We have a really big challenge in this area, that impacts both families and businesses. There’s a daycare provider shortage.  The demand is far greater than the supply. I hear about it on a weekly basis from friends all the time. We recently tried to hire a person for a newly added position at our company, and I told her the biggest challenge she would face … [Read more...]

By John Jordan To begin with, the world did not end. Ok, the election did not go the way I wanted it to.  I am appalled by the character of the president.  To mention just one aspect, he must be held accountable by us fellow men for his physical assaults on women and his bragging about it.  To dismiss such behavior as “just locker room talk” is absurd and false. As I read … [Read more...]

So I’m taking the garbage out on a rainy, 50+ degree Monday morning in February, and I think to myself: self, I’ve been on this earth for three decades and a little more, so I’m old enough to remember Februaries where the temperatures didn’t climb out of the 30s, let alone into the 50s. Heck, I remember a nasty St. Paddy’s snowstorm just back when I was in college, but it seems … [Read more...]

In Lincoln’s Gettysburg address he stated, “…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” In my last article, I wrote about towers of foresight and the importance of considering long-term implications of our political decisions. History has shown how attempts to silence the … [Read more...]

In the interest of national security and out of respect for the electoral process, former occupants of the Whitehouse have always made a concerted effort to step aside at the end of their term in office and allow the new administration to do the job they were elected to do. This is as it should be, especially in a situation where the voters have so clearly and unambiguously … [Read more...]

To the Editor, As Democrats, Independents, and plenty of disenchanted Republicans are being chided for not accepting the fumbles, foibles, and follies of the new administration and “not giving Trump a chance”, Col. Gudmunson wants us to believe “We dodged a bullet” by not electing Hillary Clinton. Wow. The new reality for many Americans is living in constant fear of what bomb … [Read more...]

From county fairs to safety programs, the local Extension office relies heavily on volunteers to accomplish the work that we do. Two groups of volunteers that I have the pleasure of working with on a regular basis are the Fillmore and Houston County Master Gardeners. These volunteers give significant amounts of their free time to the people of our area and through the education … [Read more...]

As a country, we make a habit of looking forward, not backward. But I’m going to ask you to turn your attention back a few weeks, to Barack Obama’s January 10 farewell address to the American people. I’ve been reading presidential farewell speeches for many years. Most of them give good advice. This speech, however, was exceptional. It can be read with benefit by Republicans … [Read more...]

Human-caused climate change presents us with an opportunity to unite around a solution to a common problem. No one nation, religion, race, or group of any kind can address this issue on its own. It will take all of us working together for the long term common good. That presents a possibility for peace, renewed economic security, return to rational thinking and a chance to … [Read more...]