Two events that are important for many people around the area are happening this weekend. This coming Friday, May 28, is New Prague High School’s graduation ceremony and on Monday, May 31, it is Memorial Day when we honor those veterans who gave all for our country.
As I was growing up Memorial Day didn’t seem to be observed as much, or it could have been, but my family didn’t attend the ceremonies. I remember going to one church service in the local cemetery. More often than not it was a weekend when my family gathered.

When I said it was going to be a noisy construction season I didn’t realize how right I was going to be. Nearly every day has had the sound of construction vehicles beeping as they back up, the loud crunch as concrete or asphalt breaks apart, the metallic boom and the slight echo as dump trucks drop their cargo or are loaded with concrete and the rocky clatter as gravel is deposited for the street. Of course since the streets are not finished there is dust.

A week ago on Wednesday, April 21, I went to Le Center to get my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. It went well and the only side effect I had was that my shoulder was a bit sore for a day where I received the inoculation.

There is a lot happening in New Prague, our state and everywhere else. A person needs only to look at the front page to see things that have happened and that are coming up this weekend.

More than once I’ve heard the saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” For those who want to get technical it is based on a Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse” that is originally, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men, Go oft awry.”
Awry is a good word for the last few days. Work on Main Street is still progressing, but for The Consignment Lodge and Downtown Sound, things are still up in the air as of press time as to when or how they will be able to reopen.

It’s started. The reconstruction of New Prague’s Main Street began on Monday, April 5, with quite a bit of noise as crews were out sawing street pavement in preparation for its removal. There was also a lot of banging and crashing as machines dug up that street pavement. It’s definitely going to be a loud summer.

I hope everyone will be able to celebrate Easter with either family or friends in some way this coming Sunday. It is the second year that the pandemic has affected how many of us celebrate the holiday.
Last year Easter was looking quite a bit different even from this year. There were still quite a bit of restrictions and more churches were holding electronic services or meeting in limited capacities. Many activities were cancelled due to the pandemic.

In about a week’s time, weather permitting, the second phase of work on New Prague’s Main Street will begin. This will be a spring and summer of reconstructing the street and replacing infrastructure underneath the street.
For me it affects not only where I work at The New Prague Times’ office, but also where I live. It’s no great secret that I live within walking distance of The Times’ office. There’s been jokes ranging from I may have to walk around the block to get around construction to using a zip line to get across the street.

This month marks one year that the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been changes in that year that has affected all of our lives from work to school to how we spend our free time. Thankfully there are now several vaccines that are helping us get back to more of a sense of normal.

Daylight saving time has returned, prompting many to celebrate with an eye toward warmer temps and the change of seasons. As if on cue, this is a great time as well to celebrate newspapers and the sunshine they deliver to all of our lives and communities.
Reminding citizens and public officials about the public’s right of access to government information is the focus of “Sunshine Week: It’s Your Right to Know,” March 14-20. At its foundation, Sunshine Week underscores preserving the free flow of information for an open, effective and accountable government.

Spring has sprung, at least in the meteorological sense. As of Monday, March 1, the sun will be out longer and the temperature will get warmer. Judging by the forecast that will definitely be true as temperatures will be in the 40s for most of the week and a prediction of the 50s for the weekend.

For many of us the end of this month is the time that the COVID-19 pandemic really started taking affect on our lives. Like many I had been hearing about the Coronavirus here and there in the news and then kept hearing more about it.

Let me begin this by saying I apologize if I came across as too flippant in last week’s piece. February is Black History Month and it is a time to take a deeper look at the inventions, accomplishments and contributions of our fellow Americans. For me personally there is journalist Ida B. Wells, who fought for civil rights both for women and Blacks.

It’s the first week of February and that means there are already reminders being sent out as to what is being observed this month. Perhaps the three most well known are Valentine’s Day, Black History Month and American Heart Month. Of course there are those observances that are likely not as well known.

Every once in a while some group, or for entertainment purposes, someone brings up how there are questions we should know the answers to.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I miss being able to actually go to a movie theater. To me there is almost this magic to the entire experience. From getting a popcorn and sitting in a darkened theater and just putting my entire attention on what is happening on this huge screen. Watching the images flash by and the reactions it creates for me and everyone around me.