Columns

Last week we were walking through a day at our house. Come in and join us as we pick up where we left off.

Early October is a very busy time here at the Board of Elections office, as staff is managing several different tasks to prepare for Election Day. All voting equipment, including precinct based and early voting ballot scanners, ballot marking devices for voters with disabilities, and high-speed ballot scanners for mailed in ballots were thoroughly tested to verify that all ballots are being tabulated accurately. A test deck of marked ballots is run through each scanner and the results are uploaded into the tabulation software to ensure the votes are counted as marked. Later in October, the Board will conduct apublic test of voting equipment in three randomly chosen precincts, which will be repeated before each stage of the ballot counting process, another step in making sure the equipment is working properly. The public is invited to observe that test, which will take place during the board meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Since we’ve all pretty much decided to forget about COVID these days, we’re all feeling pretty safe when we step out the door.

October is in-your-face autumn!

Isn’t grief like a thunderstorm? There are those times the thunder rumbles until you stop your ears, and you are sure it’ll send everything else crashing in a split second. You have no vision of life with clear blue skies and what was once a haven of rest and dreams is only blackness with dark tornado clouds as far as you can see. When lightning strikes, there are only more dark rolling clouds that give you glimpses of the sky beyond.

This fall promises many things: the weather will get cooler and the days will get shorter, fall sports will be a hot topic for conversation, and politics will be on many people’s minds as the midterm election draws near.

We are back with another ‘Calling around Covington’ column, once again in ink on paper here in the pages of the Miami Valley Today. This Friday, Sept. 16, the ladies of the Covington Christian Church are hosting another monthly salad luncheon drive-thru. This is the second-to-last opportunity in 2022, and will take place from 11 a.m to 12:30 p.m., or until everything is gone. Enjoy their signature hot chicken salad with water chestnuts, along with a container of other various salads, and a third container brimming with delicious desserts.

That’s the thing about time. One minute you’re trying to figure out what to do about college and the next minute they’re holding your retirement party. What happened to all those years in between?

This election season we’ll hear a lot about the economy, inflation, product shortages, and labor shortages. We will also hear a lot about immigration in the context of border security, about the importance of stemming the flow of undocumented migrants, and about a southern border that is not protected properly. The recent tragedy in Texas leading to the deaths of 53 migrant men, women and children is evidence of this. Unfortunately, not many will see the link to a need for sensible employment-based immigration policies that can ensure an orderly flow of immigrants into the country while helping address our labor shortages — and yet they are very much linked.

The third part of this COVID trilogy is wearing a little thin.