a neighbor who used an artillery projectile from World War I as a door stop. It was empty, inert, but why take a chance?

It could be worse. For late August, we are in pretty good shape weather-wise. True, temperatures have edged into the 90s this week but that's two digits, not three. We have had rain. Grass is green for the most part, not brown. Keep in mind, though, that we have three more weeks of summer. Watermelons, cantaloupes and peaches are still to be eaten.

"We were happy because this (election of a mayor at Holland) is what should have happened in the beginning. It should have been left up to the voting public because there was too much time left on the mayor's term. It was a very good decision." Diann Bryant, member of the Holland Taxpayers Association