It hardly seems possible that the youngest members of our co-op communities will soon head back to school. That return is rooted in such routines as choosing classes or planning for extracurricular activities. While this school year won't feel entirely the same as in many years past, there will at least be less uncertainty after the unexpected challenges of the past 18 months.

Tipmont is excited to meet and greet our members at county fairs this month.

In 2014, Tipmont’s board of directors revised our co-op’s mission statement to best reflect our purpose: “Empowering communities by providing state-of-the-art essential services.” In basic terms, that means electricity and fiber internet. But our definition dares to go deeper.

What a difference a year makes. My column in May of last year was filled with uncertainty, but also hope. Just like so many other organizations — hospitals, schools, churches, government, businesses — Tipmont was rethinking how to operate in a fundamentally altered environment.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for first-hand accounts on broadband availability and service quality as part of its broadband Data Collection program. The initiative is an effort to update federal broadband coverage maps that overstate the number of internet providers in partially served areas, which applies to much of Tipmont’s electric footprint

Power outages are never convenient. Sometimes, it’s no mystery why we are left in the dark, like when lightning and thunder rattle windows and walls. Other times, an outage may come out of the blue.

It’s only been a few years since East End Grill opened at its titular edge of Lafayette’s Main Street. But it has more than earned its claim as a staple of downtown dining. With an opening just before Christmas 2020, owner Scott Trzaskus has broadened out into a new space across the street — Ripple and Company, which complements East End’s sit-down splendor with a fast-casual feel perfect to grab and go or for quick bites onsite.

Over the last several months, so many of our favorite in-person gathering places had to pivot in ways few of us could have imagined at the beginning of 2020. We saw sit-down institutions turn to takeout turnabouts for dinner and develop delivery strategies for lunch. And yet there always seemed to be a meal that served as a final frontier for this new era, and that’s brunch.

For fans of baked goods, all sorts of delectable decisions await you in downtown Lafayette. I’ve extolled the virtues of Sweet Revolution’s personal pies here before. Scones and Doilies offers a more European spin with filled rugelach pastries and savory spinachand- cheese galettes.

Although it’s technically autumn now, it’s the time of year that we latch onto the last few shreds of summer we can find — a few more splashes in the pool, rounds of golf, and evenings relaxing outside … even if we occasionally need some jackets or blankets.