Harlan County Board of Education members learned you are never to old to get your high school diploma, no matter how long it might take.

During the boards regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, board members learned about how bestowing an honorary high school diploma to World War II veteran B.L. Saylor Jr. removed his one and only regret.

Board chairman Gary Farmer read a letter from Saylor about how he joined the Navy after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and never got a chance to finish his high school education.

Saylor received his honorary diploma in recognition of service to country and got it on a very special day — his 85th birthday.

Farmer said Saylor came down to one of the old school reunions this past summer and it was the first time he had been back to the Harlan since the 1940s.

“He was afraid when he came down here and was worried, and I got worried for a while, if he was going to find anybody he knew, but he found two people he knew,” said Farmer.

Assistant superintendent Mike Howard delivered a message from absent Superintendent Tim Saylor about a very important public information meeting scheduled for Dec. 8.

The meeting is about the expansion of U.S. 119 from a two-lane road into a four-lane road from Pineville into Harlan.

Howard told board members Saylor wanted to encourage all of the board members that could to attend.

“That would be a really big asset to Harlan County to get that road made bigger coming into Harlan,” said Howard.

Another big road concern for the county schools are the time-activated flashing school lights not coming on at correct times.

According to the board, several of the lights do not come on until after the schools are already in session. These flashing speed limit lights are designed to activate prior to schools opening in the mornings and letting out of the evenings to inform motorists to reduce speed inside of these school zones.

Board members told board attorney Johnnie Turner these lights needed to be fixed to all activate in the mornings at 7:15 and at around 2:30 in the afternoons.

Turner said he would write a letter and get these new lighting times adjusted as soon as possible.

Howard reminded the board that on Dec. 3 the Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Dr. Terry Holliday, would be coming to Harlan for a visit.