Ken Graham: FROM THE PUBLISHER

It’s hard to believe that summer’s over for kids and their teachers (though not for the rest of us – September will, no doubt, bring more warm, sunny weather to the Touchet Valley.)

School’s already up and running in Dayton and Prescott, and kids head back to school next week in Waitsburg.

Every year at about this time, newspaper editorialists throughout the land write optimistically about the excitement of the upcoming new school year. They also, without fail, give a stern warning to all of us cars drivers: “Watch out for kids, and drive safe.”

Let me add my enthusiastic voice to both of those messages. Our kids are a grade older, but they’re still kids. And they’re now gathering in one place once again.

(And kids, for goodness sake, watch out for cars!!! Us drivers are getting older too, and many of us are tired.)

But let’s also give a warm welcome back to the hardworking adults who work in our schools and help our kids learn. From the Superintendents and principals, to the teachers, and right on down to the cooks in the kitchen (that’s an inside joke). The people working in our local schools are dedicated to helping our kids grow into mature, hardworking adults, just like they are.

These people could work in other jobs where they could build things with tools that don’t talk back, or stare at a computer all day and tune out the rest of the world. But they’ve chosen instead to put up with the headaches of kids and parents and co-workers, because being around kids and watching them grow and mature gives them great satisfaction.

The rest of us should take a lesson from our school staff and also try to set a great example for our kids. After all, they’re watching us, whether we know it or not.