The Odessa Record -

Many of you might remember a story I wrote back in February called, "Grabbing life by the horns at the age of 15," about Charleigh Cornett and her quest to become a surgeon and the fundraising...

Did you know September 13 is World Sepsis Day? I know I didn’t. I wasn’t even aware sepsis needed a worldwide day of recognition. In fact, Monday, September 9, was Wonderful Weirdoes Day,...

Her name was Ollie (short for Olivia), and she came into our lives seven years ago in the summer of 2012. She was half poodle, half shih tzu. She was small, blonde, puppy-like and absolutely...

It's just after 4:30 p.m. on June 27, and I am sitting in the crowded Phoenix airport with my mom Edith and daughter Kaitlyn, waiting for our 5:25 p.m. flight to Seattle to start boarding. We will be...

The phrase, “I had the pleasure of speaking to...” really and truly applies to certain people in this world. Merleen Smith is the epitome of that phrase. After talking with her I always feel like...

A family of soon to be 15 members has recently taken up residence in the backyard of Tammy Tokas. A male and female quail have built a nest beneath Karen Carlson's (Tokas' sister) outdoor chimenea...

The Odessa School District PTO recently completed their annual Butter Braid fundraiser. The money earned from the sale of the Butter Braids goes toward helping the Odessa PTO shirts for every student...

This is the second year I’ve happily donated the balloons and my time to build an arch for Go! Odessa Recreation’s Third Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance. Since this year’s theme was the circus,...

What was the best gift you remember receiving as a child? I'm not talking about obvious big-ticket gifts like a car or computer. I'm talking about a gift given to you when you were in grades 1 through...

With the late arrival of the winter weather that has taken hold around the region, one might find themselves wondering when, or even if, the spring sports season might get under way. Well if you might...

I first met Charleigh Cornett when she was a cute, freckle-faced eight-year-old with a brilliant smile and an adventurous spirit. From that very first meeting I had a friend. Since she loves to cook,...

This year, for me, Christmas was an extremely rare treat, I was able to spend it with both of my children. Usually when I visit Ephrata they are working opposing schedules so I can only visit with...

Hello readers. I want to introduce you to my good friend and co-worker Dyanne Deering. Some of you may already have had the privilege of knowing who she is from her irregularly appearing feature,...

Have you ever missed someone but never really come to the realization of it until you met up with or spoke with that person again? Usually it's someone we take for granted and assume they will always...

I’ve needed to write this update for awhile now, and every time I have started it I end up stuck. I know what to say, but the words don’t want to come out as eloquently as I feel they should. So w...

I watched a news segment a week or so ago. When it was over, I remember sitting there shaking my head in amazement at what I had seen, while tears were streaming down my face. I cannot tell you the...

On Saturday, March 24, I had the extreme pleasure of donating and building, with the much needed help of Tammy Tokas, a 25-ft.-long (give or take) balloon arch for The Mad Hatters Ball, the second...

Hey Odessa! I thought it was time to give you another update on LuLu, the brindle puppy found shortly after Christmas frozen to the ground, starving, so emaciated that even the word emaciated didn't...

On January 20, I finally saw LuLu for the first time since that cold morning of December 28, when the first thing I did was check to make sure she had survived the night. That Saturday morning I went...

Last week, as many of you know, we wrote about meeting LuLu, a brindle pup that was found after being shot twice and left for dead. LuLu was taken to the veterinarian by sisters Karen Carlson and Tamm...

Although the rest of my family met her Wednesday night, I first met LuLu (although she was nameless at that time) the morning of Thursday, December 28, when I went to our laundry area to make sure...

Santa loves Odessa and all the good boys and girls who live here (both young and old). He made a return visit on Saturday to Rolling Thunder Pizza just to make sure everyone was able to visit with...

If you need to speak to Stan Dammel these days, you may need to make an appointment. Life keeps him so busy that the odds of catching him on the spur of the moment are just about slim to none. This...

This past summer I found myself sitting in the middle of a dirt road/driveway leading to a friend’s farmhouse listening. Listening to nothing, but then again listening to everything. The wind in...

Saturday, September 16, was a beautiful day with the sun shining, a slight breeze in the air which made for a nearly perfect temperature all day. It was the kind of day that Pastor Tim would have...