Relaying all the way to Nebraska

Relay memories. Yours truly has been involved in Madera’s wonderful cancer-fighting Relay For Life ever since they moved it to Lions Town and Country Park a dozen or so years ago. I must say, this year, the chair-by-committee of a dozen or more gals and a few guys did a fantastic job in making the event a success.

A special moment came when civic-leader, town promoter and recent cancer survivor, Jim Taubert, gave a humorous yet emotional speech to the participants during opening ceremonies. This year’s relay again reached $90,000 and counting, making a three-year total of over $275,000. Cheers to all those involved. You prove every year this is a community that cares.

+ + +

Cone zone. They may be gone by now, but there are a bunch of orange cones down the middle of Schnoor Street starting at Howard Road and I can’t figure out why. The work crews long ago finished the repairs to the sinkhole in the middle of the road. The painted stripes down the center must be dry by now. Does anyone know why the orange obstacles are still there? A slalom course for bicycles and skateboarders?

+ + +

The weak west. I know it’s early and baseball season is way too long, but currently the Western Division of the National League has got to be the puniest in all Major League Baseball. As of the beginning of the week, neither the Giants, Dodgers nor Colorado Rockies — all tied for first place in the division — had a winning record. If any of those teams were playing in any other division they would already be at least five to eight games behind the leader...