Happy springtime! It’s finally starting to feel a bit more like spring nowadays, and I’ve seen some tulips popping up all over town. This time of year always puts a smile on my face: the grass is turning green, the sludge and gunk from a snowy winter are now just a memory, and I’m waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window.

Warmer weather also means that the neighborhood kids (and adults who act like kids) are out playing, walking, running, or riding their bikes. Spring for me means, while driving, I’ve got my sunglasses on, my windows down, and my music turned a little louder. I’m the first to admit that I’m not always the most responsible when it comes to driving, I do my best to put my phone down.

According to the Missouri Department of Insurance, while texting is most often associated with distraction in the car, other distractions include eating, drinking, grooming, DWI and passengers in the car. Some of these actions seem more innocuous than others, but all forms of distracted driving are reckless, cost money and endanger lives. The MO Eyes on the Road campaign encourages precautionary measures to curb the number of vehicle accidents due to distracted driving.

I urge you all to keep your phones away, keep your hands on the wheel, and keep your eyes on the road. That text message can wait. It’s not worth a life.

Ahhh, can you smell that? The grass is finally starting to perk up, the bulbs are starting to show their faces, and the sunshine is warming my skin. Spring is in the air, but that’s not what has me sniffing around so much lately. It’s election season, and the aroma of some good, quality, old-fashioned competition for our local seats is in the air for a change.

Of course, the competition can make some people nervous, but I think that it’s what makes the election process so great (and more fun to cover for the paper). A little rivalry, in my opinion, helps keep our elected officials at the top of their game.

As I write this, it is Tuesday: Election Day. I don’t know the results yet, and won’t even pretend to speculate on who wins what races. I remain hopeful, however, that whomever is selected to serve Grandview and South Kansas City will do so with pride.

Tonight, as I watch the results trickle in from home and finish the front page of this paper, I’ll be thinking about the issues we face on a day-to-day basis in this part of the Kansas City metro. Our priorities remain the same: quality education, housing, businesses and infrastructure in order to lead healthy, happy lives in our community.

Whether we see changes made, or more of the same, I think we will be victorious, as those who we select to serve our communities will have our interests at heart. Now, do you smell it? Smells like a win.