Monday morning was busy but I had time to go home for lunch. As I got home, the news was reporting smoke coming from the Notre Dame Cathedral. I got busy for the next 45 minutes but before heading back to work, I looked over at the television with my wife watching it. The spire at the cathedral had just collapsed.

I had an appointment at the office that required me to go back, but I could not help but worry that it was 9/11 all over again. I wondered how the world was about to change.

Though the news evolved that it was a fire that was caused by accident (at least we hope), I was still saddened by the loss of an 850-year-old historical landmark of the world. It is one of breathtaking beauty and of significance to so many people for various reasons.

That coming weekend was Easter. My wife and I traveled to Wichita to be with our grandson (as well as my son and his wife). Alex is now 20 months old. It always seems that when I am around him, he puts so many things in perspective.

That Sunday we were visitors at a church, with Alex in tow. One of the points of the message actually dealt with Notre Dame. Something that we can build and be so proud of can disappear in a moment.

The last couple of weeks I have had two difficult cases. One was with a family dealing with very advanced cancer. It had just come at a time when everything seemed to be working out perfectly for the family. Now life was taking a new direction.

Another family was dealing with dementia that snuck up on them. The husband had always been the strong one and was now struggling, and he knew it. He knew his time was limited. The children were struggling both with their dad that was struggling with his own frailty, as well as with their mother trying to guide her chronically ill spouse through this process.

Each case reminded me about how fragile life can be, but the one constant in both cases was the relationships of the family members with each other. Frankly my breath was taken away. It was all I could do to keep my eyes dry.

The church service reminded me that while Notre Dame was great, and even perhaps it will be rebuilt, it is our relationships that are most important.

And so it is with Easter. For many it is a difficult time understanding the Easter meaning. I do not want to get into the religious philosophies, but for me it is about a new beginning. It is a new life.

That weekend I got to take Alex (my grandson) on two different Easter egg hunts. At almost two years old, the eggs were fun to put in the basket, and equally fun to take out and throw. What he enjoys most was running over to his grandfather (and I suppose his parents as well).

While the eggs in our life may be important at the time we get them, what is important is the new beginning that we have each day with those with whom we have relationships.

While I am optimistic that Notre Dame will be rebuilt (and some will say will never be the same), I know that our spirit will continue on. Because our spirit is not stuff; it is the not the little eggs we pick up on Easter; it is the hugs and the time we have together.

I hope that the two families I met will remember that. I hope I do as well.

Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To contact him, please send an email to [email protected]. Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

May is an excellent time to fertilize cool-season lawns such as tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass if they will be irrigated throughout the summer. Non-irrigated lawns often go through a period of summer dormancy because of drought and do not need this fertilization.

May is a good time to fertilize because the springtime flush of growth characteristic of these grasses has tapered off, so the fertilizer you apply will be less likely to cause excessive shoot growth than if you fertilized at a full rate in April. Slow-release nitrogen sources are ideal.

These nitrogen sources promote controlled growth, which is desirable as the stressful summer weather approaches. Relatively few fertilizers available to the homeowner supply ALL of the nitrogen in the slowly available form. But one such product that is widely available is Milorganite.

Other such products available in the retail market include cottonseed meal, alfalfa-based fertilizers, and any other products derived from plants or animals. (Bloodmeal is an exception, and contrary to popular belief, the nitrogen it supplies is quickly available.)

These products are all examples of natural organic fertilizers. They typically contain less than 10 percent nitrogen by weight, so compared to most synthetic fertilizers, more product must be applied to get the same amount of nitrogen. Translation: they are more expensive! Apply enough to give the lawn one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. For example, if the fertilizer is 6 percent nitrogen by weight, you will need to apply almost 17 pounds of fertilizer product per 1,000 square feet. Summer lawn fertilizers that contain at least a portion of the nitrogen as slow-release are fine to use as well. Be sure to follow label directions.

If cost is prohibitive, you can use the less expensive quick-release (i.e., soluble) sources, but split the application into two doses as follows: apply enough to give the lawn 0.5 lb nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in May and again in early June.

Alicia Boor is an Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact her by e-mail at [email protected] or calling 620-793-1910.

The Kansas Supreme Court cannot be accused of ducking tough issues.

Last week the Court ruled that the Bill of Rights in the Kansas Constitution protects Kansans’ “right of personal autonomy,” including a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. Then, on Monday, the Court hears the latest round of litigation on school funding, the most fundamental obligation of state government.

Debate on the Court’s engagement in the abortion issue will continue for some time. On school finance, however, the Court should sign off on school funding approved by a bipartisan legislative coalition and Governor Laura Kelly and stand down on future litigation.

The history of school finance litigation stretches back over 50 years and stems from a complete rewrite of the Education Article of the Kansas Constitution proposed by state lawmakers and adopted by voters in 1966. This revision says simply “the legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state.”

Since 1966, lawmakers, state courts, and school districts have engaged in six cycles of litigation over what exactly “suitable provision” means. In the current cycle, which began in 2010, lawmakers are making their seventh trip to the Court to settle the lawsuit. In other words, in six prior attempts—once in 2014, twice in 2016, twice in 2017, and once in 2018—lawmakers fell short in meeting the Court’s view of suitable funding.

In the most recent cycle, the first three trips to the Court, led by former Governor Brownback and his far-right legislative allies, were not credible. They chose to ignore established funding guidelines, threaten the Court, campaign to oust Court justices, and enact multi-billion dollar cuts in state income taxes. Kansas voters rejected these tactics in the elections of 2016.

Beginning in 2017 a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers has taken the Court’s orders seriously and crafted credible steps toward settling the litigation.

Why is school finance so hard? Imagine, if you will, allocating $5 billion among 300 school districts in ways that are adequate in meeting educational goals and equitable across widely diverse rural, urban, and suburban schools.

Even so, after nearly ten years of lawsuit drama, Kansans should expect these cycles of litigation to end.

The Kansas Supreme Court has the power to establish a higher bar for itself and lower state courts in considering future complaints on the suitability provision of the Kansas Constitution. Through prior rulings, the Court has established standards for adequacy and equity in school funding; it could order that only a substantial departure from those standards by state lawmakers would qualify for judicial review. An expression of heightened restraint by the Court in applying those standards could usher in an era free of litigation over school finance.

A “substantial departure” could, of course, be in the eye of the beholder, as “suitable” has been, but the justices can certainly find the right words. Obviously, the dramatic cuts in base funding and block-grant chicanery during the Brownback era represented flagrant deviations from funding guidelines and deserved judicial attention.

Judicial restraint on challenges to school funding could send powerful messages to school districts and state lawmakers: First, that school districts should focus their attention on demonstrating how additional funding leads to improved student performance, particularly for students most in need. And second, that state legislators keep school funding in line with established standards for adequacy and equity and assure that school districts are held accountable for student performance.

As high drama on abortion politics resurfaces, the Court should clear the way for a litigious-free path on school finance.

H. Edward Flentje is professor emeritus at Wichita State University and served with former Kansas Governors Bennett and Hayden.