The bands from Marion and Hillsboro high schools proved Friday night that their respective communities can indeed make harmonious music together. Orchestrated by directors Adam Johnson of MHS and Gregg Walker of HHS, the two bands performed during the halftime of the Marion-Hillsboro football game.
The symbolism was striking, particularly in the context of a high-tension matchup between the schools’ respective football teams.
At some levels, Marion and Hillsboro may always be in competition with each other. It’s natural to want your hometown to be the best it can be, and even to be better than the community down the road. But even so, those natural inclinations don’t have to keep us butting heads. We can determine to pick up our instruments, stand side by side with players from the neighboring town and contribute our talents to the common goal of a unified, harmonious future.
A unified band sounds richer and fuller than either one does on its own. —DR
I never expected to hear the words, “you have cancer.” Not in a million years. But I heard them on Sept. 11—and that it was prostate cancer in the early stages and would be curable with surgery.
I can’t decide whether it should be comforting or stressful. I’m talking about the little clock on the bottom right side of my computer monitor, which has been serving me—informing me of the time without hesitation—for several years.
However, less than two weeks ago, it suddenly fell an hour behind. It now reads 10:42 p.m., instead of the correct, and preferable, 11:42 p.m. that it is.
A recent renewed call for merging the Marion and Hillsboro hospitals is a topic worth pursuing. But it also highlights the larger issue facing Marion County: We need more people. Right now, we have too few to pay for some of the major projects we feel would benefit us in the long run.
It’s a vicious circle. We want new and progressive projects so more people are enticed to make their home in Marion County. But the tax revenue required to pay for these public project requires a higher tax rate. At some point that makes Marion County a less inviting destination for potential residents and homeowners, and may even encourage the departure of the ones who already live here.
We work at a variety of levels to bring in new jobs that, in theory, will attract new people. But potential employers hesitate to locate here because we have a shortage of available workers.
How do we begin to turn that circle in a positive direction? In a perfect world, the answer would be clear and attainable. Right now, though, we see through the glass darkly. At times we’re not sure what the right questions are, much less the right answers. But they lie somewhere beyond provincial self-interest. —DR
Lately we’ve become the house of information at the Free Press. I’m not complaining, as we take it as a compliment that folks think we know what is going on everywhere and where to find almost anything in these parts.
It’s also a welcome switch from people telling me where to go.
Opinion 
