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As I wrote last week, we are about to witness a monumental occasion. The Wall That Heals is a half scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. By the time you are reading this, the Wall is already set up for public viewing.

I know that I for one, will probably never have the chance to visit the original Wall in Washington D.C. in person, so that makes this event even more significant for me and many others around our area.

Today (Thursday), the Wall opens for public viewing and will be on display around the clock. There will be people reading all 58,000 names of men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam War around the clock as well.

On Thursday and Friday, the Wall will have students visiting and learning about the history of the wall and the Vietnam War.

Saturday is the main event. There will be a ceremony, held in the Chisago Lakes High School stadium that will be capped off with a flyover of at least two F-16 fighter jets.

Sunday, you are invited to take part in a Community Worship also in the new football stadium at 2 p.m. The Wall may be viewed until Sunday night, with the Wall leaving town mid Monday.

The Chisago County Press is very excited to have a new member of our team. Charlie Wilcox will be writing and reporting for our the paper.

For those of you who do not know Charlie, he is currently attending Chisago Lakes Senior High and is an active member of the marching band. You may have seen Charlie riding his 1950's looking bicycle all over town.

Charlie is a very bright kid and a really good writer, and we could not be more happy to have him. We hope you will enjoy the added dimension he brings to an already great newspaper.

Remember to purchase your gas at Wally Carlsons BP this weekend. Wade and the good people at Wally's are donating ten cents for every gallon sold to our local Vets. Let's really make Wade empty his wallet this weekend. In all seriousness, what Wade and Wally Carlson are doing is just wonderful and I commend them for it.

The Chisago County Press is proud to bring you our 2009 Fall Sports Preview. Our sports editor Jeff Norton, along with our assistant sports editor Chuck Fitzer, have joined forces to bring you one of our best previews ever. You will find stories about every team from Chisago Lakes and North Branch along with pictures of seniors or letter winners. This year's preview is filled with ads for some really great businesses from our area, who support high school sports.

We think you are really going to notice a difference from other previews. This one is loaded with color and is really appealing to the eye.

After a long Holiday weekend, you typically see people dragging and kind of out of it at work. This week is not one of those times. Parents have a little more spring in their step this week. The kids are finally back to school.

I can't speak for any of you, but at our house, the long summer was really putting a strain on our kids. Not the time off, rather the amount of time they spent together. I could really notice it about the last three weeks or so. There was a lot more playing by themselves and not with each other. School will be good. Good for everyone all around.

Here is a little driving tip now that school is back in session. Be aware of school busses. Make a concerted effort to pay attention to the giant yellow vehicles and their passengers at bus stops.

Another tip. If you are driving on Olinda Trail, and there are people turning at the school and golf course road, do not go around them. It is against the law to cross a white line and pass turning vehicles. Unfortunately I had to find out the hard way a year ago. So there, I saved you a ticket.

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