When I was at lunch Tuesday, a friend told me he was glad for the snowstorms we’ve had in the past week because it was the first time he was able to use the snow blower he bought about two years ago.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy we got the snow. We needed the moisture, and we need still more in the coming months. But to me, a snow blower goes in the category of things you hope you don’t have to use even when you have bought it — not quite to the same extent as health insurance or life insurance, but it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

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Four consecutive weekdays of most county schools being closed, that’s where things stand as I write this. I don’t know what the road conditions were Tuesday morning, but I trust they warranted the cancellations.

Monday’s cancellations are a little bit tougher, but all of the weather forecasters were calling for blizzard conditions, and for the storm to strike earlier than it did. Schools opted on the side of caution, and I can’t argue with that.

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So Marion City Council is OK with having one person who is on both Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals, but that’s the limit. Perhaps the city should consider allowing that one spot to rotate among however many willing volunteers there are.

For now, that would be Margo Yates (who is in the dual position) and Diana Holub. There is no reason Yates should always be the only one serving on both boards.

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There have been some changes in how mail is processed that have resulted in long delays for many readers in the northern parts of Marion County to receive their newspapers.

Marion County is situated on the dividing lines of three different postal regions. Mail into and out of the eastern part of the county goes to Kansas City for processing, western Marion County goes to Wichita, and the far northern edge goes to Salina. Because of this, a letter from Marion to Hillsboro goes from Marion to Kansas City, Kansas City to Wichita, and Wichita to Hillsboro.

We’re working hard to ensure all of our readers get the newspaper in a timely fashion, and we hope to have a final plan soon.

— ADAM STEWART