Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1859 - 1883 of 1893
Okay, people. I’m already in trouble so I might as well keep going. Last week was my advice to new residents. Now it’s the locals’ turn. This could be the shortest column ever, with my advice condensed into two short words: Be nice. But, as you all no doubt know, I like to talk. Especially like this, when no one can talk back. First, when you are introduced to the new wife of a native son, please don’t say, “Oh, my God,” no matter how stunning the news. That’s not really #1...
State lawmakers in Olympia received a much-needed boost recently in the form of $320 million in new tax revenue, the result of a new tax amnesty program. The amnesty, first proposed in 2009 by State Auditor Brian Sonntag, was vigorously championed by the Association of Washington Business as a way to settle disputed tax assessments. To use a cliché, the tax amnesty program is a win-win. State and local governments gained vital tax revenue, and taxpayers, many of whom are...
As adults, most of us have childhood memories of those trips to the doctor’s office when we’d hear those words, "You'll hardly feel a thing", or "It won't taste that bad." For most of us it did hurt and yes, it did taste bad, but those vaccines that we were receiving through inoculations or tiny cups of not so tasty liquids, were just a part of life. They were what kept us from succumbing to innumerable diseases, some even contagious. And that lollipop from the doctor or a k...
I thought maybe I should dispense some free advice to those of you who are new (or some of you who are not so new) to our community. For those of you who might question my qualifications, here’s my resume: I grew up on a farm outside a town much smaller than Odessa, spending my first 18 years in Bickleton (population about 100). I was at Washington State University for four years, then lived in Yakima for four years. In 1981 I moved to Portland, where I worked and lived for o...
We have enjoyed Lise Ott’s writing in The Record. She has a good sense of humor, and we enjoy the stories that she has written. We would love to see a photo of that “Stars Over Irby” quilt. Keep up the good work and hope to see many more of her writings. Chuck Wood and Joanne Kingsbury Gig Harbor, Wash....
My cousin has been writing a column for The Northern Star, a weekly newspaper in Clinton, Minnesota (my mother’s home town) for years. He’s also published a couple of books and is generally considered to be one of the major successes in our family. At least, that’s what my mother said. Mom was a fan of the comparative style of parenting, using such tools as “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” and “Did you read Brent’s column this week - it’s really good.” Mind you,...
One of the major provisions in the federal health reform law calls on states to establish health insurance exchanges by 2014. These exchanges were envisioned as virtual “open air markets,” managed by new state agencies, where consumers could compare insurance offerings and choose the best health coverage at the best price. Good idea. But early indications are that states are using the exchanges to create their own vision of health-care reform, including everything from cro...
It’s obvious that miners focus on the highest concentration of gold or copper they can find. And geologists like me are always on the lookout for unusually high concentrations of metals in veins and rocks. We go where the best stuff is, and make a living helping to bring it to where it’s used in everything from the lead and zinc in your car battery to gold crowns for your teeth. I know the geological perspective about resources pretty well. But recently I had the chance to...
Reactions have been predictably strong to the following news story, excerpted here from UPI.com: WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) – The Obama administration is considering a plan that would require the study and execution of a plan to tax U.S. drivers based on the amount of miles they drive. The plan is included in the administration’s Transportation Opportunities Act and follows a Congressional Budget Office report backing the idea of taxing drivers based on miles driven, The Hill reported Thursday. In its report, the CBO said a vehi...
On volunteering in Odessa . . . The people who wanted to volunteer and were told, “We do not need you” are not shy and were persistent. They have lived here for three years. The husband works in Odessa. When they were finally asked to help at the beer tent during the 2011 Desert 100, it was on a Friday afternoon, and the husband took off from work. When they got to the tent, there were already three women working and no customers. When they got home, he called Marlon Schafer who said, “Oh, the help showed up and I forgo...
As the price of gas passes $4 on its way to $5 a gallon, the finger pointing in Washington, D.C. has reached a frenzy as politicians rush to place blame. “Wall Street profiteers!” “Speculators!” “Big Oil!” As if on cue, the administration has launched another investigation into charges that speculators are manipulating oil prices – a perennial response of elected officials when gas prices stir anger among the electorate. Previous investigations have found no conspiracies....
In case you haven’t heard, there is a controversy going on about the privacy of Smartphone data. According to an April 21 Los Angeles Times article, “Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad are keeping very close track of where you’ve been.” Researchers have found that hidden in the operating software of the devices is a file that can hold records of a user’s exact geographical location, each marked with a timestamp. According to the article, those records “create a highly detailed hist...
To the Editor: Figures don’t lie, and these figures below can be verified. The dollar against the Swiss Franc has decreased 27% since President Obama took over the White House. It is similar against the Australian Dollar, which was worth about 80 cents and is now over a dollar. Commodities in general have gone up by leaps and bounds, but the paycheck has actually gone down during the Obama administration. Gasoline would be at least $1 per gallon cheaper at the pump without the government printing more money. Canada’s dol...
To the Editor: We have a government that is spending 188 million dollars per hour – money which they have to borrow, and now they want to raise the debt limit so they can spend more. If this keeps up, we won’t have to worry that the Republicans' budget will get rid of Medicare like some of the left-wing fear-mongers are predicting, because there will be no Medicare or health care for anyone. We are 14 trillion dollars in debt, and this administration wants to spend more. The question that should be asked and is being ask...
To the Editor: I like what I have been seeing in The Odessa Record. Frankly, most newspapers are dead, like the PI in Seattle etc. But here, it is often the highlight of the week for a lot of folks. Terrie and the staff are doing well. I will be honest, first I read the obituaries to see if I am still here. Then I flip to the back page to see if I am in the police report, either personally or with my business. There is, of course, a lot of ink there. I do save every article and save it in my scrap book. Many times I have...
It’s my opinion (you’ll find I have a lot of them) that emotional health is at least as important as physical health. In fact, I believe that you cannot have one without the other. One of the activities that sustains my emotional health is connection with a community. This community could be a small town, such as Odessa, or a church, civic group, 12-step program or any other group of people you have something in common with. Long ago, in some self-help session I attended, we...
This week The Record begins running a new series of articles by sometime correspondent Patti Jarschke. She'd like reader feedback, so feel free to comment in an email message sent to therecord@odessaoffice.com, a letter to the editor (P.O. Box 458, Odessa 99159) or by dropping by the office with your letter or note. She plans to focus on whatever controversial issues strike her fancy in any given week. Readers can also suggest topics if they wish. An article by reporters...
During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama promised organized labor that he would support their agenda. Having failed to get labor’s priorities through Congress, the Obama administration is seeking to achieve the same goal through regulation. For example, the president campaigned on passing card check, a union-backed measure that eliminates the secret ballot in union organizing elections. Inappropriately dubbed the “Employee Free Choice Act,” card check actu...
When I was a little girl, I loved the first of May. Each year I would make a basket of construction paper and lots and lots of staples and tape. I would quietly go outside and raid the flower beds, choosing the flowers I thought were the prettiest. When I was satisfied with my basket, I would hang it from the handle of the red back door of our farmhouse (the front door was only for visitors and holidays) and then ring the doorbell. Then I’d run as fast as I could, hiding b...
Many of us are angry that we have a government with Department of Health watchdogs that are paid for by our tax dollars to “protect us against ourselves.” Let us not forget the shutting down of “Christmas on the Hill” last year. At the same time, they fail miserably, where they should be paying attention to a much more important problem. Case in point, E-Coli outbreaks in restaurants. We are told that if two or three neighbors want to have a potluck in their back yard, that’s O.K. What’s the difference between 10 or 12 people...
Let's see, based on figures from the Congressional Budget Office, the House Republican budget plan would eliminate Medicare as we know it. The plan would also give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to U.S. billionaires and raise taxes on the middle class to make up the loss in revenue. If implemented, Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan would eliminate 1.7 million jobs in the first two years. To top it all off, according to Matt Miller, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, “The House Republican bud...
In Illinois, the workers’ comp system is so out-of-control that Democratic state Rep. John Bradley introduced legislation to abolish it and put workers’ compensation cases in the state’s circuit courts. Workers’ comp was established nearly a century ago as a no-fault insurance system so workers and employers would not have to go to court. However, without major reforms, it is certain to collapse because of rapidly escalating costs and premiums charged to employers. In Springf...
One of my mother’s friends was raised decades ago on a few acres at the end of a gravel road in Idaho. As she puts it, her family’s basic challenge was eating what it produced before other critters did. In other words, it was useful to consume the eggs in the henhouse before the foxes got to them. Those images sometimes come to my mind when I look at a bag of potatoes in the grocery store. Potatoes are relatively cheap and nutritious food, a good source of the basic food energ...
I give up. It has become abundantly apparent to me that this whole “health quest” is going to require a serious commitment, and I don’t mean to the nearest psych ward. No, I mean a serious commitment to a structured food intake program, commonly known as a (no, don’t say it!!!!) DIET. Of course, now the question is, which one? It amazes me just how many people claim to have the answer to my weight problem, from common-sense approaches such as TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibl...
Just a note to say “CONGRATULATIONS” to the five students who received awards in excellence for their (science) projects at the Odessa school. This is a great honor for you. I am proud to tell people I am from Odessa. I graduated from the Odessa High School in 1946, valedictorian of my class, but I can honestly say that I would be unable to accomplish what you did. Keep up the good work and again, congratulations! Bill Jessett Camas, Wash....
