Only one explanation for high gasoline prices

I have resisted the temptation to get involved, but after several weeks of tracking prices and listening to complaints, I do declare, well … something’s rotten in Tuscarawas County.

Yep, it’s true that gasoline prices in the Dover-New Philadelphia area, if not in all of Tuscarawas County, are unreasonably high for no apparent reason.

I am not breaking new ground here by declaring that prices are higher in good old T-County. I swear I used to write about the unreasonable gasoline prices in Tuscarawas County back when I controlled a particular editorial page. You know, back in the days before Gas Buddy.com.

Gas Buddy.com, if you don’t know, is a website that tracks gasoline prices with the help of those people who are visiting gasoline stations around the country. The prices are updated constantly and the site provides a list of stations offering the cheapest gasoline in town no matter where you are.

Gas Buddy is now a popular iPhone app and one that I rely on quite frequently. I’ve been tracking prices in Dover-New Philadelphia, Canton, Cambridge and South Bend, Ind., as part of my gasoline price “investigation.”

Why South Bend? I don’t know. I usually need gas there when I’m driving to Chicago, so I just thought I’d throw it in. South Bend isn’t cheap either, although I found prices there cheaper than in T-County on more than one occasion and not just at one of those rogue gas stations that have funny names.

Anyway, on Monday, regular gas was priced at $3.90 (I’m rounding to the nearest penny) at the Speedway stations in Dover, while one could find it for $3.65 just about anywhere in Canton. In Cambridge, at the Pilot near I-70, you could buy regular unleaded for $3.60.

Pilot, whose owner just bought the Cleveland Browns, obviously is trying to get in good graces with the local fans, which is OK by me.

South Bend prices were similar to Dover prices, so don’t worry about having to drive there for a deal.

So, I hunted for answers to the question, “Why are gas prices higher in some cities than in others?” and these are the answers I came up with:

--Wiki Answers.com: “Because of the amount of oil available around that area. If it’s, for example, near a huge amount of oil, the price could be cheaper than near areas where there are no oil refineries. It also may depend on the gas station’s view on what they want to price their oil.”

--Curiosity.com (Science Channel):  “In the U.S., some areas are known as gasoline-market islands. These regions include California and the Midwest, and have unique clean-burning requirements for gasoline. Not all refineries can produce these special fuels. The prices rise due to limited supply and high demand, and can spike in the case of an issue at the refinery or a pipeline problem.”

--U.S. Energy Information Administration: “Pump prices are often highest in locations with few gasoline stations. Even stations located close together may have different traffic patterns, rents, and sources of supply that influence their pricing. Drivers face a trade-off between stations with high prices and the inconvenience of driving further to find a station with lower prices.”

And you thought the Internet was a wealth of information.

A long time ago, I asked a friend in the fuel business why the oil companies raised gasoline prices for no apparent reason.

“Because they can,” he said.

That was it. There was nothing else. No elaboration.

“Because they can.”

Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?

I tend to believe that simple explanation rather than the more complicated ones involving econometrics – defined as the “unification of economics, mathematics, and statistics” – which are used to help price commodities such as fuel and are mined routinely from your use of credit and debit cards. Surprise!

I suppose if all the folks in Dover and New Philadelphia are irked enough they could make phone calls to the attorney general, alleging the oil companies are engaging in price fixing in the area. That might help, although the oil companies, no doubt, will bring out the big guns – the econometrics guys – who will bore the judge/jury to death with a lot of numbers.

Or local motorists could conserve enough fuel to allow them to drive to Canton to fill up at a cheaper rate minus, of course, the cost of the gasoline to get there.

Bottom line? I think you know.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover)

Yes, Dover, you still need a new high school

It appears now that Dover won’t be able to replace its aging high school anytime soon.

In fact, if I’m feeling the community’s pulse correctly, it might be years before voters believe they are economically healthy enough to cast a “yes” vote in favor of even a low-budget renovation as in this lone bullet point:

–Low-budget renovation – Tear down the 1915 portion of the high school. Place modular classrooms on subsequent empty lot.

Don’t laugh. It might come to that.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the state has spent $10 billion constructing new schools across Ohio and figures it’s only half done. In all cases and based on how poor or wealthy a district is, the state arrives at a grant amount. The catch is that the grant amount is never enough to cover the entire cost, so the local taxpayers have to kick in some more.

Dover was scheduled to receive $9.5 million in state funds to build a new high school. The district planned for a $47 million facility on a new site in the north end of the city and placed a 6.9-mill levy on last November’s ballot to cover the local share.

It was thumped.

Newark City Schools is anticipating the opening this fall of its new $39 million high school, which replaces a series of buildings constructed primarily in the ’60s. If those buildings were deemed outdated, one can only imagine the adjectives that could be used to describe Dover’s 1915 wing.

In the past, I preferred “decrepit,” but there’s a host of other apt words, including “awful,” “pitiful,” “dangerous” and “depressing.”

Anyway, Newark endured a few years of disruptions and modular units as the new school was constructed on the old site. The kids who endured it all won’t get to study in the new building because they’ve graduated, so naturally there was a level of discontent, according to another story in the Dispatch.

Newark’s new high school is part of a $144 million school building/renovation project in the city, which should provide state of the art facilities for each of Newark’s schoolchildren no matter what their age. Newark taxpayers footed 49 percent of the bill.

Likewise, there’s a generation of Dover kids – they’re in grade school and middle school now – which won’t get to study in a new high school because the community has shown little interest in building one. And they are studying in school buildings that were last updated two decades ago.

Dover’s Board of Education now has to turn its attention to getting renewal levies passed – no longer a slam dunk at the ballot box – so that means further attempts to build a new school are on hold.

I have always believed that communities go the way of their schools. If a community has good schools, it will attract people who want to invest in it. The story is told of several executives who were transferred to a Dover manufacturing facility but opted to buy homes in Stark County’s Jackson Township rather than in Dover after looking at Dover’s aging school buildings, particularly the high school.

In addition, fewer than a dozen single-family homes worth more than $300,000 have sold in Dover over the past several years, indicating that the community is not attracting residents with higher incomes.

At some point, the community is going to have to invest in the schools’ infrastructure, or live with a general degradation of its surroundings.

Here’s what has to happen soon:

–Young parents need to step up and be heard. They are the stakeholders and their children are the future. We need more young people to get involved on our boards and councils and in service organizations. If young parents are ambivalent about their children’s education, why should anyone else care? Get involved.

–Mayor Richard Homrighausen, City Council members and Dover Board of Education members need to get on the same page. They need a united front. Clearly, City Council’s silence during the campaign last year did not serve the public good.

–Citizens need to get a grip on reality. Dover and New Philadelphia are not mirror images of Camelot. For goodness’ sake, there are many communities that can boast affordable housing, nice parks and are “a great place to raise kids.” (Newark, incidentally, has all that along with new schools).

–Bury the personal vendettas. I hear a lot of “no” voters complain about a school incident involving a son or a daughter that happened decades ago, or that a coach wouldn’t play a well-deserving kid, or that “there are too many administrators” or some other unrelated-to-the-issue issue.

–Accept the fact that you are not an expert. You might think you are, but you’re not. Listen for once. And learn.

OK, I got this off my chest.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Chick-fil-A dips its wings into culture war

First, I must tell you that I don’t particularly like chicken.

I mean it’s not that I won’t ever eat it, but it seems to be everywhere lately because I believe it doesn’t offend those who’d rather not eat meat but who will tolerate a little chicken now and again because few men at the table are vegetarians and would never willingly accept a meatless meal.

I recently attended a luncheon where chicken swimming in some mayonnaise concoction was served in one of those healthy thin-as-a-pancake wheat bread rollups.

Those are the kind of sandwiches that skinny women like initially but grow increasingly dissatisfied after a few bites and start pulling out the insides with their forks, spewing the ingredients onto their plates. Then they hunt for the tiny pieces of chicken in the mess before finally pushing the plate to the side.

It would have been a better lunch – and probably cheaper -- if the caterer had gone to a Chick-fil-A restaurant and purchased a slew of its famous chicken sandwiches. Apparently the chicken is marinated in pickle juice, which gives it a unique flavor. I’ll bet.

(Full disclosure: I have never had a Chick-fil-A sandwich because I don’t like chicken and have not been forced into stopping at a Chick-fill-A restaurant while on the road. I’d much prefer stopping at a Skyline Chili restaurant but because no one in the family is enamored with that place either, that probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Besides, isn’t McDonald’s America’s restroom stop? Well, isn’t it?)

By now, you’ve probably heard that the CEO of Chick-fil-A – Dan Cathy – recently made some very strong comments in favor of traditional marriage and against gay marriage. The company, which does not open its restaurants on Sundays, has made significant donations to conservative family organizations, which also happen to be organizations that don’t acknowledge gay marriage as an acceptable institution.

Cathy has caused something of a firestorm with his comments even though most people could have figured out his theological and ideological thinking had they actually thought about it.

His restaurants aren’t open on Sundays, remember?

The Onion, the irreverent online anti-news magazine has lampooned the issue, writing in jest that Wendy’s has announced it has disapproved of interracial marriage.

Here’s my prediction: Chick-fil-A will weather the storm. Most Americans don’t give a darn about whether a restaurant owner believes in traditional families or gay marriage as long as the food is good and the place is clean -- especially the restrooms.

Feed the masses chicken smothered in green mayonnaise inside of some thin pancake wheat bread and I’ll show you an upset population.

Let the talking heads on Fox News and MSNBC rant and rave about moral issues. The rest of us can discuss with civility how to solve the real issues facing this country such as health care, unemployment, funding education and, well, you know. Let’s tune out the noise.

How’s that for fair and balanced?

***

A longtime golf friend of mine, Richard J. “Richie” Berichon, 80, of New Philadelphia died two weeks ago.

An engineer, Richie relocated to Tuscarawas County after moving from General Electric’s Euclid plant to Dover. I gave him a pass on his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers because it was based on Browns owner Art Modell’s treatment of coach Paul Brown, who was fired by Modell after he bought the team. My father felt the same way.

Richie fondly called me “Paper Dick” to distinguish me from others with the same first name in our league. I liked that. And he often fired off an email to agree or disagree with something I wrote. I liked that, too.

You might have run into Richie at Zoar Village Golf Course, or the Tuscarawas County Senior Center, or the New Philadelphia Elks Lodge.

As is so often the case today, Richie authored his own obituary and left instructions for loved ones.

Richie noted in the obituary that he “enjoyed playing golf as well as having a beer or three with his many friends.”

What Richie failed to mention in his obituary is that he helped scores of senior citizens every year fill out their federal and state income tax returns.

I’m told he never charged a penny for the work.

Now you know.

Sorry, Richie.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Bloomberg's right -- enforce what's on the books

This is one of those commentaries that won’t go over well in some of our households.

It’s about guns.

I know how emotional people get when they talk about their rights to own them. And how the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution protects them. I know that some people worry about government unchecked – that the citizenry needs to have a way to fight tyranny should it be thrust upon it without warning.

I know there are many people out there who firmly believe that no amount of gun control will protect us from the nutcases who would massacre innocents.

And maybe they’re right.

But count me on the side of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who believes that it’s overdue time for a national discussion on limiting access to certain firearms by certain individuals. He says we don’t need more laws. We need enforcement of the laws on the books.

And he wants President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to begin the discussion.  I’ll add that I’d like to hear their thoughts on all important issues rather than watching them attack each other in TV commercials. 

Let’s have a discussion that matters and let’s start with guns.

Bloomberg is a longtime advocate of strict gun law enforcement. And he made that point again on last week’s CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in the wake of the Colorado theater shootings.

Host Bob Schieffer wondered whether the strength of the National Rifle Association had silenced the presidential candidates on the issue.

“Well, you know, they have to explain themselves as to why, and I shouldn't be putting words in their mouths,” Bloomberg said.

“I don't know what their motives are. The NRA is an organization that is adamant about no controls on weapons in spite of the fact that we have federal laws that say you cannot sell guns to minors, to people with psychiatric problems, or drug problems or convicted felons. And yet they pressure Congress and the White House -- and they've been doing it for decades -- to not fund enforcement of those laws.

“We don't need more laws. We need a couple of fixes. There's a loophole where you can sell guns without a background check at a gun show – 40 percent of guns are sold that way, same thing on the Internet.

“We need to fix the fact that states are supposed to send records into the central database of who has psychiatric problems and who is convicted because when somebody sells a gun, they've got to check the database, and if there's no data in it, it wouldn't do any good.

“The NRA has opposed anything. And if you do a survey it’s interesting … 80 percent of the NRA members say, for example, that the federal laws on guns should be enforced and that we should stop all this closing our eyes and -- and letting people go and buy guns, you know, there are -- there are guns that are advertised on the Internet -- .50-caliber rifle, and it says, ‘able to bring down a commercial jetliner at a mile and a half’ or ‘armor-piercing bullets.’  Last time I saw a deer wearing a bulletproof vest was a long time ago.”

So, in the matter of a couple of months, a disturbed James Eagan Holmes, 24, was able to amass an arsenal of death without anyone questioning his motives, or alerting law enforcement that perhaps this young man has a problem. The sad fact is there’s probably another James Eagan Holmes in the works who will wreak havoc on other innocents in some other place.

Bloomberg is right. Obama and Romney owe us -- at the very least -- a discussion.

***

The mother of James Eagan Holmes seemed to know immediately that her son was the perpetrator of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history (based on number of casualties).

“You have the right person,” she said to news media upon learning of the situation. “I need to call the police. I need to fly out to Colorado.”

As of this writing, Holmes’ parents were not talking to police.

If you suspected that your son or daughter or friend or relative was capable of committing a heinous crime based on his or her current behavior, would you inform law enforcement authorities?

Perhaps that’s a discussion that ought to start in our homes.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Taxpayers around these parts are getting a deal (really)

By the time you read this and if you’re a law-abiding citizen you will have paid your 2011 property taxes.

If you live in Tuscarawas or Holmes counties, or one of the mostly rural nearby counties, you should be happy to know that you got a pretty good deal.

I know what you’re thinking: Farrell is a crazy man to think property taxes are a bargain.

Well, if you compare our property taxes to those in the suburban districts in the Cleveland and Columbus areas, they are at the very least under-appreciated.

Here’s a breakdown on effective tax rates for Tuscarawas and Holmes school districts:

Dover 37.96

Garaway 28.93

Indian Valley 30.90

New Philadelphia 30.00

Newcomerstown 29.91

Strasburg-Franklin 33.53

Tuscarawas Valley 30.26

East Holmes 22.94

West Holmes 31.44

Here are tax rates for a few of the suburban districts around Cleveland and Columbus:

Bay Village 52.97

Euclid 53.31

Fairview Park 56.83

Lakewood 56.69

Shaker Heights 86.45

Bexley 51.85

Dublin 50.16

Hilliard 57.30

New Albany-Plain 55.84

Reynoldsburg 47.56

Consider that Dover School District’s effective 2011 tax rate will generate less than $1,800 annually on a home worth $150,000. Put that same house in Lakewood at the same value (which is unlikely) and it will generate about $2,700 in tax revenue for the school district.

If you want to check my math, find the taxable value of your home (35 percent of market value). Calculate the number of mills – there are 52.5 mills on a home worth $150,000 with a taxable value of $52,500.

Multiply the number of mills by the effective tax rate listed above. Then multiply that number by the rollback amount of 12.5 percent (to which most homeowners are entitled) and subtract that figure from the previous total.

Don’t forget that the schools’ tax bills, while they represent most of the money you owe, are not all of it. Property taxes also help fund cities and villages, libraries, health departments, county government, and other government entities. And $6 goes to the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District as a special assessment.

***

Back in 1995, I wrote a piece – basically a primer on property taxes – in response to a widespread rumor that tax bills were going to skyrocket the next year because of a healthy increase in real estate value.

Remember the good old days when your house was worth more than you paid for it?

Well, that was the case in 1995 and people were understandably worried that tax bills also would increase accordingly.

I explained in the piece that only “inside” millage, which represents a small fraction of your taxes, would increase the tax bills and not “outside” millage, which is millage approved by voters in the form of levies and bond issues.

For example, if a school district needs an extra $1 million to operate annually, it would ask for approval of a levy that would raise that amount of money. Years down the road, that levy still will only generate $1 million annually no matter what happens to property values.

The number of mills – a mill is $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value – on the levy could go up or down depending on what property values do.

I know that all this is about as clear as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I suggest reading this commentary at least twice, maybe three times.

If you have a tax bill question, leave it underneath this commentary on the Bargain Hunter’s website and I’ll get an answer for you. That might be easier than contacting your favorite county auditor or treasurer during this busy time of year.

***

I’m curious whether any Penn State fans who initially were supportive of Joe Paterno when news of the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke still are. At the time I said Paterno was hardly a father figure by ignoring his duty to inform law enforcement authorities of Sandusky’s criminal behavior. One Penn State fan took me to task over my statement in no uncertain terms.

“…I do not agree with your comment about Paterno not being a father figure,” he wrote. “I grew up in Pennsylvania and know the unbelievable amount of good Joe Paterno has done for the state, Penn State students, faculty, staff as well as student athletes he has coached and molded into productive citizens.

“He has donated millions of dollars to the university and the last time I checked, the university figures that Coach Paterno and his wife have helped raise $3.5 billion for the university. You, as well as the rest of the media, have condemned Coach Paterno before any official facts have been brought to light…”

***

I’m not sure everyone is aware that this is the first election since World War II in which neither major presidential candidate is a military veteran.

Given the fact that presidents send young people to war, I’d like to see military service on a presidential candidate’s resume.

Dwight Eisenhower, who commanded the Allies’ D-Day invasion, spoke eloquently during his presidency about the high cost of war and warned citizens of the “military industrial complex.”

The man knew what he was talking about.

In a letter following the Korean War, he wrote this:

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

“The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children...

“This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense.

“Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from an iron cross.”

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Dover's Tom Kane: A gem among us

From my back porch, I could see Tom Kane regularly tend to his beloved backyard, which lies across the creek a couple hundred feet or so away.

A few years ago, Mr. Kane’s backyard looked into farmland, which I’m sure pleased him a lot more than the collection of little boxes that sits on that property now.

But no matter. At the first sign of spring and in the twilight of his life, Mr. Kane, along with his wife, Virginia, grabbed their rakes and shovels, clearing their yard of winter’s debris and preparing the soil for the planting of flowers and vegetables.

I could see him directing landscapers and carpenters (and probably friends and family members) as he dealt with the issues of melding meadow and garden into city lot. There was grass to cut, bushes to trim and arbors to build.

That was Tom Kane – always doing, always working.

Mr. Kane, 92, of Dover died July 3 after a lifetime of achievement and giving that deserves at least some mention beyond his obituary. I think Mr. Kane’s body of work, along with his ability to change directions, is inspirational and textbook material.

He could have written “How to Reinvent Yourself.”

Think it’s too late to change careers? Think again. Look to Tom Kane.

Mr. Kane was born in 1920 in Elyria. He attended Hudson Academy and then earned his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Antioch College in Yellow Springs.

From 1943 to 1946, he served as an engineering officer in the Army’s Southern Training Command and the European Theater.

After the war, he joined his father as partner in Black Bird Coal Mines, a position he held until 1956 when he became president of Better Value Homes, constructing homes and commercial buildings until 1958. He also served as president of Dover Cable Television from 1954-56.

After his homebuilding and TV cable career, he enrolled in Muskingum College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and mathematics. Then he enrolled at Ohio State, earning a master’s degree in guidance and counseling.

In 1960 he launched yet another reinvention of himself, becoming a teacher at Dover High and ultimately undertaking a guidance counselor role at the school. He retired from education in 1978, but then joined Personal and Family Counseling as a therapist. He worked there until 1983.

According to his obituary, Mr. Kane “was a man of strong religious and spiritual beliefs. With his faith he found a perfect union between science and Christianity. He believed that science is the search for relationships between matter and energy in the physical world we live in. Faith helps us see our relationship to other people and to the power beyond ours.

“Just as God moved over the earth and began creation from darkness of chaos, we are challenged to continue to create and improve upon His creation. This credo was the basis of his unwavering sense of civic responsibility at all levels of involvement – community, national and global.”

Mr. Kane was an active member of Dover’s First United Methodist Church, serving as an adult Sunday school teacher, chairing numerous financial drives and leading the church when it moved to its present site on N. Wooster Ave.

He was active in numerous community organizations, including the Tuscarawas County Council for Church and Community, Stark Wilderness Center, Family and Children First Council of Tuscarawas County, and the Dover Kiwanis Club.

And, of course, he was the recipient of many awards and recognitions.

Not mentioned in his obituary was the fact that he authored more than a few letters to the editor on various issues of the day. While I can’t recall specific details of those letters, I can tell you that Mr. Kane thought it was very important that we take care of the planet we inhabit and the children we bring onto it.

One would have to believe that God is pretty impressed with Tom Kane’s resume. I know I am.

To read Tom Kane’s obituary, visit www.tolandherzig.com.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover)

For the 4th of July, just a few bullet points

This being a holiday week, it’s a good time for some quick hitters…

–A young TV reporter out of Cleveland was on the scene of a tree downed by a storm. Turning momentarily to look at the tree, which had fallen on a house, the reporter turned back toward the camera and proclaimed: “This tree literally fell on this house.” Apparently up to that point trees only fell on houses in her dreams.

–Bill Simmons, the prolific sportswriter for ESPN, commenting on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ curious draft pick of  Syracuse guard and bench player Dion Waiters, offered this joke: “Anytime you can take the Big East’s ‘Sixth Man of the Year’ with the fourth pick in an NBA draft, you have to do it … The lesson as always: God hates Cleveland.” Yes, it seems He does.

–This being the 4th of July, it’s a good time to watch a patriotic film or miniseries. I would recommend starting with “John Adams,” the HBO production that details the founding of our country; “Gettysburg,” one of the better Civil War films; and then “Saving Private Ryan,” which is the most explicit and what experts call the most accurate rendering of the D-Day invasion ever offered. If you have any time left, try “The Deer Hunter” to get a feel for the Vietnam War era. Watch all four productions and you will have a fairly decent idea of where this country’s been in a little more than 235 years, which is a relatively short time when you consider that I’ve been alive for roughly 25 percent of that span.

–I checked to see if any of those films/productions were available for streaming via Netflix. They are not. This is a good reason for not investing in Netflix.

–Count me among those who do not feel sorry for Ann Curry, who got bounced from NBC’s “Today” show because, among other things I’m sure, she’s a stiff. Curry is getting her own reporting crew for special global assignments, will fill in on “Nightly News” and is being given a $10 million severance/bonus. And she goes all weepy? You’re kidding, right? Hey, Ann, try signing up for unemployment compensation while trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage like millions of Americans have had to do over the last four years. My goodness, then you can cry. Get a grip, Ann. And nice of you, NBC, to have Curry announce her own execution. Who’s running that network anyway?

–News flash: Katie Holmes is divorcing Tom Cruise. I just knew it wouldn’t work. Can’t wait to get my hands on next week’s Us magazine. They are promising extensive coverage. Yes, I’m kidding, but not about the coverage.

–Apple has really started to market Suri, the invisible woman embedded in the iPhone who tells jokes and is supposed to become a better friend to you than anyone you know on Facebook. My experience with Suri is that she doesn’t understand half of what I tell her, that she tells the same joke over and over and that she is only as good as her source material. She does work better with one- or two-word commands. Bottom line: The iPhone is a wonderful device, but Suri is overrated.

–If memory serves me correctly, the all-star youth league season is under way. My kids are grown and my grandchildren are too young, so I don’t have any connection to the game right now. Note to all-star coaches: If a kid is good enough to make the team, he’s good enough to play – even at the expense of your own kid. Don’t forget that.

–It would be really cool if every home in America displayed the flag on national holidays. I saw a 3-by-5 flag kit advertised for $8, which seems to be affordable. This is a good week to consider such purchases, don’t you think?

Happy birthday, America.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).