Guest Commentary: Ukraine needs their allies

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator


Everyone will face insurmountable challenges in life. The price of longevity is heartache, opposition, failures, grief and life events that come out of nowhere. Life is filled with the death of loved ones, financial ups and downs, daily health challenges and world events that impact us whether we like them or not.

Russia is going to invade Ukraine. Most of us don’t like Russia anyway but we have to sit here and watch what they are doing to someone else while it negatively affects our energy, financial stability, our military, and our everyday lives. We don’t like it; we don’t want it but we will be impacted by the evil decisions of Russia’s leadership. Can you imagine how the people of Ukraine feel?

We despise what Covid-19 has done to all us. Mask wearing, vaccinations and the fear of gathering have tormented us. The loss of family and friends who went into Intensive Care Units and never came home haunts us. Can we begin to imagine how they felt as they struggled to breathe on respirators their last few days of life?

We have all faced news that a loved one was killed on the battlefield, or someone died suddenly of a heart attack, or received news of terminal cancer.

Typically, we ask why? We ask God, "Why has this happened?" or "Why me, God?" Often there is rarely a good answer. We can analyze and say, "This could have been prevented. Or, this is how he or she should have lived their lives." Sports fans making suggestions from their recliners while watching reruns always see how the play could have been run better.

Life is always in motion. We make decisions. We react to situations differently. We don’t always do the right thing and emotions often overturn commonsense.

The reality is that we all face and walk through fires. Most of the time we’re hopeful that everything will work out alright. Often, things do. Unfortunately, everything doesn’t always work out alright. If we manage to survive, that’s when we have to help others who are crushed in spirit, who can’t see the light of day for the darkness in their lives.

Ukraine needs their allies or they will never be the same. It can’t be all the United States. We can’t save everyone and have proved it over and again from Afghanistan to Iraq to Vietnam.

There are always those around you who need your emotional and spiritual support. If nothing else, friendship and a word of kindness and support are always meaningful.

Most of the time, we feel as if we face our greatest challenges alone. A lonely place of desperation is a dark place to be.

Don’t ever go there. Look to God. When money, friends, education, hospitals, doctors and the church can’t fix what you are facing God can see you through. He never leaves us or forsakes us. His hand is strong and nothing can pull us out of his mighty hand.


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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of Grandpa's Store, American Issues, and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.


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Viewpoint | Who is in control of your school?

Over the last two years schools, along with everyone else, have navigated territories that have not been experienced in our lifetime. While global pandemics are not new in history the context of each has brought its own unique challenges.

Most recently, in Illinois, we have watched a battle unfold between various groups that traditionally are all working towards the same end. A great deal of that battle has centered on who is in control of schools. Last night, just before midnight, the Illinois Appellate Court for the 4th District spoke to this question and concluded that the state's authority will remain restrained per a lower court decision, which was established in the Sangamon County Circuit Court case, and also indicated that the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), per their vote this week, did not extend the ability of for Illinois Department of Public Health (IDHP) to implement the emergency rule.

Ultimately this all answers the question of who is in control of schools, and the answer, in regard to these topics and many more, is that locally elected school boards have that authority. In this case, while the state has been restrained from implementing mitigation measures, locally elected school boards, in publicly held meetings, have full authority to determine the context of the conditions in their communities and make decisions that are in the best interest of the students and families that have elected and represent them.

Illinois is a local control state, which is an important characteristic in order to best meet the needs of students around a very diverse and large region. We all know that the "one size fits all" mentality does not work well and the same is true for schools. What "fits" well in Robinson, Illinois, where there is a Hershey's Chocolate Factory, which employs a great deal of people in the region, likely doesn't fit well in Vienna, Illinois, which is located in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest.

Unfortunately there seem to be constant attempts to erode the control of locally elected school boards. I believe that a great deal of these attempts at eroding local control are not ill intended. For example, when state level officials, whether in the legislature, governor's office, or other state level agencies see a perceived need and or problem they attempt to address it, which is good. However, the means by which we address those perceived needs and or problems is extremely important.

You need not look far to find examples of this beyond the one at hand. If you were to look back over the last few years of attempted, and unfortunately, many adopted state level curriculum mandates, then add up the minutes that it would take to effectively implement each of those items into the classroom, you would quickly find that students would need to go to school 24/7 in order to have time to cover them all. This is not reasonable.

We have a tendency to go for the "nuclear option" of making a new statewide rule and or law that impacts everyone, as opposed to going through a process that honors an effective and well built system. That well built system has local schools boards, local teachers, local administrators, and a plethora of other components that can solve problems and better enhance opportunities for students around that state.

While this appellate decision centers on one narrow issue it serves as an example of the need for us to continue the decision around local control of schools in our community.

Sincerely,
Joshua W. Stafford
School Superintendent


Joshua W. Stafford is the superintendent of schools for Vienna District 13-3.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.


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