Greetings, one and all, and welcome! Thanks much for joining me. There’s plenty of mail to ponder. Without further ado let’s check the mailbag. It’s time to hear from The Roiling Hundreds!

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n I would like to thank everyone for supporting the RCHS band and also for the great crowd that attended our end of band camp performance. We have a group of very talented students and they are a pleasure to work with. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the businesses, organizations/groups, school administration and individuals who helped the RCHS Roarin' Regiment purchase new uniforms. It is rewarding to be able to outfit the students in an updated uniform that reflects their hard work and dedication. I am very excited to see the progress that this group will make throughout the school year. It looks to be a great year!

n There's lots of rants, a couple of raves, but hardly any random thoughts, so here's one: Thanks to the stricter seatbelt law, I now feel much safer in my pickup truck. I am finding myself driving much more aggressively than I used to. After all, I'm much less likely to be killed while passing people going around the corner and speeding up and down Main Street while the road construction is going on. I'm so glad the new law has made it safer for me! (Here’s to hoping you’re being sarcastic. kg)

n I'm tired of people driving mach 1.5 then complaining about gas prices. These are probably the same people who can't use their turn signals, turn their headlights on when it's raining and foggy, and make their own turn lanes on a road when there isn't one there. (I’m with you on the speeding, turn lanes and turn signal issues, not so much on the headlights in the fog and rain thing. kg)

n Why is it that all we mainly hear about is the negative things that people have done or said. Why not talk about the positive things and the good things that people do. I'm tired of hearing all the negative comments. Let's hear more positive.

n The recent paint job on Main Street buildings looks so nice! It's such an improvement to that area of downtown. Hopefully other building owners will be able to give their buildings a facelift too! Great job!

n “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (Some very good advice. Thanks for sharing it. kg)

n I read in your intensely over-the-top and overly emotional story headlined "Indiana-PAW to the rescue" that a new home was found for a "7-year-old Pit Bull named Spot." I sincerely hope Spot doesn't chew some kid's face off. (As do I. kg)

n As a former courthouse employee, I can assure you the employees in most offices have plenty to keep them busy. In fact, some offices need more help, but the budget won't allow it. To the person who sent in the comment about courthouse employees doing nothing, you're probably the unpleasant person who makes the work day miserable at times. Working with the public is extremely difficult, and some people only make it worse.

n Sometimes you have to build for growth before it's present in order to get that growth. When will the people of this county understand that?

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Don’t forget to remember to write down your rants, raves, and/or random thoughts and to send them to me. You can do so via the U.S. Postal Service (Rushville Republican, Rants and Raves, P.O. Box 189, Rushville, IN 46173), fax (765-932-4358), e-mail (kevin.green@rushvillerepublican.com), through our Web site (www.rushvillerepublican.com – just “add a comment” to any posted story and it’s fair game), or just drop your legibly written comments off here at the office (306 N. Main Street, Rushville).

Until the next time, I’ll leave you with this:

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” — Lord Byron