It doesn’t take long to get behind. I was gone a few days the end of last week and it will take a month to get caught up.

I spent the weekend in Kansas City coordinating the 59th annual convention of the 99th Infantry Division Association. This group of World War II veterans is a resilient bunch. They kept busy from early in the morning until late at night with tours, programs, concerts, receptions, and banquets. There were about 260 people at this year’s convention — a drastic drop from last year in Washington, D.C., when 650 attended. It’s a stark reminder that the number of World War II veterans is decreasing daily.

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School begins this week.. It seems like we were just attending graduation ceremonies and now we’re gearing up for another school year.

It goes without saying, but watch out for youngsters crossing streets and riding bicycles. They are excited and they aren’t watching for traffic.

With the beginning of school comes the beginning of the fall sports season. While athletes are practicing their skills it’s a good time to remind fans to practice good sportsmanship. Our student-athletes represent our schools and our community. Let’s show them the respect they deserve by being enthusiastic but courteous fans.

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It sounds like the Marion City Council will be going ahead with plans to ban female cottonwood trees. As a reader comments in the Your Turn section this week, doesn’t the council have more important issues to worry about?

I hope they don’t take this too far — pretty soon they may prohibit pink houses or blue cars.

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We’re a few weeks into the redesign of the Marion County Record and other Hoch newspapers. We’re still learning the ropes with the new computer programs but we hope readers like the new look. If readers deem it an improvement then it will be worth all the blood, sweat and tears of the past few weeks.

— DONNA BERNHARDT