Flood victims urged caution upon returning home

residents return to clean up their homes and businesses after extensive flooding earlier this month, the Texas Department of State Health Services urged residents and business owners to exercise caution. Among the recommendations:• Never use gasolinepowered generators or charcoal grills indoors.

The 501

HANABA MUNN WELCHWhat’s in your trunk?No spare tire?Either you were desperate for money and sold yours or, more likely, you bought a new car that doesn’t have one. Not even a “donut” spare.We could research the no-spare trend, but too much information squelches speculation.

Thoughts for a Mother's Day upgrade

“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didn’t know what to do.”–Mother Goose A mother is a mother whether her shoe is filled with one or seven.

Faucets, swings, goatheads and roadkill

HANABA MUNN WELCHFaucets, swings, goatheads and roadkillDo you have a favorite outdoor water faucet? If it’s one from your childhood, it’s probably imbued with memories of summertime fun.My current favorite is the onethatmostlydoesn’tfreeze in winter. It evokes many memories.

Early voting underway in local elections

AUSTIN— Early voting began Monday, April 22 for municipal, school board and various bond elections. It ends on April 30 with Saturday, May 4 being election day. What is on the ballot depends on where you live.There are various ways to learn what is on the local ballot.

Bring on the aging

“I think I am only 57, but the paperwork does not back this up.

The 501

Corndogs and shoestring advertisingHANABAMUNN WELCHGet in on the Corn Dog Craze!Sonic marketers emailed me a picture of two glorious corndogs — one with mustard, yum, and one with ketchup. Really? Ketchup on a corndog? But the picture needed the eye-catching red touch. I’m ad-sawy. Red sells.

‘Aggressive’ hurricane forecast for Gulf Coast

AUSTIN—Colorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported.

History’s storytellers

“The only protection as a historian is to institute a process of research and writing that minimizes the possibility of error.”— Doris Kearns Goodwin My wayfaring existence, with a great deal of time spent behind the wheel, lends itself to listening to audiobooks.Nothing quite takes the place of...

Attention to detail

Ah, the mentality of the five-year-old who whines to parents that he “really did take a bath” when the smell and dirt under the nails say otherwise.How about the students who wait until 7:56 a.m. to get that math homework done before an 8 a.m. first period class?I confess that sometimes I wash my...