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Opinion

County Can’t Solve SNAP Problem, But It Can Help

In Our Opinion

The federal government shutdown certainly caught counties with their pants down. It’s not as if there was no warning that SNAP benefits could be delayed when the calendar turned from October to November. It had been a topic in newspapers, on television news and amongst those who receive SNAP benefits for weeks. Decision makers knew the possibilities, but they didn’t think the shutdown would last this long. Frankly, no one did. There’s never been a federal government shutdown that has lasted this long. That means we are dealing with an extraordinary circumstance for which there ...

Area Races Have Impact On Region

In Our Opinion

Tomorrow is Election Day. While there are hundreds of county residents who have taken part in either early voting or cast an absentee ballot, Tuesday is the day when the majority of local residents will go to the polls to cast their ballot for town, city and county offices. Precisely because no federal or state offices are on the ballot this year, today’s election affects you more directly in your day to day existence than any other. These are the levels of government that provide the services that affect you every single day in one way or another through things like police and ...

Readers’ Forum

Letters To The Editor

Cruelty Is A Feature Of Current Administration To The Reader’s Forum: Proverbs 11:17 tells us that, “A man who is kind benefits himself but a cruel man hurts himself” Additionally, a cruel administration hurts the millions of people they are tasked with protecting. Do we have examples of this? Every day provides new evidence of the stunning cruelty. At a July 1st press conference touting “Alligator Alcatraz”, Donald Trump joked that, “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator”. Reveling in the mistreatment of fellow human beings. This is not ...

Everything You Didn’t Want To Know About Salt

Local Commentaries

Given the tremendous change and angst we are seeing in the world today, you might wonder why I’ve chosen to write about such an insignificant topic as salt. But that’s precisely why I’m writing about it. Now is not the time to lose our wonder about the world, or to lose our curiosity. In fact, if ever we needed to learn about the mesmerizing topic of salt, today is that day. Let’s face it, it’s the only rock we eat. That common household item has a long and intriguing history. And without sounding too bombastic, I will go as far as to say that salt has shaped civilization ...

I Still Pine For Pinecones

Local Commentaries

Preparing for this weekend’s garage sale, I came across a canvas bag I hadn’t seen in years. It was filled with pinecones. Giant Sequoia pinecones. Some of these babies are almost a foot long, and my memory of first seeing them goes back to 1949. 1949? Yes, I was alive then – and out of diapers. In fact, I was out of third grade. But the huge pinecones that my mother brought home from California fascinated me for their pure size. I studied redwood trees and the giant Sequoias, and I knew I had to see them for myself someday. My mother’s first trip to California in 1944 ...

Am I Waking Up Late Night Or Early Morning?

Local Commentaries

“These days I’m up about the time I used to go to bed Living large was once the deal, now I watch the stars instead They’re timeless and predictable, unlike most things that I do But I’d tell the wind and my old friend, I’m headed home to you.” These are the lyrics of Verse Three of a Jimmy Buffett song titled Coast of Carolina. It is Track 4 from his album, License to Chill, which was released in 2004 and produced by Mac McAnally and Robert Utley. The song was written for his wife Jane, as a follow up to his hit song Come Monday, also written to Jane, as a hugely ...