Time for another two-cents worth of comments from ‘ye old editor.’

To start with, a question I often get deals with assessments for all this street work going on in the city of Blue Earth each year.

The answer is, a portion of the work is assessed to the property owner, but not all of the cost. The city still pays for the majority of the work which means we all have a stake in each year’s project. Homeowners pay for just a portion of the street paving that is going on, about 30 percent of a standard street width, in front of just their property.

That portion, however, can have a pretty big impact, especially on those on fixed incomes. Assessments for these projects can run to $9,000 or more. Homeowners can have it added to their property taxes and pay it off over 15 years.

Homeowners on Oak Knoll Court and Tanglewood Drive were looking at assessments averaging $4,000 for the mill and overlay project. That is where they mill off about two inches of pavement and replace it with a new two inch layer of bituminous (blacktop).

Because of a calculation error, that assessment will actually average something more in the $1,000 range or less.

Quite a deal. Who ever heard of assessments going down?

And if anyone thinks those streets are in good shape and don’t need the work done, I suggest you walk them once. There are potholes, patches, cracks and fissures everywhere.

Getting this done for $124,000 seems like a good deal to me.

Speaking of spending money, the County Board is looking at spending some serious cash on upgrades, renovations and improvements to the courthouse and other county buildings.

It’s needed.

But here is my two cents worth.

The Faribault County Courthouse is one of the coolest structures around. It draws comments from visitors every time they see it. Its historical beauty needs to be preserved, and the commissioners and everyone else seems to agree with that.

Two, some of the county offices need upgrades and more space. When you have to walk through one office to get to another, something needs to be done about it.

And three, while it is a sad comment on our times, security at the courthouse is, well, virtually non-existent.

There are multiple entrance doors and few locked inside doors (except in the courtroom area).

It is a shame that a public building, which serves the residents of the county, needs to be concerned about safety and security, but that is the way of the world these days.

Security cameras and locked doors are becoming the norm. Even the Blue Earth Area schools have had to make their facility much more secure. There is now only one way in during the school day, and visitors have to be buzzed in.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the courthouse, as far as security measures go.

Next, both the Blue Earth Area and United South Central schools put on lyceums recently dealing with distracted driving, wearing seatbelts and not drinking and driving.

While the students paid attention to the adult Highway Patrolmen, it was when a video was shown that featured a fellow Minnesota teenager that the kids really got hit with the message.

He had killed his best friend by driving 88 miles an hour down a gravel road, just nine days after having received his drivers license. The car left the road and rolled over, and his best friend died.

Driving carefully is a message everyone should heed. Put on the seatbelt and put down the phone.

And finally, if you happen to have some money tucked away and you are thinking about donating some of it, there are several deserving places locally you can do it.

If you are a current or former Blue Earth resident, I suggest checking into the new Blue Earth Foundation or the Chamber’s new building fund, or the Friends of the Blue Earth Library. And don’t forget about the well-established Blue Earth Area School Foundation.

There is no lack of places locally where you can ‘invest’ your money and see it do some very wonderful things for your community.

Just my two cents worth, anyway.