While students in Oconee and Pickens counties returned to school last week — and can finally settle into a routine with the solar eclipse having come and gone — a great number more students will return to class in Pickens County today.

In the news business, stories come along every so often that dominate headlines for weeks or months at a time, but we struggle to think of many topics that have gotten more ink recently than the lead-up to Monday’s total solar eclipse.

While the school year is only a day old, high school football season is already upon us, and The Journal will once again have wall-to-wall — and sideline-to-sideline —coverage of the four schools within our delivery area.

The start of a new school year is always an exciting time for teachers and students … and parents, of course.

A couple things are pretty clear from the analysis we’ve done on the cost of going to college in South Carolina these days — the cost continues to rise, and there are outstanding options for students to get a great education locally.

Call us crazy, but with the already dire parking situation in downtown Clemson, we fail to see how the combination of more students plus fewer parking spots equals a “win-win-win” situation for the city, as zoning and codes administrator Todd Steadman told council it would recently.

Unforeseen consequences are a risk with any legislation, and the hope is a rigorous vetting process, and various checks and balances, can help to predict calamity … or at least protect against it.

To riff on the famous line from John F. Kennedy, sometimes you should ask not what your city can do for you and ask what you can do for your city.

If you saw the stories in today’s edition from litter cleanup efforts in the cities of Walhalla and Westminster, we hope you’ll join us in commending everyone who spent their Saturday mornings working to make their communities look a little bit tidier.

When we first pitched the idea of a Labor Day weekend barbecue festival to Seneca city officials, we weren’t sure exactly what the reaction would be.

The Kenny Chesney tune “The Boys of Fall,” which waxes nostalgic on the experience of playing high school football, begins with the line: “When I feel that chill, smell that fresh-cut grass, I’m back in my helmet, cleats and shoulder pads.”

Like many of you, we were shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of West Union Police Chief Charles Sanders Jr. from a heart attack Tuesday evening.

Oconee County’s popularity as a tourist destination is seemingly ever increasing, and it’s also become one of the most desirable areas for retirees to relocate, but sometimes even those who live here can forget about everything this little neck of the woods has to offer.

Today marks exactly a month until a total solar eclipse crosses from the Pacific coast to the Eastern Seaboard, touching only American soil along the way. Don’t miss it — the next one to do the same won’t happen for another 299 years.

Almost three years ago, Oconee economic development director Richard Blackwell said the effect of completing sewer at the Golden Corner Commerce Park would be like “lighting a match” in the southern part of the county.

In Wednesday’s edition of The Journal, we hope you read our editorial about the assistant principal’s reaction to a parent asking about the scheduling issue currently being discussed within the School District of Oconee County.

Clemson officials will hold a second town hall meeting Sunday night at Abel Baptist Church, and considering the first one lasted more than two hours and drew a huge crowd on Father’s Day, we’d expect the turnout for this one to be even bigger.

In the current climate of fake news and alternative facts, it is absolutely essential to continue fighting for government transparency.