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Hello Hillsboro: Please make sure your vote counts
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Local election day this year is Tuesday, April 1. In a news story elsewhere in the Sentry-Enterprise this week, I somehow managed to withhold the temptation to comment on the other significance of that date!

But, the act of preparing and holding an election of this importance includes a lot of hard work, and that’s only the beginning of the time and effort facing the winners who have chosen to serve in such an important capacity.

The election of public officials is a serious part of any democracy.

Please, be sure to take the time to make your opinions count by casting a ballot on Tuesday. It’s not just a right. It’s a responsibility!

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Speaking of democracy, I saw an historic and memorable movie, “Monuments Men,” last week.

In fact, I celebrated a birthday (don’t even ask!), by enjoying a date with Jane to see a movie and have dinner at a favorite restaurant.

Although we had read a couple of reviews on the film, we both were pleased with the successful challenge of matching history with good story telling to develop a very entertaining work of art.

The basic premise of the true story is relating the heroic efforts of a group of art experts who became “detectives” within the conquering U.S. Army as it closed in on the Nazis fleeing their former European conquests.

In his increasing madness, Hitler had ordered the capture or destruction of all classic art in the countries from which they were retreating. His crazed reasoning was the hiding or destruction of every surviving piece of great art, leading to the total loss of all culture from his sworn enemies.

What made the film so enjoyable, in addition to a great cast and screenplay, was the total absence of gratuitous violence and language that, no doubt, is “realistic” but makes it hard to capture the drama and facts without limiting the story to adults.

Yes, there is loss of life depicted and words of rage delivered, but within the bounds of allowing parents to see the film with their teenagers and not feeling “out of place.”

It’s a great film and, hopefully, will be an Academy Award contender while proving that dramatic story-telling doesn’t always necessitate vulgar language and depictions of total horror on the screen. Most of us understand that war is hell, without having it thrown in our face at every chance!

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Post-season  Badgerball continues to thrill fans and Thursday night they have another chance to spark TV excitement across the state by adding Baylor to their list of victims.

Many sports experts have spent the last few weeks praising their strong points, such as five starters who display a balanced scoring attack by proving any one of them can hit from anywhere on the floor at any time. Tough to defend against that kind of talent.

Their real secret of success hasn’t scored a point all season. He gets off the bench on a regular basis but never runs onto the floor.

The heart and soul of this Badger team, like many before it, is Coach Bo Ryan. If you doubt it, read his surprisingly candid autobiography, “Another Hill to Climb.” Most of it takes place during his earlier coaching stints at smaller schools, but it allows a reader to see where and how he became such a successful magician. The man is a genius!