Breaking News

Local Columns

God is with us this Christmas

“Men are just happier people.” That assertion was made in an anonymous essay posted on the internet some years ago. The essay was titled, “The joys of being a male.” Why? The author pointed out some of the advantages with regard to being male: “Your last name stays put. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress: $5,000. Tux rental: $100. New shoes don’t cut, blister or mangle your feet. “Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. A five-day vacation ...

Christmas cookies and other goodies

Hello from the kitchen! Happy December! For you holiday bakers, it’s time to make that list for what you want to bake. I bake year round so a whole day of baking is nothing new. I do enjoy a sand tart with a nice cup of hot coffee. My kids’ favorite cookies are chocolate chip, chocolate crinkles and molasses, so I’ll share those tried and true recipes with you. It may be because I wasn’t in the kitchen growing up, but I have no memory of my mom making cookies for Christmas. My Gram and Aunt used to bring potato candy, white fudge and all kinds of nutty cookies. If you are in ...

Record players and renovations

A couple of weeks ago, in our Library History lesson, I wrote about the huge number of books the library had in its collection in 1966; almost twice the number of books that the library had shelves for. Books were everywhere. There was also a record player in the basement on Brown Street. I have a photo of a teenage girl sitting with headphones, listening to a record. No name is given but I’ll have it posted to the library’s Facebook page this morning and if you know who she is, let us know. She’s listening to an old 33 rpm record, one of the big ones. There are enormous ...

Library snow days: Perks, frustrations and now it come full circle

Growing up, I loved snow days as much as when a teacher would wheel in a TV to our classroom. We knew we would watch a movie and would get to take it a bit easier. With snow days, I knew I would get to play outside in the snow, making forts, making money shoveling snow for neighbors, and getting to have an overall adventure. As a librarian and manager, that thrill is completely gone. I am up at the wee hours of the morning trying to understand weather patterns and constantly refreshing the school district’s website to see if they are going to delay or close. If I decide to do ...

Should we judge church attendance?

And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord — Genesis 24:48 In the last article, I made the statement that we should never equate church attendance with righteousness or godly character. Judas was a consistent follower of Jesus but was really serving the devil; he was present when they gathered for the last supper. Going to church doesn’t make anyone into a good, moral, God-fearing Christian. If you were to think of a person in the Bible that impressed you with a godly character and lifestyle, who would it be? Some of us would choose individuals from the Old Testament like Noah, ...

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord

She flung herself across the bed and broke down in tears of frustration. Some years back James Moore shared a wonderful story that appeared in an Atlanta newspaper. A young mother was trying to get her young son to take some medicine. But he stubbornly refused. He closed his mouth as tightly as he could, shook his head furiously from side to side and even hit the spoon with both hands. He wasn’t going to take the medicine. This young mother tried everything. She pleaded, begged, even threatened--all to no avail. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. Exasperated, she threw down ...