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Columns

  • What happened to common sense?

    A winter wonderland? Not quite, but Taylor County's first significant snowfall of the season dumped a nice 3 inches of powder on our laps.

    Best of all, it gave me an excuse to stay home Saturday and Sunday. Any opportunity for slothfulness is never wasted on my part.

    With little else to do, I found myself mired in news reports on the state budget. I must have experienced déjà vu at least a dozen times on Saturday alone. All of the fears and worries were the same as before.

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  • The public's right to know

    Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just can't write a story the way it should be written.

    Not being able to do one's job is hard for anyone to admit, but it seems especially hard for journalists. Our job is to keep readers informed about what's going on in the community. And it's a job we take seriously.

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  • Eagle Scouts soar the highest

    The Boy Scouts of America organization turns 100 years old this year, having been incorporated in 1910 by William Boyce of Chicago, after his observation of scouting in England the previous year. Since that time, the Scouts have been directed by a 12-person executive committee and have evolved over the century in guiding the youth of America through their adolescent years.

    The 12th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook still teaches such things as how to read a compass, tie knots and neckties, survive in the woods and render first aid.

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  • Choose your heroes wisely

    "I am not a role model."

    -Charles Barkley, former NBA star in a 1990s Nike campaign

    "Hero" is a word that gets tossed around these days like a ball being thrown during a game. In fact, it is more often than not used in reference to someone who does throw or hit a ball, and in my opinion, it's misused more often than most of us realize.

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  • Stroke symptoms should be treated quickly

    I was at my grandmother's recently for my weekly visit when something strange happened. We were talking about how silly one of my dogs was acting, and I noticed Mamaw was having trouble saying the dog's name. It's Bree - not very difficult - so I knew something was wrong. I looked up at Mamaw and saw that the right side of her face was drooping. Her mouth formed a half frown and didn't move on that side when she tried to speak.

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  • Getting early start on wishes for 2010

    At this time of year, I am beginning to think about the possibilities of all the exciting things that can happen in 2010.

    By the way, is that pronounced "twenty-ten" or "two thousand and ten?" A question for the ages.

    I know that anything is possible and I hope that many good things begin to take shape, especially with the economy and job situation.

    Here's some things that I would like to see come to pass in 2010:

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  • Much ado about something

    I'm writing this in the days leading up to Christmas. I'm a little more scatterbrained than usual, so I have few coherent thoughts about anything.

    With that in mind, here are a few ramblings about several things on my mind.

    Tiger Woods. A lot has happened in the news world of late, but all anyone really seems concerned about is Tiger Woods cheating on his wife.

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  • Did you know that you are already abundant?

    Now after reading the title of this article, you might wonder about my sanity. You might be saying to yourself, "Yeah right, I am already abundant. So where's it at?"

    Well, the short answer is, right in front of you.

    That's right, your abundance stares you in the face, each and every day, but if you are like most people, they never even see it.

    You see, if you live in pretty much ANY industrialized nation, you have so much abundance at your fingertips already that to some people it would seem outrageous for you to claim otherwise.

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  • Magic Bars, chocolate covered Oreos, Monkey Bread... oh my!

    As I sit here, trying diligently to concentrate on my work, there is a container of chocolate covered Oreos screaming my name. I'm desperately trying to ignore their call, but they are begging me to come rescue them from their Tupperware prison and devour them and their double stuffed goodness.

    Oh, and sitting directly beside the chocolate covered Oreos are Magic Bars that have done a trick on my taste buds, since all I can think about is their perfect layers of graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and coconut flakes.

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  • My personal letter to Santa

    Dear Santa,

    I hope you're well this year and aren't too worn out by the time you reach Taylor County on Christmas Eve. There are a few things I'd like to ask you to bring some of the people who live here.

    Local school systems - A winter of healthy students and snow only on weekends. Santa, it would also be a good idea to keep the state legislators from taking the school districts' contingency funds. They worked so hard to save that money all year, it really wouldn't be fair to yank it out from under them after you demanded that they save it.

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