One of my go-to headlines … three things. We are crunched for time this week to get the paper to the printer by 5 p.m. on Monday because of New Year’s Day. I took a couple of vacation days after Christmas and, to be honest, it is extremely rare that I have this column done days before press time – mostly just hours before it slides onto the pages and online! I will try to do better in 2020.

Speaking of 2020 … Do you make resolutions every new year? Lose weight? Exercise more? Be kinder to your fellow man? I don’t make resolutions. Secretly, I try to do the three mentioned above but I fail at the first two — most every year. The third one is much easier to do. But maybe I will do my best to not fail on the first two this coming year. It is such a neat year to write and it is a leap year ... got an extra day to exercise and eat less!

Congratulations to the Seahawks boys and girls basketball teams for their great start to the season. Yes, the season is young and anything can happen, but we’re seeing strong finishes by both teams in close games. Keep up the good work and hope to see both teams in the tournament again this year.

On the subject of being kinder to your fellow man, don’t forget to keep a watch on your neighbors this winter. After the “green” Christmas we had, Mother Nature reminded us that winter is still with us by dumping snow, ice and rain on us Monday and that means slippery walkways and driveways. If you have a neighbor who needs help cleaning those passages, don’t hesitate to ask him or her if you can help in the weeks to come.

Have a happy 2020!