Last week and this week are busy for news and other events. Paging through The Times people can see there was a visit by the Deputy Consul General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, the Home Run Derby, the Henderson Tractor Ride and there’s going to be festivals again after the pandemic put most on pause last year.
Last week I also took time to see Generations Theatre’s production of “Blame it on the Movies.” It was nice to be able to go in and see a live production with singing and dancing. It was something I didn’t see a lot of during the last year.

This Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day, when dads across the country and the world will celebrate with their families. For some it’s a big get together with their children and grandchildren in a park or at their houses, others will have small gatherings with an aged parent.
Over the years with some of the friends I’ve made I found out how sometimes a father isn’t part of their children’s lives.

We are definitely in one of the first heat waves of the summer with the weather forecasted to be in the 90s and the upper 80s for the rest of the week. It brings up the old question, which affects things more the heat or the humidity?

Here we are, a week where the temperatures are forecasted to give us a taste of what summer is about. This week the forecast calls for temps in the high 70s at the least, if not in the 80s and 90s. It’s the type of weather that many people want or look forward to during the colder days of winter.
I’ll admit I do enjoy the sun and warmer temperatures, mainly because it means I don’t have to worry about throwing on extra layers of clothing or at least a jacket just to go outside to check the mail when it’s sub zero temps outside.

Two events that are important for many people around the area are happening this weekend. This coming Friday, May 28, is New Prague High School’s graduation ceremony and on Monday, May 31, it is Memorial Day when we honor those veterans who gave all for our country.
As I was growing up Memorial Day didn’t seem to be observed as much, or it could have been, but my family didn’t attend the ceremonies. I remember going to one church service in the local cemetery. More often than not it was a weekend when my family gathered.

When I said it was going to be a noisy construction season I didn’t realize how right I was going to be. Nearly every day has had the sound of construction vehicles beeping as they back up, the loud crunch as concrete or asphalt breaks apart, the metallic boom and the slight echo as dump trucks drop their cargo or are loaded with concrete and the rocky clatter as gravel is deposited for the street. Of course since the streets are not finished there is dust.

A week ago on Wednesday, April 21, I went to Le Center to get my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. It went well and the only side effect I had was that my shoulder was a bit sore for a day where I received the inoculation.

There is a lot happening in New Prague, our state and everywhere else. A person needs only to look at the front page to see things that have happened and that are coming up this weekend.

More than once I’ve heard the saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” For those who want to get technical it is based on a Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse” that is originally, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men, Go oft awry.”
Awry is a good word for the last few days. Work on Main Street is still progressing, but for The Consignment Lodge and Downtown Sound, things are still up in the air as of press time as to when or how they will be able to reopen.

It’s started. The reconstruction of New Prague’s Main Street began on Monday, April 5, with quite a bit of noise as crews were out sawing street pavement in preparation for its removal. There was also a lot of banging and crashing as machines dug up that street pavement. It’s definitely going to be a loud summer.

I hope everyone will be able to celebrate Easter with either family or friends in some way this coming Sunday. It is the second year that the pandemic has affected how many of us celebrate the holiday.
Last year Easter was looking quite a bit different even from this year. There were still quite a bit of restrictions and more churches were holding electronic services or meeting in limited capacities. Many activities were cancelled due to the pandemic.

In about a week’s time, weather permitting, the second phase of work on New Prague’s Main Street will begin. This will be a spring and summer of reconstructing the street and replacing infrastructure underneath the street.
For me it affects not only where I work at The New Prague Times’ office, but also where I live. It’s no great secret that I live within walking distance of The Times’ office. There’s been jokes ranging from I may have to walk around the block to get around construction to using a zip line to get across the street.

This month marks one year that the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been changes in that year that has affected all of our lives from work to school to how we spend our free time. Thankfully there are now several vaccines that are helping us get back to more of a sense of normal.

Daylight saving time has returned, prompting many to celebrate with an eye toward warmer temps and the change of seasons. As if on cue, this is a great time as well to celebrate newspapers and the sunshine they deliver to all of our lives and communities.
Reminding citizens and public officials about the public’s right of access to government information is the focus of “Sunshine Week: It’s Your Right to Know,” March 14-20. At its foundation, Sunshine Week underscores preserving the free flow of information for an open, effective and accountable government.

Spring has sprung, at least in the meteorological sense. As of Monday, March 1, the sun will be out longer and the temperature will get warmer. Judging by the forecast that will definitely be true as temperatures will be in the 40s for most of the week and a prediction of the 50s for the weekend.

For many of us the end of this month is the time that the COVID-19 pandemic really started taking affect on our lives. Like many I had been hearing about the Coronavirus here and there in the news and then kept hearing more about it.