Just Musing: Election thoughts, a chalk artist and a school safety reminder

All of America had their eyes on Ohio during our special election this past Tuesday. There was one issue on the ballot and that was whether to make a change to the state’s constitution. Millions of dollars was poured into the state for advertising ? a record dollar amount according to several Ohio television sources.

I purposely waited until Wednesday of this week before writing this column which had so much interest in other states. Voters turned it down. The unofficial count was 57% no and 43% yes. I’ve never been one to make comments on political issues but have stated many times when encouraging folks to vote that, yes, one vote can and has made a difference. According to Tuesday’s election that statement still stands.

By the way, this special election also resulted in larger numbers of voters for special elections in several years and surpassed the 30% margin of eligible voters according to election reports.

In the past few years, I have voted early but never really felt like I was part of the decision by not waiting until Election Day.

This time I decided to wait until Election Day. I went to Bible study at 9 a.m. as I do every Tuesday, then went immediately to the Board of Elections to vote. My original plan was to park in the drug store parking lot across the street from the Board of Elections. A quick drive through there changed that plan. I went back out on the street, down a couple of blocks to a traffic light, made a right turn and made a turn around in a new friend's driveway and back to look for something on the other side of the street.

I lucked out. A big truck was backing out. I waited for them then took that spot ? four parking spaces from the BOE. I thought I had hit the jackpot until I walked down to get in line and found it around the corner of the building and nearly to the next street a block over. As I walked by folks to get in line, I heard various comments — pro and con — about my entire county having to vote only at the BOE for this election. Having been in the newspaper business 37 years before I retired, I had my own thoughts about this situation.

At least you are not sitting outside the BOE at 1 a.m. waiting for final results from one precinct that had more problems tallying votes than Carter has little liver pills I mused to myself.

In reality, the wait was not that long given the number of folks in line. I was registering 50 minutes later, which took longer than it did for me to mark my ballot, then run the ballot through the scanner which confirmed the vote was counted. Patriotic duty and responsibility completed.

I received an email from Linda Ruehrmund asking for help in letting folks in the Marion area know about several opportunities to see and hear chalk artist Elva Hurst share her inspiration, patriotism and dedication telling a story while drawing with fluorescent chalk. Hurst is sharing at noon today (Sunday) at St. John Lutheran Church in Cardington, 7 p.m. tonight at Cornerstone Alliance Church; 2 p.m. Monday at American Legion in Cardington and at 7 p.m. in the May Pavilion at the Palace Theatre; 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Chadwick Place and the final presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jenera. I remember attending several of these back in the late 1980s and early '90s and was fascinated watching it come to life on the chalkboard as the artist told the story.

As we approach the beginning of the school year, may I remind drivers to be on the lookout for excited children as they may see a longtime friend they haven’t seen since last school year, forgetting about safety and dash out in the street in front of you. Also, those big yellow pieces of machinery you see on highways and streets carry very valuable cargo — our precious children.

They are called school buses and have a big red arm that says STOP as they approach a bus stop to pick up or let off students. This means drivers are to come to a complete stop approaching or driving behind a bus. You may want to consider leaving for work 10 minutes earlier if you find making these stops frustrating.

Speaking of school, my 5-year-old great-grandson FaceTimed me and told me all about school shopping and seeing his classroom. He had gone to a private school last year so this is his first experience in a public school, which also means no uniforms this year. He was pretty happy to be able to wear his Under Armour and Nike shorts and shirts.

Let me leave you with this quotation by Oprah Winfrey: “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.”

Good luck to students and teachers. May you all have a great year.

Until next week, be safe and be kind.

Brenda Donegan is a former Marion Star staffer. She may be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: An Ohio election tale, chalk artist Elva Hurst and a new school year