KEVIN HALPERN, Courier Co-Editor
Sunday, August 15, 2010 8:23 am

As is the case at most news operations, there is a police scanner at the Cannon Courier office.

As you might imagine, you can hear some rather strange and perhaps startling situations come over the scanner, anytime of the day or night.

Take Saturday around 7 p.m. for instance. I'm at the office, waiting for the paper to be delivered from the printer. Over the scanner comes a call for an officer to investigate a report of indecent exposure, in front of the Piggly Wiggly, on Jim Cummings Highway.

While a report of indecent exposure is rare in itself, the followup information that came was even more surprising: the motorist who made the report via cellphone described the exhibitionists as two boys, one white and one black.

She also guessed them to be about 10 years old.

The ensuing police traffic about the incident brought indication that this might not have been these boys first run-in with the law. One officer indicated he knew where they lived, because he had dealt with a similar episode the day before.

While the radio traffic gave no indication as to the nature of the indecent exposure, my guess is if you are driving out Jim Cummings Highway, don't be shocked if you see the moon during the day.

KIDS, KIDS, KIDS

Matters involving young people have been on my mind the past week, what with the start of the new school year and the upcoming kickoff to football season.

From all appearances and accounts, Jeran Tenpenny is among the best and brightest students Cannon County has to offer.

Excellent grades, National Senior BETA Club VP, engaging public speaker, represents students on the school board. Insightful and articulate.

Thursday night at the monthly meeting of the Cannon County Board of Education, Tenpenny spoke against giving the Cannon County Athletic Council $22,000 to help pay off the note on the Sports Complex at Cannon County High School.

Tenpenny made several good points in conveying the reasons for his opposition, most of which I found myself in agreement.

One, however, makes we wonder whether as smart as Tenpenny is now, there are some things he might view differently as he goes through life.

During his statement Tenpenny said that he has always been taught not to borrow money unless you know you can pay it back.

Sound advice for sure, but sometimes you don't always know what life will throw at you.

The time will likely come in his life when Tenpenny will want to buy a car or a house. He might want to start a business of his own. If he does, he likely will have to borrow money in order to do so.

Cars and houses aren't cheap, and few people have the cash on hand to simple go out and buy one. Most people, at least those who qualify, borrow money in order to make such purchases.

It's usually an arrangement that works out well for a majority of people. They make their payments, drive their car and enjoy their home, and live a happy and fulfilling life.

Unfortunately that's not the case for everyone. Circumstances change. They might lose their job, become ill, or incur unanticipated expenses, putting their ability to repay the money they borrowed in jeopardy.

If they own a business, chances are sometime during the course of its operation there will be tough times. When that happens, it might be necessary to borrow money to keep from going under.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be might sound like good advice, but in the world in which we live, it's not always practical, or possible.