City reminders, road safety and notable local perspectives

Happy birthday to Brandon Davis, Betty Haley, Sandy Lee, Debbie Devenport, Madelyn Kiefer, Jenifer Brown, Jacob Smith, Gary Proffer, Mark Heisserer, Matt Peters, Brenda Anderson, Joan Hooker, Fran Wolfe, David Kluesner, John Schott, Mark Starnes, Aaron Fuller, Brent Parker, Mike Swain, Steve Montgomery, Kim Owens, Robin McKinley, Steve Duniphan, Stacey Starnes, Eva Golightly, Paul Friga, Amy Goetz, Annette Bridwell, Jennifer Cook, Catie Eichhorn, Gary Crowden, Scott Horman, Joshua Schilling, Mitchell Dirnberger, Sheila Hahn, Jessica Muka, Jessica Smith, Todd Wessel, Ron Moyers, Joshua Butcher, Shirley Sullinger, Alvie Surface and Dale Williams.

Happy anniversary to Loren and Catherine Elfrink, George and Jamie Holland, Kevin and Brenda Miller, Bud and Laura Schilling and Richard and Carolyn Waither.

Congratulations to Jack and Barbara Simpson, whose home on Black Avenue was selected as Chamber of Commerce Residence of the Month for August.

Weather winds down

The rain finally stopped, much to the relief of many. The farmers and gardeners couldn't harvest their crops, lawn mowing fell behind and ladies endured bad hair days.

Clipping clean up

City hall reminds residents and landscape companies to not blow grass clippings into the street or leave them at curbside. With everything the city is doing to clear culverts, please do your part by keeping yours well maintained and clear of debris.

Dangerous driving

At the recent city council meeting, a couple residing on Nunn Road spoke of the tragedy that happened in their front yard. The family dog was killed when a speeding car lost control and veered far enough into their yard to hit their dog. With her dog on a leash, the lady of the house was only a few feet away and easily could have been hit as well. The lady was unable to identify the driver, but this is a caution to all of you who use Nunn Road as a cut-through. We urge you to slow down and text later! The Chaffee police will be patrolling the stretch within the city limits and will ticket speeders and, hopefully, Sheriff Walter will set up patrol on the county end of the road. The paved road has become a real speedway for some.

In case Nunn Road is not familiar to some former residents, back in the day we referred to it as Crites Road because many of us drove to their farm to get fresh milk. It was also a road on which many of us learned to drive. As soon as we turned the corner onto the gravel, the driver in training would get behind the wheel.

Society event rescheduled

Due to inclement weather, the Chaffee Historical Society's "Evening in the Park" has been rescheduled for Sept. 17. The society's next meeting is at 10 a.m. Sept. 10.

Notable perspectives

We could do an entire column commenting on the timely columns in last Sunday's Southeast Missourian, especially in the Faith and Opinion sections. There was Mark Hopkins and the Olympics to remember; Ellen Shuck urging us to make a decision; and Robert Hurtgen's back-to-school column about the importance of making our days count (Psalm 90:12) and learning to count them during this most wonderful time of the year. Brother Tyler Tankersley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, reminds us of the Fourth Commandment: remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). There was a time when Sundays were all about church services, sit-down family dinners, reading the Sunday paper, rest and St. Louis Cardinals games. Stores were closed and a lawn mower seldom was heard. Now everyone is busy trying to catch up from the previous week and getting ready for the next.

Gary Rust wrote about the lesson by the late Hall of Fame Head Baseball Coach Scolinos and the theory of home plate's 17 inches. A valuable life lesson about the importance of moral boundaries and accountability. Scolinos' message struck a chord with Dallas Cowboys fans. During training camp, someone within the organization came up with the idea of putting "17" on their jerseys to remind players about personal accountability and responsibility. They even tried to get the NFL to put 17 on NFL apparel. We'll see how the 17 mindset works out for the Dallas Cowboys this year!

Final thoughts

Remember to tell those special people in your life that you love them -- those three words mean so very much and are so nice to hear.

Email your news to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the gold-winning female triathlete who eats dark chocolate after every meal, even breakfast.