On the Side| Brad Hicks

Red Oak Community School District voters did a wise thing last week when they approved the bond issue to build a new middle school and make improvements at other facilities, which reduces the overall building footprint. Reducing ongoing maintenance and operating costs is almost always a winner, and they almost always end up costing more in the long run. More than that, however, voters indicated their willingness to invest in something positive in their community, particularly if it is well-explained and they had a chance to participate.

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Hey, we had a pretty darned good fireworks show in Red Oak Saturday night. Kudos to the organizers and those who paid for it.

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Our community had a large law enforcement action last Thursday that resulted in a series of searches and subsequent drug arrests. We posted some of that to our Facebook page and the community offered some “attaboys” and “good jobs” for the operations. One person even indicated support for some more such activity. Just a couple of thoughts in the wake of all that: 1) People are innocent until proven guilty, and while being arrested is its own sort of punishment, the real test from here out is whether the guilty culprits will get punished or get their hands slapped. 2) Too often we look at people who are arrested as not being human, but these folks have friends and family and neighbors here, and some of them might have kids, all of whom are negatively affected. Remember that there are sometimes innocent victims, too. 3) Drug abuse is a scourge on our society, wasting people’s lives and potential productivity, and negatively affecting our schools and business community. We should always encourage our law enforcement when they do the job, and we should encourage the judicial process to support that work in every way possible. Arresting people is only part of the equation.

Contact Brad Hicks at publisher@redoakexpress.com.