Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1287 - 1311 of 1862
To the Editor: Were you surprised when the results showed that the American adults scored below the international average on a global test? The U.S. is 16th in reading skills, 21st in math skills and 17th in problem solving. WOW! We need to create more ways to reach adults to upgrade their skills. Otherwise adults will be stuck at the current level that they are working and will not be able to climb up the ladder to produce better results. We are considered to be the richest country in the world but we are $16.7 trillion in...
Let us try and simplify the reason for the ridiculous name calling and questionable actions that are taking place. it is because the Republicans want to balance the budget and the Democrats don't want to. Perhaps we should define some terms. Budget is what they hope to collect in revenue and that is hopefully going to match the expenses for that year. If the revenue does not match the expenses, then we go further in debt. Our debt will be 17 trillion dollars on or about 10-17-13. We now take one dime, one nickle, and one...
Early fall freezing weather has done in most Odessa gardens, but you may have a few zucchini awaiting your attention. Zucchini Crisp, submitted by Jackie Winfrey, Quincy WA, works well with all sizes of this prolific summer squash. She adapted her favorite apple crisp recipe to create this recipe, and states that most crisp recipes would probably convert well. Zucchini Crisp Topping: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup butter or...
To the Editor: Let us try and simplify the reason for the ridiculous name calling and questionable actions that are taking place. It is because the Republicans want to balance the budget and the Democrats don’t want to. Perhaps we should define some terms. Budget is what they hope to collect in revenue and that is hopefully going to match the expenses for that year. If the revenue doesn’t match the expenses then we go further in debt. Our debt will be 17 trillion dollars on or about 10-17-13. We now take one dime, one nic...
I've been contemplating the quality of leadership recently, not least because of the mess in Washington, D. C. What really inspired me to try writing about it, though, was our quilt club business meeting Monday night. You see, it's time for the annual election of officers. We're not a very large organization to begin with. There were only ten of us at that meeting. There are probably about 12 who form the core of the group. And when there are three real officer positions to fi...
Cooking is part necessity, but it's also partly cultural. The way we cook says a lot about the societies we live in and the traditions that influence our families. I know that a lot of what I do in the kitchen is an echo of what my mother taught me. When I crack an egg into a mixing bowl, I scoop out that last little bit of raw egg white in the shell with my finger and scrape it off on the edge of the bowl. My mother grew up in the Great Depression and learned not to waste foo...
To the Editor: Our political system today is broken. Infighting and partisan politics are pushing our country in a non-productive negative direction at the N ational level. The Government at State level has a difficult time remembering there is a side of the state east of the Cascades. Olympia thinks what is good for the Puget Sound is obviously good for everyone. Where government still has the opportunity to be a positive and productive influence in the citizen's life is at the local level. Local city government has...
The apostle Thomas (poor guy – we’ve nicknamed him “Doubting Thomas”) was not present with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection from the dead (Jn 20:19ff). When the others told Thomas what had happened, he declared that he would not believe until he saw the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and put his finger into Jesus’ side. Jesus didn’t disappoint. He appeared again a week later, with Thomas there this time, and when Thomas saw, he believed. He exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” We might make a s...
I’ve been thinking about fear lately. Not the deer-in-the-headlights kind of fear. That kind of fear would be something of a relief. The kind of fear I’ve been thinking about is that sneaky, lurking kind of fear that you often don’t even recognize as fear. The fear of failure. The fear of the unknown. The fear that at last everyone will realize that you’re a fraud. The fear that the realization of a long-cherished dream will not provide eternal happiness. The fear that, even i...
My brother likes to build buildings in his free time. He has a couple of timber-frame structures on his property that he put up over the years, and now he’s working on a more traditional “stick” building made of 2x6’s and 2x4’s. One thing all of his efforts have in common is that they begin as drawings and become blueprints. And even though he’s built with quite different approaches over the years, all his buildings have some things in common: windows, doors, and stairs to nam...
This Monday, the USDA released its Stocks and Acreage Report. The biggest numbers in the report were the corn stocks, as of September 1, which totaled 824 million bu. That was higher than any of the pre-report estimates. The other number in the report was wheat stocks, which came in at 1.855 million bu, which was on the low end of the estimates and the lowest September 1 wheat-stocks number since 2007. Based on these numbers it looks like USDA has acknowledged that there was more wheat feeding during the summer than had been...
Deutschesfest is over for another year. By the time you are reading this column the trappings of the event will be stored away, the trash picked up and the streets cleaned. Many recipe requests came my way, for items from the bake sales. I am in the process of rounding up the recipes. One request was for Kaese Kuchen (Cottage Cheese Kuchen) That recipe I know by heart, so was able to jot that on napkins or whatever was handy, for out of town visitors. For those who subscribe...
I really don't want to write this particular column. As much as I don't want to, however, since I'm in the habit of over-sharing, I will. Thursday evening, just as we were all getting ready for Deutschesfest, my sweet, crazy, irrepressible pup, who was "helping" my husband farm, ran in front of an oncoming vehicle. As in the case of most such collisions, the vehicle won. And Jackson, "Action Jackson" as I had taken to calling him, is no more. My heart is broken. My husband's...
It’s just a fact: most of us outlive our dogs. Indeed, for people who are dog owners throughout their lives, a lot of grieving is guaranteed. Fido #1 dies, is replaced by Fido #2 who also dies, and so on down the long line of dogs in our households. I was reminded of how short a dog’s life is compared to ours when I read Ted Kerasote’s book, Pukka’s Promise. Kerasote is the best-selling author of Merle’s Door, a book about the relationship he had with a mixed breed dog named...
To the Editor: The railroads have announced they can haul grain in 110-car-unit trains for less money per ton than barges on the Snake River can transport it. Almost immediately, the fish people want to tear out the Snake River dams. They say they want to restore the salmon and steelhead runs to what they used to be. How in the world were they able to count the fish before the dams were in place? There were a lot of fishermen in the Washtucna and Kahlotus areas that fished the Snake River and in the Lyons Ferry area that...
Once you believe you have seen it all, the government steps to a new low. At the September 18 City of Sprague council meeting, the City Council passed Resolution #273 “Council meeting public comment policy.” This resolution established [that] the public may only comment at the end of the Council meeting during the “Public Comment Period,” but at this same meeting Mayor Mike Evans stated there would be no more “Public Comment Periods” during Council meetings. Thus, in one City Council meeting the public has been completely...
By this time next week, Deutschesfest will be over, and a lot of hardworking volunteers will be able to step back and heave a sigh of relief. For a little while, anyway. We need to make it known that we appreciate all the effort that goes into making our hometown celebration a success year after year. There are the people who put in hours and hours organizing the biergarten, the parade, the vendors and entertainment. There are the people who are new and leap in with both...
By DR. E. KIRSTEN PETERS As an aging citizen of Scandinavian descent, I dread this time of year. Each evening the sun sets significantly earlier. Deep in the bones of us northern people is the notion that summertime is the season of life and hope while winter is, well, cold and horribly dark. This week all of the globe enjoys roughly 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night. The "reason for the season" relates to the Earth's orbit around the sun. During summertime, our...
Last Thursday the USDA released its September Crop Report. With the hot, dry weather the cornbelt has experienced over the last month and the 2-3% decline each week in the condition of the corn crop, the question was how much would corn yields and production drop in this report. The answer was none, in fact USDA increased yields by one bushel per acre and increased production back up to 13.84 billion bushels. While ending stocks for this year were decreased to 661 million bu, the higher production numbers pushed ending...
To the Editor: Some time ago Bin Laden was killed by a group of seals and it was reported that he was buried at sea. Mr. Obama proudly announced the well-planned attack and proudly reported that our war problems were basically over. Drones had been successful in killing some of his key followers. Mr. Obama suggested that those who hated the United States would be powerless without leadership. I believe that he has underestimated the hatred and determination of these people! Let’s stop and think! This is an enemy that will g...
As human beings, we tend to want to find meaning in just about everything. And no, I'm not just talking about the surface meaning - I mean the meaning behind the meaning. If your wife says to you, "Wow, those dishes are really piling up," you would do well to recognize the meaning behind the obvious fact that there are, in fact, dishes piling up. "It's probably time for you to wash the dishes, dear…" The words are meant to drive you to action. You've probably said, or at l...
It's Tuesday morning. I have an appointment with a dental hygienist at 9 o'clock. The Chamber of Commerce meets at noon. Want to guess which appointment I dread the most? I'll give you a hint - it's not the one that involves someone scraping my teeth. Now, I'm not deliberately trying to offend anyone here, but I really, really, really dislike Chamber of Commerce meetings. Not because I dislike the Chamber of Commerce, or because I don't see the value of the organization. I...
When my dog and I walk along the Snake River during the warm seasons of the year, we can both come home with a tick or two. I'm used to feeling those little legs on my skin or scalp and picking off the critters. If I'm lucky, I get to them before they attach and start sucking my blood. Because I've been doing this all my life I don't get stressed out about ticks, but I do know they can carry certain diseases. Recently the Shots website of National Public Radio reported that...
To the Editor: As we count down the days before Obamacare starts being enforced (10-1-13), lets review how close we were to not having it passed. Al Franken was elected in a down-to-the-wire finish, in a Senate race for a key position that put the winner in a position to decide if Obamacare would become law or would be a near miss. The Republican candidate had a narrow margin, according to news reports, until about 1900 votes were discovered. These votes turned the lead to Mr. Franken and he was the 60th vote that was needed...
Talking about war with Syria requires a brief walk down memory lane. Under our Constitution, only Congress can declare war. When did Congress last officially declare war? The last time occurred during World War 2. Congress officially declared war against Japan on December 8, 1941 (after Pearl Harbor was attacked), on December 11, 1941, against Germany, and on June 4, 1942, against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania. That’s it. Did Congress declare war for these military actions? – Korea 1950, Vietnam 1964, Iran Hostage Res...
