Q: Mr. Federal Way, have you noticed the flag on South 320th Street is at half-staff? Why is that?

A: Mr. Federal Way has noticed and the reason is that Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell has ordered flags at city facilities and the new 60-foot flagpole at South 320th Street be flown at half-staff to honor a special person and an influential man in Federal Way, Rep. Roger Freeman.

Freeman passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 48 at St. Francis Hospital. Freeman told the public he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and that it had spread to his liver and his lower lungs.

Mr. Federal Way usually refrains from being sappy, but he must confess that watching Freeman bravely work and run for office while battling cancer made him respect and admire Freeman. Freeman was running for representative Position 2 in the 30th Legislative District against Jack Dovey, and constantly promised the public his illness would not get in the way of him representing our city well. He fought cancer diligently and always seemed to remain in good spirits. Mr. Federal Way had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions and found him to be a kind and genuine person.

Now that Freeman has passed, Mr. Federal Way wonders how the people that wrote snarky comments during his campaign feel now. Especially those that said he was “too sick” or “might die soon.” Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. And the beauty of it all is that those published comments are out there forever, for everyone to see. Will this cause the public to be nicer to candidates? Probably not.

And how will challenger Dovey react now? While never shooting down his opponents health issues directly, Dovey did make a few underhanded comments alluding to his cancer. In reaction to the allegations about his business dealings, Dovey made a comment about Freeman’s lack of door-belling, intended to hint toward Freeman’s health. Mr. Federal Way highly suspects that now Dovey will state that he and Freeman were BFFs .

Nevertheless, Mr. Federal Way sends condolences to Freeman’s wife and children.

Q: Mr. Federal Way, I’ve read many articles about how some parents in many states are worried their kids might come home with marijuana-infused candy after trick-or-treating this Halloween. Do you think parents in our city should be concerned?

A: Mr. Federal Way wonders why people would waste their marijuana by giving it away to kids? You can’t go to Costco and buy a giant jar of pot for $15.99. Although it’s nice now for avid smokers to not have to fake anxiety or backaches to receive medicinal marijuana, Mr. Federal Way thinks smokers will still consider it to be a nice “treat” for themselves.

The issue of marijuana-infused candy for kids stemmed out of Colorado. On Jan. 1 the state legalized the sale of recreational pot, and foods like chocolates, mints and gummy bears infused with marijuana quickly became best-sellers, accounting for as much as 45 percent of sales at some pot shops. The candies are hard to tell apart from their non-infused counterparts, and that is why some people are worried.

The Denver Police Department and a marijuana store owner teamed up to film a public service video about this.

Mr. Federal Way thinks that if parents are worried, they should simply insist on eating a majority of their kids’ candy, then waiting 30-45 minutes or so before deciding if it’s acceptable for their children to eat the rest.

Q: Mr. Federal Way, what are you going to be for Halloween?

A: None of your business.

Got a question for Mr. Federal Way? Email mrfederalway@federalwaymirror.com.