With Tuesday’s primary election behind us, the winners can express a sigh of relief. Those who ran but were defeated, still should be respected for standing up and being a part of the political process.
For others, whose races are not over, they have more work to do. They are faced with the difficult task of convincing voters they are the best person for the job and should be elected.

Issue: Key races up for grabs
Our Opinion: Voters in local, area and state races have the most impact and are the most important.

Voters throughout the Tri-County area have an important responsibility and privilege today. They can exercise their right to vote without fear of reprisal and they should take advantage of this golden opportunity.
 

It’s crunch time for area voters. There are a myriad of political contests on the primary election ballot. For Shawnee voters, there are none more important than the ones deciding two city commission races.
The city’s future is at stake. Citizens have an opportunity to continue the progress over the past few years and to allow the city to further work on improving the quality of life in Shawnee.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve seen it coming.
There is a Shawnee city election in nine days, so it’s time for the politics of destruction to crawl out of the shadows, start picking at scabs and try to find something that will get voters upset.

Oklahomans are growing weary of throwing more money at education while leaders refuse to look at ways to achieve real efficiency.
This past week Oklahoma’s Board of Education approved a $2.38 billion budget for the fiscal year which just began. Some of those board members are complaining that legislators abdicated their responsibility by not providing adequate funding and leaving the “dirty work” of cutting to the board.

Consolidation of state agencies should be a priority for next year’s Legislature. Lawmakers should begin looking at the methods to reorganize state government, making it leaner and much more efficient.
There were attempts at beginning the process this past session. Probably because it is an election year, though, the efforts didn’t muster enough support.

Shawnee’s Economic Development Foundation has agreed August is not the right time for an election seeking a sales tax increase to promote jobs and growth. We’re glad and we wholeheartedly agree.

Tecumseh High School has announced it Fourth Block 2009-2010 Honor Roll.

The education department at St. Gregory’s University will host a professional development workshop June 21-25 and June 28-30 for middle school math teachers.
 

Space is still available for children ages 6-11 in Shawnee and surrounding areas to participate in Camp RAWC, a fun-filled two-week wellness adventure hosted at Oklahoma Baptist University’s Recreation and Wellness Center.

Ensuring the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center and the Carter Hall juvenile detention center are sufficiently funded is critical. It’s a public safety issue.

A recent survey paid for by the Shawnee Economic Development Foundation indicates some support for an economic development tax in Shawnee. We agreee wholeheartedly on the need for more economic development funding, but the timing is not right.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recently recognized Sara Wilson, an Oklahoma Baptist University senior from Bethany, as a 2010 Nigh Academy Scholar.
 

Sad news came out of Oklahoma City this week when The Oklahoman announced it was eliminating 57 positions throughout its organization.
This is in addition to a layoff in 2008 that put about 150 people out of work. I have a lot of friends at The Oklahoman and I suffer with them as they endure the changes in their business.Whenever a metro newspaper announces layoffs or other bad news, I field questions about the News-Star and how we’re doing. A lot of people depend on us for their news and advertising and they wonder if we’re on solid ground. If larger papers are struggling, then surely we are, too.

Shawnee city staff and commissioners are facing some crucial decisions. Over the next few weeks, they must decide about furloughing some city employees, possibly closing city hall at least one day a week, and other measures to ensure the city remains solvent.

This is the day set aside for the women in our lives. Mother’s Day is a time to pay honor and respect and the one day in the year we set aside to try and do something a little special for them.

Openness is essential to government at all levels. During each session of the state legislature, some groups convince lawmakers to file bills attacking open records, attempting to impede and restrict the ability of a citizen to obtain what should be public information.
Senate Bill 1753 is one of the more contentious measures lawmakers and special interest groups have sparred over during the current session. The “date of birth” bill, as it has been described, was not brought up on the House floor late last week. According to Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, that means the this bill should be dead for the year.

Fifteen years ago, as inconceivable as it might have been, it happened.
At  9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995, a bomb ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds of others.
It’s still considered today as the worst single act of domestic terrorism committed in the United States. It was a senseless, horrendous crime and unbelievable that it had occurred in the downtown sector of Oklahoma’s capital city on a cool and sunny April morning.

Having a cleaner community is important. That’s the main reason Shawnee city commissioners should be willing to invest more in the solid waste contract options they are considering.
Commissioners plan to make a decision on a contract during their next regularly scheduled meeting. That is little more than a week away, Monday, April 19.

It’s now or never for an interchange on I-40 at Bryan Street. That is the decision awaiting Shawnee city commissioners Monday night when they consider a resolution reaffirming support for the feasibility study authorized nearly three years ago.