Opinion

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.

PANIC BUTTONS, LOCKED DOORS FOR TEXAS SCHOOLS Texas public schools would have to install panic buttons in classrooms and ensure all doors and windows are locked and monitored under new proposed safety standards released last week by the Texas Education Agency.

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis, (1890 –1958) American news reporter, author, and Peabody Award recipient. What comes to mind when someone says, “Veterans Day?” I think about many things.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.

DPS DIRECTOR SAYS HE WON’T RESIGN Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw is fending off calls for his resignation in light of his department’s handling of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last May, in which 19 students and two teachers died. However, McCraw said “every responding officer needs to be accountable for their actions,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.

BUSINESS LEADERS PREDICT DACA END WILL CAUSE CRISIS Dozens of business leaders, including several in Texas, are urging Congress to protect young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, warning that the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would exacerbate workforce shortages.

Early voting in the Nov. 8 general election begins Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. Applications for voting by mail must be received by Oct. 28, according to the secretary of state’s office. Texans are eligible to vote by mail if they are 65 or older; sick or disabled; are expected to give birth within three weeks of Election Day; will be absent from the county where they vote during early voting and on Election Day; or are in jail but otherwise eligible.

Dear Editor, City cemeteries in many places—Texas and elsewhere—have created effective and compassionate ways to enforce their versions of a “No Clutter Clause,” as it is so insensitively described in the Taylor City Cemetery’s “Rules for Beautification and Improvement.” From asking families to supplement perpetual- care funds, which every Taylor plot-owner is required to pay into already, by the way, to allowing church and community groups to organize volunteer cemetery clean-ups, cemeteries elsewhere are keeping things tidy without running roughshod over the bereaved. I likely am among many who have glossed over the “fine print” of the Taylor no-clutter clause while making funeral arrangements. When you’re in a state of shock, as we were after the sudden death in February of our dear friend, who would think to ask why neither a cross nor more than one set of flowers could be placed on her grave?

BY JASON HENNINGTON This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” — Wendy Mass, bestselling author of 29 novels for young people. Soft spots for certain things command a place in my heart.

Dear Editor, I feel compelled to write especially now as Ukraine was attacked so ruthlessly (last week) and that a madman is in charge of such a huge country where he can drop bombs on innocent people. Concurrently, here in the United States there is a madman who appears to rule over many and by that, I mean people who believe that our voting system has failed and are in denial that Joseph Biden is our true and elected president.

Flu season is underway, and health officials are urging Texans to get their vaccinations as soon as possible, since it takes about two weeks for the shot to take effect. “Because influenza can be a very serious disease, we recommend that all individuals aged 6 months and older get their flu vaccine every year,” said Dr. Jennifer Shuford, interim commissioner for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “The flu vaccines for the 2022-23 flu season have undergone substantial changes since last season, which will allow them to better protect against the flu viruses that are currently circulating,” she said.

It’s been more than two years since I received my last paycheck from a newspaper company. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to advocate for local newspapers that remain relevant to their communities. That advocacy keeps running into tiresome arguments that are as yellow as old faded newsprint. No matter what facts you use to extinguish them, they find a way to flare up later. During National Newspaper Week, consider the following collection of statements that numb the mind, along with a suggestion: When you encounter them, just turn the page, click to the next story, or call timeout to replenish the beverage. Don’t waste your time arguing.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Jason Hennington. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.