Our recent sleet-based ice storm left the Allen area shut down. Schools and churches quit when confronted with heavy ice in their parking lots. Temperatures went down to the single digits. Some pipes froze up and everyone cranked up their heat as the high winds hunted and found ways to get inside some of the ancient houses we live in. But I am thankful that the electric and natural gas kept on flowing. No one seemed to be worried about the costs. At least before the bills come in later.

I drove into town the other night and I was struck by how good the town looked. In the dark at least. Newly installed LED lights up and down Broadway had replaced our old “yellow” lights burning half the electricity as the old ones. And, like I said, they look very nice. New lights may be installed this summer on the Walking Trail in North Allen. Another chronically dark area in town is at the intersection of HW-1 and SH-48. This is a walking hazard for kids walking to the “Quck-Pic” for a nocturnal snack and will be remedied soon. A new retail establishment under construction on the southeast corner of this intersection is coming soon. This will include a new large welllighted parking lot built to serve this retail outlet, a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree Store. And yes, it will light up that part of town.

Speaking of new stores, I can’t help but wonder just what the town of Allen will be doing for adequate revenue In the years ahead. We depend on sales taxes for much of our operating expenses along with water and sewer bills. They pay for our two city operated utilities but there are a lot of expenses concerned with running even a small town like Allen. But our state leaders are sort of on a political lark and have pretty well decided to eliminate the sales tax on groceries. Allen gets a good slice of operating revenue from sales on grocery items and if that goes away it will have to be made up somehow. Just how much? I don’t know. But I have a feeling we will pay for it.

I would not be mad about it if they were to take a little bit of this “excess” revenue and paved the Francis Road. This disgraceful strip of road makes me think of a drive I made once upon a long time ago in rural Japan. I have no idea why residents go year after year paying high taxes and having to drive on such a neglected county road to get anywhere. But maybe that’s just me.

I mentioned driving into town the other night. There was a big basketball tournament taking place down at out new Allen Gym. This large sports complex is downtown and there were cars parked all along the downtown section, the parking areas around the sports complex and in the Baptist Church parking lots. There were still plenty of empty spots here and there. I had heard there was not enough parking down there, but I think it is doing pretty good. New lighting at the First Baptist Church furnished new bright lights to the scene too. Like I said, the area looked good. Thanks to Fred Barrett.

As I write this, Russian armed forces are racing up and down the streets of the Ukraine. Citizens are fleeing for their lives as Russian tanks take pot shots at high rise apartment buildings and other expensive installations. You wonder if Putin has lost his mind and just how this might affect the concerned citizens of Allen. Will it mean more expensive gasoline and the possibility of the call up of our own military reserves? Will inflation, already the worse in over 40 years, get even worse? Will the prices of goods be going up even faster? Or will the whole thing blow over in a few weeks. We can hope. But these things don’t usually have a good ending. Let us hope and pray that Mr. Putin doesn’t get an itchy finger on his nuke’s as scared Ukrainians are pictured on my TV right now, singing their national anthem in a subway tube. At least they said it was their national anthem. Didn’t sound like the one I know.

Have a good week and be sure and go to church Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh cwaynebullard@gmail. com