THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

About a million years ago (or at least it feels that way), I used to produce theater. The season ended just before Christmas with “A Christmas Carol,” and a peculiar thing would happen just as the last show closed.

I would get a fever.

I was always in the show, and sometimes I would feel my fever rising before Scrooge had Tiny Tim on his shoulders. I’d check my forehead, and sure enough, before the audience had made it out into the cold winter night, I would have a fever, which would be followed by congestion and coughing and everything else that comes with a bad cold.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

Each child enters life with weaknesses to face a world of struggle and turmoil. The Bible explains the condition clearly: we are born in the likeness of Adam, the first man who turned away from God. Yet in the same Book, we find the most hopeful news imaginable. Through Jesus Christ we're invited to leave behind our old identity and become a child of God. The transformation is not a small religious upgrade. It is a complete change of family, a new birth that redefines who we are.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the apostle Paul listed behaviors outside God's kingdom, then he added three words that describe are acts of God, and which usher in new life and new growth. "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, James Dodge, Liberal

The current debate over wind energy raises a larger question for Seward County: How should controversial issues be decided in a representative democracy? Public input should shape decisions, but it cannot replace careful deliberation by the representatives elected to govern.

The recent controversy over the revenue neutral rate showed how important citizen engagement can be when residents believe county decisions deserve closer scrutiny. Residents reviewed public records, organized their concerns, and exercised their right to hold elected officials accountable. At the same time, the resignation of commissioners does not necessarily prove they were wrong; it shows that citizens and officials disagreed about what was needed to move the county forward.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, David Box, Seward County

Curiosity, knowledge, and involvement in government affairs are important and necessary. Recent history shows why that matters. In 2025, the Seward County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution and budget exceeding the revenue neutral rate, an increase that would raise property taxes by millions of dollars. Taxpayers objected; they studied public documents, reviewed meeting transcripts, developed an understanding of relevant statutes, learned what avenues were available for protest and appealed to the appropriate agencies. In January 2026, a newly constituted Board voted to return to the revenue neutral rate and amend the budget. That happened because taxpayers acted. They applied knowledge to action, thereby making their objections known, and the Board listened.