Here are a few thoughts about the news that has hit the Suffolk News-Herald lately, in no particular order.

• If you’re reading this in time to still go to the Nansemond Indian Nation powwow, put your shoes on and grab the car keys. It’s happening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mattanock Town site on Pembroke Lane, which runs off Godwin Boulevard directly across from Oakland Elementary School. Admission is free, and you don’t want to miss this amazing experience.
• Denim donations at the library: I’ve got two or three pairs of jeans that — well, let’s just say they don’t fit anymore. I’ll definitely be taking them to one of Suffolk’s three library locations this month to donate them. It’s pretty cool that Goodwill is providing a donation to the Friends of the Suffolk Library for every pound of denim they collect. Donations are accepted through Sept. 15.
• Congratulations to the new Franklin Police chief, Steve Patterson. He moved on last week after almost 25 years in the Suffolk Police Department, which he ended in the role of deputy chief. In my dealings with him, he has always been kind, fair and forthright, along with a steady sense of humor. Franklin got a good one.
• I would love to see your letters to the editor — between 300 and 500 words, email them to news@suffolknewsherald.com — on when school should start. As someone who would not be affected by it in the slightest, I really don’t have an opinion. Lots of people on Facebook have weighed in with the pros and cons.

I was raised in private school in this area, so we did an August-to-May schedule. I enjoyed it solely because I never once had to attend school on my birthday, which is in the first week of June. But I also thought it made sense to have the first semester finish before Christmas, so everyone had a fresh start coming back from break.

But I also think the post-Labor Day start has become a cultural thing around here, and a lot of people will be reluctant to change.

• The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts’ season this year seems to include more performances geared toward 20- and 30-somethings, with rising sensation the Way Down Wanderers and contemporary Christian artist Mark Schultz. The center also plans more “experiences” in combination with their performances, not all of which will be announced beforehand.

It’s a great way to continue moving toward a reputation as a regional performance venue, where people from other cities don’t think it’s too much of a burden to drive to Suffolk. The same people who might drive to the Peninsula from Virginia Beach, or vice versa, or maybe even head all the way to Richmond for a show seem to think Suffolk is too far away, and the center is trying to disabuse them of that notion.