GUEST COLUMN, Greg Doering, Kansas Farm Bureau

Spring can be a trying season in the Flint Hills. The temperature fluctuations and swirling winds make picking out the right jacket nearly impossible on any given morning. And if it happens to be nice enough to not need any extra layering one morning, you’ll likely need it by late afternoon.

The fickle weather is what makes the truly beautiful spring days so enjoyable. The kind where a light breeze is needed to temper the warmth of the sun because the treetops are still a tangle of tender limbs and buds, but not a shroud of leaves to offer any shade. Even cloudy days bring hope of gentle rains that tame the dust and fuel an explosion of vibrant colors.

L&T Publisher Earl Watt

Rex Petty became the pastor for Faith Tabernacle in the 1980s, and he became more than just a servant to a congregation.

I believe it’s safe to say that Pastor Petty was the community’s pastor.

From the time he started his service he went outside the walls of the church to touch others.

One of the earliest works for Pastor Petty was showing movies in Light Park before modern technology. He showed movies with projectors and a tarp hanging between trees, and anyone who came was welcome.

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

I spent yesterday with more than 5,000 librarians.

A few were library aides, and some were library trustees. But the thing they all had in common was libraries.

I never thought much about how libraries work, probably because they work so well. No matter where I am, if I walk through the door of a library, I know more or less what to expect. The staff will be helpful. Everyone will be eager to answer any question I have. No one will be in too big a hurry to help. Everything will be pretty much as I remember it as an eight-year-old.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

The meaning of Easter came home clearly to us on Sunday. New life, which had been anticipated for months, was gifted to our family. She was our 16th grandchild, and already much loved. Then in a matter of minutes after her birth, little 4-pound Vivian Grace passed from this life to be with Jesus, the giver of life. What a day! Born on Easter and reborn the same day. Her life on earth was short, as is all of ours.

Even with the peace and hope we have as believers in Christ, there's still an overwhelming sense of loss. Of what could have been. The blessings. The shared moments. Her parents knew ahead of time that she would have challenges, but everyone had been "all in" as we anticipated her arrival.