A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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While growing up, listening to radio was one of my favorite pastimes. It was not just the music I enjoyed, I also love the sound of the disembodied voices booming through the speakers. It was as if they were talking directly to me. One of the voices I especially appreciated was that of Paul Harvey. What a man. What a voice. His "The Rest of the Story" broadcasts brought history to life while regaling his audience with an unexpected conclusion. While I could never compare to the legendary P...
In a time of uncertainty and disruption — at a level not experienced since World War II — I think we need to take a step back and ask ourselves a very important question: Where should the line be drawn in giving up our civil liberties in exchange for our own safety? Yes, this is an article about COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus. If you are unaware of this — now labeled a global pandemic — you probably live off the grid and are in better shape than the rest of us. Under the guidance of the...
Last week I wrote about the problems we face when examining preventive measures in regard to the horrific acts at the hands of the mentally ill. Acts that have taken the lives of so many — needlessly — to fulfil a message of hate written into their manifestos, drawn with the blood of the innocent. I left off after briefly touching on where we stand in this society with gun ownership and what limitations should be imposed to prevent the deranged from having access to an instrument that can inf...
I initially intended to write about the current state of our real estate market and the health of the economy within our region — this was not to be — as I, along with the rest of this country, have experienced sadness over this past weekend’s mass shootings that have rocked this nation. It is very natural to want to place blame, but is dysfunctional in finding a preventative solution. These mass shootings have gone on too long without any meaningful action to combat the very root of the probl...
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me ... well, maybe just a little ... no, wait ... they definitely hurt me. Whether or not you voted for our current president, the greatest singular message that resonated with the American public, in my opinion, and likely the reason he was elected was the exaggerated vocalization of his antipathy towards “political correctness.” Speak all you will about his promise to “build the wall” or the fact that he was a political outside...
In my last article, I left off with the question: What is progress? This very question is coupled with the terms “perception” and “social norms,” relating to how we Americans view and handle the current climate of social unrest. There is a vast difference in perception held by our eldest population of the World War II era and that of our youngest currently in high school and college, Generation Z. Much of this has to do with the social circumstances surrounding us in our youth. Opinions formed...
Let’s get into it — it’s the donkey in the room — we still have a race issue in this nation and it’s not going away anytime soon. Nowhere else in the world is there as racially diverse a nation as the United States. It can be argued that European nations have quickly approached similar numbers per capita, but those nations were built on a national identity first and only in the past five decades have we seen an influx in immigration that is responsible for propping up those numbers. Here’s th...
A dark room inhabited by 50 people, barely lit with an amalgamation of dimmed overhead lights, fluorescent signs and lit smartphones. The atmosphere is stuffy and thick, a direct result of too many occupants in a confined space. Sticky floors and a hint of stale beer serve as a reminder of where you are, yet this atmosphere provides comfort through familiarity. “I just came back from Iraq shooting people like you!” A small town of 12,000 people whose backbone is stabilized through its blu...
In the early portion of the sermon given by my pastor last Sunday, he indicated that major depression and suicide in the United States has risen to such a shocking number that we should be calling this an “epidemic.” Some of the statistics he was throwing out there were hard to swallow. Not that I don’t trust his information to be accurate, but I personally needed to verify the data for myself. I used the word “shocking,” but this is downright scary! According to Blue Cross Blue Shield, t...
The Teapot Dome scandal, Watergate, The Iran Contra affair and Monica Lewinsky are just a few (and I truly mean a few) stains that haunt the history and legacy of this great country and its leaders. Our founding fathers held those who serve the people to a much higher standard than your average neighbor who votes for them. But they also showed the limits of their faith by creating a separation of powers designed to disrupt the trampling of liberty and provide consequence for any abuse of their...
My family tells stories of our immigration to the United States: they were said to be from the town where the very popular musical "Fiddler on the Roof" is set (although I have not been able to verify this claim). An arduous journey ... to look for a life they could rebuild. Make no mistake, my ancestors never wanted to leave their home but were given little choice. My family's boat was the last to arrive in the United States before the rest were diverted to Cuba, seeking asylum for their own...
Competition. We have all been in this circumstance at least once or more in our lives, but when all the points are tabulated, the chips counted or the votes tallied, there remains one story - the victor's. Take it from the guy who's lost in more things than he has won. The losing side is not glamorous, but it's worth talking about. So much sweat, aching joints and positively every single emotion that could be experienced to the point of debilitating exhaustion. All for what? To lose? Growing...
