My favorite game show as a child was always Jeopardy, and lately I’ve made a habit of recording it so I can watch it when I get home from the newspaper. It’s impressive how well the same basic formula of answers and questions holds up so many years after its debut. My favorite categories were always “POTPOURRI,” because the clues cover such a wide variety of topics. No issue is dominating discussions right now, so consider this a newspaper dose of potpourri.

I always forget how big the crowds get at Art in the Park and Arts & Crafts Fair. The weather this weekend was excellent for shopping outdoors. The foods are always what interest me the most. I went home with some wild sandhill plum jelly, summer sausage, and cheese.

I received an anonymous letter this week criticizing county commissioners for voting against putting rock on a Centre bus route in the Marion district. He (or possibly she) wants to know why commissioners care about school district boundaries when they represent the entire county. It’s a fair point, but credibility is hurt when someone demands others be accountable while hiding behind anonymity. That’s why we don’t publish anonymous letters.

Speaking of the county, the commissioners are now debating whether to spend money repairing the courthouse clock tower. Maybe nobody uses the clock to tell time, but unless the county plans on tearing the historic courthouse down, the structural portions need to be maintained. And the chime of the bell at the top of every hour is a nice contribution to the atmosphere in Marion. And while I’ve been writing this paragraph, the clock has chimed 3 p.m. I would miss it if the county decommissioned the clock, and I’m sure others would too.

Saturday will be my first time helping run Old Settlers’ Day after several years of covering it. All of the classes that graduated some multiple of five or 10 years ago all the way back to World War II will have a float in the parade. All except one, that is. The class of 1973 hasn’t registered for the parade yet. But it isn’t too late. So readers who graduated from Marion in 1973, put together a parade entry for your 40-year reunion.

— ADAM STEWART