January 20. May 4. November 2.
All in 2010.
Those are the critical dates facing candidates in next year’s elections; the days when they can declare their candidacy, run in the primary election and, perhaps, run in the general election.

The conservative FOX news cable network has been getting as much mileage as possible from its never-on, always-off relationship with President Barack Obama.

Indiana schools Superintendent Tony Bennett has been courting controversy since he took the office in January. An enthusiastic cheerleader for charter schools, Bennett recently took the bold move of challenging Indiana’s teacher education curriculum. He claims he is only thinking of the schoolchildren, but he’s wrong here. In fact, his policy could be detrimental to children because underqualified personnel could be standing in front of the blackboard.

“Women and children first.”
That call has been intended since the mid-1800s to place chivalry above personal safety during rescue attempts.

Thumbs up: To the fifth annual Women in Philanthropy Luncheon that was held Friday at Anderson Country Club. Each year the Community Foundation organizers choose a female speaker who inspires the attendees to continue helping their community monetarily and through volunteerism. This year’s speaker was no exception.

Despite high unemployment. Despite lost wages. Despite devalued investments. Despite a harsh economy that has brought real suffering to the community.

The state’s evidence against Middletown’s Dr. Phillip Foley is startling: He wrote 96,000 prescriptions, a rate of 545 per week; he wrote 424 prescriptions for 141 patients in a single day; and nearly all prescriptions were for narcotics, stimulants and painkillers.

The great fear of issuing warnings is that those who need the warning won’t see it. Which brings us to Halloween.

In business, government, and basically any other arena, extremes generally have negative, unintended consequences. Take the case of Indiana’s welfare system. In late 2006, after concluding that inconsistencies and fraud riddled the Family and Social Services Administration, Gov. Daniels awarded IBM a $1.16 billion, 10-year contract to automate welfare applications and services.

Let the consumer decide. It’s a phrase we often repeat here when business issues collide with certain health or religious concerns.

Thumbs up: To the volunteers from Madison County who are helping out at the five-day build for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” in Miami County. They are among hundreds of volunteers who began construction on the Cowan-Brown family last Thursday at Bunker Hill.

Raise taxes or cut expenses – or both. Those are the hard decisions facing Madison County and Anderson City government. The city projects it will have a $3.5 million budget shortfall by the end of 2009, even after previously planned budget cuts. And the county projects a $3.8 million deficit.

It’s truly a new world in education. This week Anderson Community Schools invited students, parents, faculty and staff to fill out a questionnaire concerning what themes they would like to see available at individual schools.

More than 80 percent of 224 respondents to a recent online poll at theheraldbulletin.com said that trips to Asia by local economic development officials are not worth the expense to taxpayers.

The don’t ask, don’t tell policy has been a divisive aspect of military life since President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1993. President Barack Obama has vowed to do away with the policy, which still could take some time but needs to be done.

How do we best express the impact of the economic times to our children?

Thumbs up: To the organizers of the annual Madison County Health Check that was held Friday inside Mounds Mall. Dozens of local health organizations and departments within Madison County’s three hospitals set up information booths with a variety of brochures and tips for better health.

The finances in Madison County are in a precarious situation. The County Council must come up with a budget in the next 10 days, and the members are still looking for $3.8 million in cuts. Whatever happens the result will be painful, and the county will have to make do with less.

When the economy is in bad shape, government units often suffer too. The tax base dries up, and government has difficulty finding funding to support its staffing and other expenses.

Remy, as a part of General Motors and later on its own, has always had a foothold in Anderson, and it looks as if the company will continue to play a major economic role in Madison County.

Some hallmarks of successful educational programs are results, positive acceptance by students and parents, and the hope of expansion. Anderson Preparatory Academy seems to be garnering positive acceptance for its programs which are currently limited to sixth through ninth grades.

Indiana’s Open Door Law seeks to ensure that government decisions are made in full view of the public and to minimize the appearance of impropriety in such decisions.

Thumbs up: Rosetta Minnefield who was honored last week with the Madison County Bar Association’s annual Community Service Award. Minnefield currently serves as chairperson of the Madison Community Health Centers board of directors, but has served many, many area organizations over the years.

This is a big weekend for Anderson University. It’s homecoming. Alumni will be returning not only for the football game but many activities on campus. On Thursday, AU honored alumni. The list included some stellar graduates, including distinguished pianist Becky Archibald and recording artist Jon McLaughlin, winner of the Distinguished Young Alumni Award.