To the editor, Everyone regardless of race, gender, and income should be concerned about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Basic rights and freedoms should be guaranteed for everyone. After all, that’s the purpose behind the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the 14th Amendment which provides for equal treatment and due process for all regardless of state. But now,…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Easing the loss after a hurricane
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Stories suggested to me in the lull after a hurricane: 1. Tales from my very grown children’s childhoods 2. Live Oaks, mangroves and palms – how they behave with hurricanes Both of these are comforting topics after days of nothing to see and talk about but ugliness and devastation. 1. Word person that I liked…
Read MoreTo the editor in support of Mike Holden
Letter to the Editor, When people run for public office, it is generally because they feel they can make a difference, have the energy and ambition to devote to it, and the desire to do the best job possible for those they represent. In our opinion, this describes Mike Holden, candidate for Greene County board of supervisors. Leadership, innovative thinking,…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – A. Smith about the supervisor candidates
To the editor 10/10/22 With the upcoming elections in November taking place, I’d like to remind the voter of the contrast between the two candidates that are up for election to fill a vacant seat on the board of supervisors. They are Mike Holden and Dan Benitz. Dan Benitz won’t tell you he was on the City Council. But he…
Read MorePost-Ian
~a column by Colleen O’Brien The aftermath of natural disasters is not believable. I’d left town as Hurricane Ian approached; he did his job over a couple of days and moseyed north, bent on more destruction. I came home then, turned onto my street, and there it was – my house. But not my house. The photos that friends had…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – B. Banister re: indoor pool
To the editor, I can’t believe that the construction of an indoor pool is even being considered. If built it would be another drain on us, the taxpayers. Property taxes here are high, to say the least. Years ago we were told that the rec center would pay for itself. Does it? I doubt it. Then there is the golf course,…
Read MoreKiller hurricane through a filter
~a column by Colleen O’Brien The weirdest thing – everything I watched about Hurricane Ian the Terrible I saw clearly. I was not in the way of Ian, I was a thousand miles away, mesmerized by the devastation, my behavior similar to slowing down on the freeway to see the dead bodies – something I never do, so why was…
Read MoreNational 4-H Week – ‘I Am 4-H’
“National 4-H Week is October 2 – 8. This is an important week to highlight the incredible experiences that 4-H offers young people,” said Linda Hedges, Greenbrier 4-H Club leader. “In the following poem, by an anonymous writer, the story of 4-H is explained so well from its inception to the present. This is what the Greenbrier 4-H members and…
Read MoreTaking the necessary step
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A 23-year-old hero takes on her life’s work early: “I have been changing things in my lifestyle for a long time to try and be more eco-friendly, but I had a realization a few months ago that it doesn’t matter if I go vegan or zero-waste if the government doesn’t do anything. There need to…
Read MoreNordman in Jefferson Thursday
The Greene County GOP is hosting an open forum with Iowa Representative Carter Nordman Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Jefferson Depot. A meet-and-greet will be from 5:30 to 6 pm, followed by the forum until 7 pm. Refreshments are available for the first 50 people. “This event is open to all Greene County citizens, so bring your questions,” a local…
Read More“Books unite us. Censorship divides us.”
~a column by Colleen O’Brien This is national Banned Books Week, and the headline above is the banner from a consortium [*see below], including the American Library Association, to save the banned. It is a week out of every year in which people interested in never banning books are backed up by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment: “Congress shall make…
Read MoreThe other side of the story
~a column by colleen O’Brien Humans are endlessly entertaining – what we do, what we think, how we operate, what’s important –and what engages each of us variously. Me? I like watching us and writing about us, even the politics of us – too much of the politics, I fear. Last week I wrote about the idiocy of politics and…
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