After the flood

What a week! After the deluge we experienced this week, I'm sure I speak for most people when I say "Yippee! - here comes the sun." But while the world outside my window here at The Central Record looks lovely and temperate today (Friday), with no real traces of the flood waters that ravaged this area earlier this week, the damage left behind will be costly, especially, it seems in Medford. According to a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) estimate this week, Burlington County suffered about $7.7 million in damages with most damage reported in Medford - approximately $1.76 million worth.

For the full story, please see The Central Record's post-flood coverage in the April 26 issue.

This lovely day, alas, won't do much to lift the spirits of a nation that is truly in mourning - once again - for the senseless slaughter of so many promising young people and several of their brilliant professors at the hands of a very disturbed individual. Today - ironically on the anniversary of the Columbine disaster nine years ago - many people are donning the colors of Virginia Tech in memory of the 32 people who were killed at that bucolic campus in the mountains on Monday. As a parent of two college students, I vacillate between tears and total disbelief: I can't begin to imagine - or I can't let myself imagine - the horror that these families are experiencing. As a fellow citizen, I also mourn the incredible potential that was lost this week: dreams that won't be realized, remarkable careers that won't be embarked upon, amazing goals that won't be accomplished. As members of the human race, we've all lost something dear this week. All of us who are parents, children, siblings, friends, loved ones, teachers, mentors - our collective hearts are broken.

Please read Reporter Adrianne Bruce's thoughts on the Virginia Tech tragedy in the April 26 edition of The Central Record.

Also, in the weeks ahead, we will be following the news of school districts in our coverage area with failed budgets as officials attempt to negotiate a spending plan with municipalities, as the state requires.


Susan Miller
Managing Editor