Finals night saw David Archuleta and David Cook face each other mano-a-kiddo. Archuleta is a cute 17-year-old boyish boy with a big voice who has nearly become a walking cliche. Cook is very talented who deserves the title, but little David definitely will win the screaming teenage girls vote. We'll all know by the time you read this.

As far as the presidential thing goes, I really thought Sen. Hillary Clinton was going to win when all this started several, several months ago. Not only would I have bet on it, I did. Soon, my good friends will be collecting on my hunch; Bill will be eating a steak on me and Bob will be drinking some Bushmills.

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Since my columns of yore concerning the white lines for our single-lane, one-way streets and our overabundance of signage for our little burg, I have become the local citizens' clearinghouse for city stuff that makes them go "Huh?"

I received several reports of white lines being re-painted, so I was forced to check it out myself. Driving down Fort Street , I felt so much better with the clearly marked single lanes with the fresh white paint. But what caught my eye was a "No U-turn" sign at 11th and Fort. Someone was working on it; so I returned after fetching my mail, and sure enough, there it was.

I couldn't help myself. I had to research this immediately. I e-mailed a friend at the city office and asked, "Do we really need a 'No U-turn' sign on a one-way street?" He promised to research. The next day, I received an e-mail from someone else explaining the sign should have been pointed toward westbound traffic on 11th street . Obviously, this must be a high-traffic illegal U-turn traffic way, as with further research (I drove Fort Street from 27th to Eighth) and discovered that was the only intersection of so much concern it needed a sign.

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Go grab a pen. Now, mark on your calendar:

Memorial Day: 9:45 a.m. Monday

Ellis County Courthouse Square

Memorial Day Services by area's dedicated veterans

The ceremony starts at 10 a.m., but there is a flyover at 9:50 a.m. that you won't want to miss.

WaKeeney also will have a ceremony at the veteran's cemetery beginning at 10 a.m. Check your local papers for your town's salute to our nation's best. There is also a ceremony at Hays' American Legion Park at 7 p.m.

"All gave some. Some gave all."

We can give an hour, don't you think?

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I was never one of those who trashed the new polycarts. I had no idea there would be such a low tolerance on the policing thereof.

An otherwise law-abiding citizen handed me a letter sign by a city department head. It pointed out that his trashcan "lid was open." It went on to say "If corrective action had not been completed, we will need to take further steps to resolve the issue."

I envisioned the SWAT team and the sheriff's office pouncing on the household with the bullhorn blaring, "Put the trash can lid down! Now!! Of course, the noise of the rotors of the Okoberfest helicopter pounded overhead.

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A little tidbit that flew under the local's media radar screen happened in Ellis last week. It seems a couple of young entrepreneurs leased or purchased a vacant building and were going to open a bistro of some kind.

Problem. A local church meets next door and wanted the local city council to deny the new business owners a permit. An Ellisite who will remain protected by anonymity dubbed the standoff "Tabernacle versus Tavern."

The council hired counsel and discovered there was no statute to deny the permit and allowed the project to continue with one dissenting vote. The bar owners have said they will not be open during Sunday services.

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One of my favorite columns I've written showcased a young man, Khanh Huynh, whose Vietnamese father, Quan, had fought for the United States against the Viet Cong. In 1992, Quan and wife, Hai, moved their family to America . The column featured the family's long journey to enjoy our nation's freedoms, culminating in Khanh's election as Hays High Homecoming King.

Khanh was one of the more than 2,000 FHSU graduates last weekend. He graduated summa cum laude (one of only 23) and will now enter med school at the University of Kansas .

There were a lot of proud parents, friends and family members at a packed Gross Memorial Coliseum, including Dottie and myself. Congratulations, Michelle.

Best of luck to all of the area graduates, at every level, as they take on new adventures in their lives.