It's about time.

An Associated Press article today talks about medical experts suggesting that maybe doctors are overtesting and overtreating patients, and that disease prevention is about eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, and not smoking - not about getting another kind of medical exam.

My mother has worked in the medical profession since she graduated college, but I never bought into the idea that regular doctor's visits are a matter of life and death, or that I need to go to the clinic whenever I feel a little under the weather. 

Every so often I come across a situation that makes me question some drivers' sanity.

Usually it's a simple case of an impatient driver in a speedy car who apparently has somewhere really important to get to five minutes ago. But a near incident last night made me recall a few drivers who really, I should have reported.

You know the saying, when it rains, it pours?

Well, it seems to be especially true with me. When one thing goes terribly wrong, so do at least two or three other things.

A couple months ago I noticed a squealing somewhere under the hood of my car. It didn’t alarm me too much, as it was clear to me that it was just a belt getting loose or slipping. Generally those can squeal for a few days before they cause any significant problems.

Jordan Middle School sixth-graders hope to blog about their stay at Wolf Ridge next week.

The retreat is scheduled for March 10-12. Photos and notes about the trip will (hopefully) be posted on the school distict's Web site, www.jordan.k12.mn.us.

To view the blog, go to the middle school home page and click on "Wolf Ridge Blog" on the left side of the page.

Do you know a 2010 DARE graduate? Click here to view and buy photos of your grad as he or she receives a certificate of completion.

Sandy Burke, a member of the Jordan School Board, writes:

There were plenty of questions about the school district when the referendum was at stake, but public interest seems to have died down since that passed.

When the school board first started discussing how to address problems with the middle school building, people expressed concerns over the idea that the district might consider rebuilding the school if remodeling/repair costs got to be too high.

I'm working on typing up the A and B honor rolls for Jordan Middle School and Jordan High School (it's taking a while). Congratulations to all the students who made the list!

Some of you were kind enough to follow my first attempt at growing an indoor garden to decorate and supplement my apartment's kitchen. Well, I'm trying again, this time with a few changes.

Last year I only had one success - sweet peppers. They're amazingly resilient, and apparently don't need a whole lot of ground to be happy enough to flower. I have seeds from one of the peppers I used for dinner, so will be trying those again in their own, more appropriately sized, pot.

I recently had an opportunity to attend a Belle Plaine City Council meeting and was rather impressed with how streamlined and formal the meeting was.

The structure was solid, and the mayor stuck to the rules of order.

As a side note, Belle Plaine does allow public comment before every agenda item, and at the meeting I attended, those public comments did not add more than about five minutes to the meeting.