One of about five of blood in the average adult body

With temperatures expected to top 100 degrees for the next several days, the city of Davis opened a cooling center at the Davis Senior Center on Wednesday that will remain open through Saturday.

The latest forecasts call for temperatures to top 105 degrees on Thursday and Friday.

For those lacking air conditioning or another cool space, the senior center at 646 A St. will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m. Use the Seventh Street entrance to the West multipurpose room to enter.

Masks will be required. “Florida governor signs new bill requiring K-12 public schools to hold moment of silence each day,” said the headline over a CNN story earlier this week.

“All K-12 public schools in Florida will hold a moment of silence at the start of the day starting next school year, according to a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis,” the story begins.

“According to the law, principals of each public school shall require teachers in first-period classrooms in all grades to set aside at least one minute, but not more than two minutes, daily for the moment of silence.”

As I understand it, Florida’s kindergarten teachers lobbied for 30 minutes of silence in their classrooms, but that request failed.

The law, of course, requires that “teachers may not make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence,” but DeSantis makes no secret that prayer is what is expected here.

Said the governor, “The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I’m sorry, our founding fathers did not believe that.”

They also didn’t believe that possessing slaves should prevent anyone from becoming president, but I guess that’s a topic for another day.

It’s interesting, though, how this same governor can righteously invoke the Almighty when it comes to school prayer just several weeks after signing legislation designed to make it much more difficult for some of God’s children to vote in Florida’s elections.

But maybe there are two gods out there, one to make sure we have prayer in public schools and the other to make sure that folks like Ron DeSantis stay in power.

When we moved to Davis so Dad could finish the college degree that was interrupted by his service in World War II, I started kindergarten at Central Davis School, the only elementary school in town.

We did not have school prayer or a moment of silence back then, and “Under God” had not yet been added to the Pledge of Allegiance, which we dutifully recited every day on the school playground.

My religious understanding came primarily from Mom and Dad, but also from attending Saturday morning Catechism class at the historic brick St. James Catholic Church that was just a block away from Central Davis School.

My limited understanding then and my firm belief now is that this was exactly the sort of arrangement the founders would approve of, freedom of religious belief and thought, but no compulsory religious instruction in the government-run school.

And, of course, the option to attend a private school where religious instruction would be freely offered and religious expression openly encouraged.

The problem with prayer in the public schools, beyond constitutional concerns, is that it would be impossible in a pluralistic society to decide which prayer to have the children recite.

As a Catholic, I believe the Our Father, also known as the Lord’s Prayer, provides the perfect words that Jesus gave to mankind. But I’m quite certain it would not be the prayer our local school board would decide was the appropriate one for our public schools.

As I grew older and moved from grade to grade and school to school, I found myself praying in class on a number of occasions without being encouraged or discouraged to do so by my teachers.

In first grade at Central Davis, I prayed that Mom remembered to put extra mayonnaise on my tunafish sandwich.

In Miss Marguerite Montgomery’s fifth-grade class at West Davis Elementary, I prayed for the right answers as she passed out her always-difficult math quiz.

In ninth grade at Davis Junior High School I prayed that I’d land the part of Scrooge in the school play.

And as a junior varsity baseball player at Davis High School, I prayed that I wouldn’t strike out against a particularly hard-throwing right-hander from Clarksburg.

They were real prayers, some answered, some not. But looking back, I wouldn’t change any of those outcomes now, as important as they seemed to me at the time.

God works in mysterious ways I thought to myself as I heard the umpire call “Strike 3” and returned to the dugout to receive a sympathetic pat on the back from my loyal and encouraging teammates.

Yes, you can pray whenever or wherever you like in this country.

Silent, respectful, earnest prayer in the public schools? Happens all the time.

We don’t need the governor of Florida to force it on us. — Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

For the record

A photo caption in Wednesday’s sports section had the wrong score for the Davis Little League AAA championship this past Saturday. It was the Red Sox that defeated the Reds, 7-5, in the City Championship. We regret the error.

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These big-bird dads are the rhea deal

By Sara ThompSon Special to the Enterprise

Rheas are large, flightless birds from South America. The largest bird in the continent, they stand between 3 and 5 feet tall, with males being larger than females.

They are related to ostriches and emus, and look very similar, but do not have tail feathers. Their plumage is primarily on their head, neck and bodies; generally brown or gray, with white on the underside. They have longer wings than most flightless birds, which they use for balance and changing direction when running. They also flap their wings to ward off predators.

During breeding season, a male will try to attract several females and can mate with anywhere from two to 12 partners. A male rhea builds a single nest by scraping the ground to make a depression and lining it with leaves and grasses. All the females a male has mated with will lay their eggs in the single nest and leave the incubating to the male. A female rhea can lay up to five eggs each in the nest.

Depending on the number of females, a male rhea’s nest can contain up to 60 eggs! After all the eggs have been laid in the nest, the male will incubate the eggs for about six weeks until the eggs hatch. The rhea hatchlings will all hatch within 36 hours of each other no matter what order they were laid.

After hatching, the male will care for and protect the hatchlings until they reach their adult size at around 6 months old. Young rheas will primarily eat insects. As they grow their diets will become more diverse and include things such as leafy plants, fruit, seeds, larger insects and even small lizards.

In nature it is much more common for males to not be involved in the rearing of young. Rheas are one of the few who are almost exclusively raised by the fathers. While rheas are still small, the fathers will protect and attack any potential threat, even female rheas. ————

Explorit’s coming events:

n Explorit’s Summer Science Camp is back for 2021! Beginning in June and running through to mid-August, our camps are filled with fun, handson science activities. Summer camp runs from 8 to 11:15 a.m. Monday to Friday. Fee for summer camp is $175 for members and $200 for non-members. Limited spaces available for camps designed for grades K-3 and 4-6. Visit https://www.explorit.org/ camps for more information and registration. n To avoid any crosscontamination between our Summer Camp students and the general public we will remain closed to the public through the summer. We are planning on opening a new exhibit with cleaning and safety protocols in place for fall of 2021. n Like many small businesses the closures have had a significant impact on our income and sustainability. Now is a great time to donate and help Explorit continue to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https:// www.explorit.org/donate. n Continue to support Explorit during this uncertain time by becoming a member. An Exploit Membership not only support us but grants the recipient with free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, discounts on events, summer and after-school camps, and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world. For more information visit https://www.explorit.org/ membership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191. — Explorit Science Center is at 3141 Fifth St. For information, call 530-7560191 or visit http://www. explorit.org, or “like” the Facebook page at www. facebook.com/explorit.fb.

explorit sCienCe Center

Mariana ruiz Villarreal/WikiMedia CoMMons photo

A rhea dad keeps an eye on his chicks.

Yolo Superior Court expands in-person hearings

Special to The Enterprise

Consistent with Governor Newsom’s re-opening plan Yolo Superior Court fully reopened for inperson hearings on Tuesday, June 15.

While the court will continue to allow remote appearances in most case types and for non-evidentiary hearings, it will no longer require remote appearances as it did during the height of the pandemic.

Traffic court will remain an exception and still requirer emote appearances. Additionally, jury hardships and orientation will also remain virtual. Court hearings will continue to be streamed so that viewers can watch and listen to public hearings remotely.

Exterior service windows will remain open for traffic and collections, and interior service windows will be available for all other case types. Per local rule, e-filing is mandatory for most case types and permissive for others. The self-help center will expand services to include appointments inperson or by Zoom and open office hours for dropin services Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The public should consult the court’s website, www.yolo.courts.ca.gov, for further information on inperson and Zoom appearances.

“Remote appearance allowed the court to stay open and functioning during the pandemic,” Presiding Judge Daniel P. Maguire said. “The public health crisis is now receding, but we’ve learned how technology can expand access to justice, and we will continue to give all court users the option to appear by video for most non-evidentiary hearings.”

“There have been many benefits to the virtual calendars including saving time traveling to and from the courthouse for appearances,” Maguire added. “We’re happy to give court users the option to appear remotely and believe that remote appearance offers many benefits in appropriate cases.”

Interested in Public Service?

The Rotary Club of Davis has been living its motto, “Service Above Self” since 1926. Currently Zoom Meetings are being held on held most Mondays, 12:15 pm to 1:15pm. The first few meetings are free for prospective members. See www.rotaryclubofdavis.com to attend a meeting.

Programs: