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Who should I donate to – the library or Friends?

Many non-profit organizations have a supporting group that helps them fundraise. Libraries have what is called Friends of the Library groups that can hold special events and fundraise for their library. Our Friends of the Library group consists of dedicated and supportive library champions that have consistently supported our library in word and deed. They are responsible for accepting and managing book sale donations and then holding the book sales, the annual kayak raffle (coming soon, by the way!), maintaining the gorgeous garden outside the library, volunteering at the library and ...

Alternatives to voting at polls are needed, but so are rules for them

In today’s Saturday Living section, our resident historian, Mark DeVecchis, turns his monthly space over to conservative economist and political commentator John Lott, an adaptation of a Lott speech discussing the history of absentee voting in the U.S. and elsewhere, and the findings of the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform, a bipartisan panel chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker. The historical part notes voting by absentee — especially for those who are able to go to the polls — is the exception rather than the rule in ...

Perhaps love of nature is in my blood

I have always felt a very strong pull toward nature. Perhaps it is in my blood since many of my best childhood memories took place in or near the woods. I grew up on the outskirts of Lewistown in a small community where everyone knew their neighbors and were always ready to help when needed. I had variety of relatives living within walking distance and often heard from my mother, “Rhonda, take these leftovers up to your grandma,” or “Go get Mammy (my great-grandmother). There is a snake in the yard.” Yes, my 90-pound when dripping wet great-grandmother, Mammy, was a tough one. ...

Fight for true representation

Someone once told me that feeling gratitude without expressing it is like wrapping a present you never give. My thoughts have returned to that idiom several times since the Legislative Reapportionment Commission first attempted to eliminate the 82nd District in its current form. It was on my mind as we went through a holiday season with presents under the tree. I am incredibly grateful for all my constituents who have spoken out about the proposed changes to how they would be represented in the statehouse, so I want to publicly thank all of them now. And, I want to encourage others ...

Best wishes and goodbye, for now

First, belated holiday greetings to all. Here’s hoping the joy of the season follows you into 2022! For nearly 14 years I have written this crime and justice column. I believe it is the only weekly column dedicated to those two topics, issues that affect the lives of all of us. I write today to say so long, for now. As many readers know, one of my longtime concerns has been the predatory guardianship system in this country. Called conservatorship in some states (think the Britney Spears case), it is a court-approved procedure whereby a judge, often on the flimsiest of evidence, ...

Thank you, Sen. Joe Manchin

The saying, “One man with courage makes a majority” has been attributed by historians to different sources. But regardless of who said it, there is one man who stands out today worthy of this description. It’s West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Manchin has been a one-man show in the Democratic Party, standing often in solitude, holding feet-to-the-fire of his president and his party’s leadership, pushing back on the massive and irresponsible spending avalanche in the Build Back Better act. Now, Manchin has slammed the door, saying he can’t vote for the bill, effectively ...