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On May 5, our community once again turned out in force for the 60^th-annual National Day of Prayer. There are so many people who are the unsung heroes of this critical event, and most do not want any recognition at all. With that in mind, I still want to publicly thank a few who went beyond the call of duty. The staff of the Washington Daily News continues to help the task force stay on track with suggestions, phone calls, and generously giving space in the newspaper leading up to the day. The First United Methodist Church, Rev. Danny Allen and his staff, Paige Davis and the Men’s Cook Team, and many others were so hospitable, energetic, and creative as they hosted the prayer breakfast. Laura Smithwick and her co-workers made everything so comfortable and easy at the Civic Center, and at the municipal building, a team of folks from First Baptist Church, 15^th Street Church of God and Church of the Good Shepherd organized, set up, and carried off another great prayer service to complete the day.

Thanks to everyone who cares enough to pause and honor God with prayer.

As a personal privilege, my wife and I also want to thank the police chief of Aurora, William Watts, who took the time to call the Washington city police on Saturday morning to report a suspicious person dragging a suitcase down the street. When our police responded they apprehended the person, who had a bag of coins and a name tag with my name and cellphone number, but no suitcase. I was out of town celebrating Mother’s Day weekend with my wife and daughter, and a call from Officers Johnson and Hassel quickly brought my weekend to an end. They confirmed that our home had been broken into, and I needed to come home and secure it. They waited nearly two hours for me, and while waiting, found two TVs hidden in the woods beside our house. A few minutes later, Officer Bradbury and Detective Black arrived to process the crime scene. All these law-enforcement professionals were patient, thorough, friendly and professional far beyond my expectations. I felt safe, and I knew I was in good hands. Within hours, they got a confession, found the suitcase, and assured me that the personal property would be returned as soon as possible. On Monday, we unpacked the suitcase, finding everything but one laptop, probably the most important stolen item. When I called Detective Black about it, he got right back on the case, and within a day and a half, called to say the laptop was recovered. Remarkable!

I understand our city council is considering outsourcing police protection for Washington. I am sure they will make many difficult budgetary decisions over the coming weeks, and saving money is important. Maybe outsourcing could save money, but we could never replace the pros at the Washington Police Department. You may be wondering why I would use one Letter to the Editor to thank people, but I know that the celebration on Thursday and the violation of Saturday were linked. God can be in every facet of our lives if we invite Him in. He was blessing our family in both events with grace, love, and peace. I will close with a “big thank you community, thank you police department, and thank you God for making life so amazing.”