It is our hope that the end is near regarding the lawsuit against Unified School District 410 regarding its partnership with Tabor College to build a new football and track-and-field facility. On Monday, the suit went before District Court Judge Steven Hornbaker, who has been asked by USD 410 attorneys to pronounce a summary judgment against the suit. A summary judgment means the suit does not have enough legal merit to go to trial, and is dismissed.
We don’t claim to be legal experts, but from the start the suit filed by Raymond Brandt shortly after the June 2007 bond election seemed to us to be based more on petty personal prejudices against Tabor College than legitimate legal concerns. More bothersome, by defending itself against the suit, the school district has had to divert precious financial resources that otherwise could be used to educate our children.
Judge Hornbaker’s opinion is yet to be known. But it’s time to end this sad sideshow. —DR
Over the past three weeks or so, we’ve written about the best-kept secret in recent history, and now, with this issue, maybe the worst-kept secret in recent history. The common theme between the two secrets (technically, one secret and one non-secret): Great news for Hillsboro.
How a dozen or so people, for several months, kept an absolute lid on the sale of Hillsboro Community Medical Center assets and the promise of a new hospital is amazing to us. Almost more amazing than the deal itself.
Meanwhile, word of Wendy’s coming to town has been widely known for six months or more. (In good rumor-mill fashion, though, contrary stories were still bobbing to the surface in some circles even within the past month.) Because the buyers of the former McDonald’s building were not prepared to say anything “official” until recently, we had little choice but to cooperate.
The Supreme Court’s ruling last week establishing that every American has a constituional right to own a gun is hailed as a victory by gun advocates and as a step backward by gun opponents. Whatever legal wrangling lies ahead as the Court’s ruling is applied to specific gun laws now in place around the country, it seems to us that the ruling is neither victory nor backward. It’s simply a sad footnote on our violent culture.
Gun ownership is defended as the citizen’s protection against violence and lawlessness, and yet the ownership of guns only increases violence and lawlessness. Meanwhile, those who would ban guns seem to forget that doing so would disarm only the law-abiding citizen. Criminals will continue to bear arms, and the law-abiding are only made more vulnerable for the lack of protection.
The Court’s ruling hardly seems “landmark,” for it will have little impact on our safety in a culture where violence is a core value. —DR
Well-guarded negotiations suddenly became public last Wednesday with the announcement that the city of Hillsboro was selling the assets of Hillsboro Community Medical Center to HMC/CAH Consolidated Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hospital Management Consulting, based in Kansas City, Mo. HMC/CAH was formed specifically for the purpose of purchasing rural hospitals and then replacing the outdated hospitals with new, state-of-the-art facilities.
With the initial flush of surprise past, it’s tempting to adopt a more cautious “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” approach to the announcement. We have no reason not to believe that HMC/CAH will hold true to its commitment to operate a top-notch critical access hospital committed to meeting community needs—and make a profit doing it. It’s a young company, but city and hospital officials are confident they have done due diligence during the courting process.
If reality follows the plan, Hillsboro is indeed fortunate to be in this remarkable position for its health-care future. We will be cheering...and watching. —DR
Tornado tragedies in Chapman, Soldier and Manhattan last week remind us once more—as if we needed another reminder—how fragile life really is. All of us survive from one day to the next by God’s grace. Those of us still alive and safe, and with home and possessions intact, are no more worthy of our great fortune than the loss of those things indicate grievous shortcoming among the storm victims. It just happens.
For now we breathe a prayer of thanks, and keep an eye on the skies. More than that, we come to the aid of our neighbors who have not been as fortunate as we have been. We do it because we have compassion on those who hurt and grieve and need the help of others. And maybe because we know our day will come when we will require their help in our hour of need. —DR
