Why is it we’re always ready to rush spring? When the days begin to get a little longer and there’s an occasional breath of warm air hitting the old nose, that seems to trigger the idea that spring is right around the corner.

As this is written Monday morning, after a few days of those warm breezes - gales - the old weatherman keeps mixing the word snow into his vocabulary. “Only flurries,” he says, and I want to believe him. But it is still winter - or make that still is winter, or whatever.

But do you remember what covered the ground in Eagle Observer territory the first-day-of-spring last year? Yep, that’s right, as many as five inches of snow. How quickly we forget or vice-versa!

But ... there’s every evidence the ground will be covered with white throughout the area within the next few days. It will be scattered, isolated, because of the quirks of Mother Nature.

Yep, in a few days we’ll see the ground white in spots. . . . under those ever-faithful Bradford pear trees.

Gas prices

On to another favorite subject: gas prices. They keep inching up by the halffeet. Barring some miracle, it could be possible they’ll hit that wallet-fracturing level of four bucks a gallon.

But never fear. I heard one of those boob tube experts say not to worry. After the jumps we’ve seen, he had the audacity (remember that word?) to suggest that they (the gas prices) will “level off.” Notice he didn’t say drop ... just level off.

Population changes

I was reading the headline in a sister publication the other day, “The Times of Northwest Arkansas” at Pea Ridge. The headline, splashed across the top of the front page: “Pea Ridge - now truly a first-class city.”

When a town’s population reaches the 2,500 mark it can, if it so desires, become a first-class city. Or a city can make a special request and upgrade earlier if the request is approved.

Gravette didn’t reach the 2,500 mark as many were hoping it would. But perhaps with the amenities the community has - a great school, a hospital, and on and on the list could go - perhaps seeking first class status might be investigated. There are plusses and, no doubt, minuses, but it might be something to think about.

Another look at the population figures, not only for the city but also the county and state, means there will be redistricting at every level.

Since the county population passed the 200,000 mark, it will now have 15 Justices of the Peace, up from the present 13. Redrawing the districts in this and the various state and national offices will be a challenge to meet equalization guidelines. Let’s hope there aren’t too many fiascoes.

Dodie Evans is the editor emeritus of the Westside Eagle Observer and may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 03/16/2011