From the time our children are able to walk and talk, we try to teach them to be accountable for their actions. If they hit, scream or do anything inappropriate, it’s off to timeout they go.

When they get to school, we raise the stakes. They’re expected to behave a certain way, complete a certain amount of work in the classroom and, yes, they have to take time out of their recreational activities to complete their homework. Work is work and it comes first. And there are deadlines that accompany that work. If you don’t do your work — and do it on time — there are consequences.

Another rule we instill is that no one lives in a bubble, meaning your actions — or sometimes inactions — directly affect those around you.

That said, there is a group of high school students whose high school memories may hang in the balance because a group of adults might not meet a deadline.

On Oct. 13, the North Kitsap School District will make a decision whether or not Kingston High’s Oct. 16 homecoming football game will be played at Kingston or at North Kitsap Stadium in Poulsbo. It all depends on whether the contractor hired to install Kingston’s lights, Zink Commercial Contractors of Vancouver, finishes the job in time. The Herald called Zink to squeeze a timeline out of them, but they didn’t return phone calls.

Adding to the mix, the district didn’t file permits until late September, well after the job was already supposed to be complete. Had those deadlines been met, there’d be no question as to where the game would be played.

If the deadline is missed and Kingston has to play its homecoming game at the North Kitsap Stadium, somebody should be held accountable.