BrandonInfo.com

Recently in another thread, we started discussing morality and who is responsible for making sure people keep their ethics intact.

More specifically, we were discussing whether government should dictate good behavior. Take helmet laws, for example. Some people say that motorcycle riders always should wear their helmets, and if they don’t, the government should make them. Other people say that it should be each person’s choice whether to wear a helmet or not.

This same debate applies to many of the topics of recent legislation, from smoking in restaurants to abortion to same-sex marriages.

If most people agree that something is bad, does there need to be a law against it? Or can we all just assume no one will do it because it is bad? I suspect we all pretty much agree that murder is bad, and yet we have laws against murder.

At what point, though, do we say that even though something is bad, the government should let people alone about it? Under what circumstances should that happen? And if government doesn’t force people to be good on certain things, who will?

I know already that there are no clear answers to these questions, but it is a topic that could generate some good discussion.

If you live in the Eagle Creek or The Bluffs additions, do you have to wait a long time to turn onto Holly Boulevard on your way to work in the morning? Making that left turn onto Holly could be difficult with 800 cars heading west at the same time. Coming home later in the day might be easier, though, as east-bound cars don’t have to cross traffic to make the right-hand turn into the developments.

The city is having a study done to see how to best improve traffic flow on Holly Boulevard. Do you have any ideas? The proposed plan calls for two driving lanes and a center turning lane, and possibly a stoplight at Holly and Heritage Road. You may want to attend a public input meeting Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Brandon’s City Council chambers.

Let’s start sharing ideas now, though. A center turn lane might do the trick, especially if there is a light there that has a left-turn arrow. What do you think?

Brandon has been named South Dakota’s Community of the Year for the second time. The governor announced the award on Wednesday. The first time Brandon won the award was in 2005.

A combined total of nearly $42 million of capital investment, which created 235 new jobs in Brandon last year, was the main reason for this year’s award. The more business there is in town, the more people who both live and work right in Brandon. I have been one of those. Even now, I spend part of my work week in Brandon, where I live. It’s convenient. I like it. Do you both live and work in Brandon?
Obviously, Brandon can’t add that many jobs every year, but the city and economic development people continually try to entice more business and industry to locate in Brandon.

How do you feel about Brandon being Community of the Year? Has Brandon won so many awards that it’s all ho-hum by now, or are you proud of the city and its accomplishments?

I have lived in Brandon since 1964, except for a couple years in the mid-1970s when I moved to Sioux Falls. Even then, I came back to Brandon to work. Brandon is very different now than it was when I was young, but it’s still my hometown and I don’t want to live anywhere else.

How do you feel about the city?

Mindy Hansen will be the new Ward II council person, after defeating incumbent Harry Buck in yesterday’s city election. Are you happy with the election results?

What advice do you have for Mindy as she begins her term on the council?

The city council is considering limiting the number of video lottery establishments in the city.

Currently, the city has 111 machines in 13 establishments. That’s one machine for every 72 residents.

Where will it stop? Will we eventually each have our own designated machine?
Some people might think we have too many machines already and would like a limit on how many are in the city. But if that’s true, should the city council regulate it, or should we rely on the law of supply and demand to find a natural cap to the number of machines?

Spring weather has finally gotten here, just in time for Easter. Happy Easter to all in the Brandon area.

For Christians, Easter is a meaningul religious day. For all, it can be a time for getting together with family, games, Easter egg hunts and joy.

Happy Easter

An opening at the Brandon Police Department generated 108 applications, Chief Dave Kull told the city council this week. Officer Kyleena Roe resigned from the department last month to accept a position in Mitchell.

It’s possible young officers consider Brandon as a stepping stone to a job in a bigger department, where they have the possibility of higher pay and more chance of advancement. Do you think that is the case?

Do you think the city should take a person’s hometown/roots into consideration when searching for a new employee? A benefit is the hometown boy or girl might stay on the job longer. Can you think of any other possible benefits? What might be the down side, if any?

Will you go to church on Easter Sunday? If so, will you dress up? When I was a girl, I always got a new dress for Easter. And gloves and a hat, too. Easter hats were a big deal back then. It seems like nobody wears them these days except the Red Hat ladies.

I have a hat this year, and I’m looking forward to wearing it. No gloves, though. I wonder how many other people at church this coming Sunday morning will be dressed up. On most Sunday mornings, it’s not unusual at all to see people wearing jeans, T-shirts and flip flops. Many people would say that the clothes you are wearing doesn’t affect the quality of your worship. It might even enhance it, if you are physically comfortable in what you are wearing.

Others might argue that dressing up puts you in the mood of being somewhere special, and that might put you in a better frame of mind for worship. And since Easter is a very special day for Christians, it warrants very special clothes.

What do you think?

Word is that people against the smoking ban are getting up a petition to bring the issue to a public vote in the next general election, which is November 2010. How do you feel about this?

District 10 legislators explained recently that as things sit right now, the ban already is in effect but will not start being enforced until July 1. If a petition comes in by June 30, the ban still would be in effect but wouldn’t be enforced. In November 2010, if the election upholds the ban, it would start being enforced immediately. If the election overturns the ban, legislators could take up the issue again during the 2011 state Legislature..

If you are asked to sign a petition, will you? It’s possible that even people who are in favor of the ban might want the opportunity to personally cast their vote against smoking in South Dakota’s restaurants. People who are against the ban probably will want the issue to come to a vote. Even if they think a ban is inevitable, they may figure that by bringing the issue to a vote, they can delay enforcement nearly two years.

There is another thread on this blog that discusses whether people agree with the ban or not. It has 59 comments on it already, and we welcome more. Let’s keep this thread specifically about a possible public vote, and continue to talk about the the ban itself on the other thread.

Thank you.

Some people say that paper newspapers will soon be replaced by online news”papers.” Someone at the Argus newsroom (we call it the information center) put a cartoon up on the bulletin board by the water fountain. It shows a guy saying, “I’m going to the bathroom and I’m taking the newspaper with me.” He’s carrying a monitor and a keyboard. It’s true. There are places it might not be convenient to carry a computer.

I’ve read newspapers on paper and online, and I still prefer holding a newspaper in my hands. I can have a cup of coffee while I read. Even though I drink coffee while I compute as well, I know it’s not always a good idea to have food or beverage around computers. (I learned that the hard way when a soda pop spilled on my keyboard.)

On the other hand, it’s really nice to be able to keep up on hometown news while I travel, and an online newspaper fits that bill just fine.

Are you exclusively an online reader of news? If so, what do you see as the advantages? Or maybe you are a traditionalist who likes the touch of a newspaper. If so, what would it take for you to read online? Or do you even want to?

What are your thoughts about the future of how news is presented?