Readers – This letter arrived from Amarillo, TX, an actual letter typed and signed by the writer, Doug Miller. He’s looking for the girl he took to a drive-in movie during the summer of 1954. Read on…. maybe someone knows who she is. “My introduction to Greene County and the town of Jefferson was in the early part of June…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Letter to the editor re: masks, Bruce Banister
To the editor, What is it going to take for the three foolishly recalcitrant people on the school board to realize that kids need to mask up at school? They won’t listen to Dr. Karber or Mr. Dennhardt, they won’t listen to the CEO of the medical center and they certainly aren’t listening to parents. The idiotic color coding system…
Read MoreHow to get rid of the news-blues
~a column by Colleen O’Brien It’s not just the political news that dismays me; it is just about all the news. Today I learn that Amazon paid no taxes last year. And for nine years they’ve paid federal income taxes at a 3.0 percent rate. Corporate tax hovered around 35 percent during all that time. The company paid so little…
Read MoreMask Up, Greene County
~by Tracy Warner, Greene County Medical Center CEO As a newcomer to Jefferson and Greene County, I’ve appreciated the warm welcome and the friendly conversations with residents sharing the history of the area and the benefits of living in a smaller community. As I’ve spent more time here, I’ve been able to compare and contrast a community of 4,100 and…
Read MoreThree weeks ’til Election Day
~a column by Colleen O’Brien For many of us, the day has come and left because we have been able to vote early by mail, in some states, in person. When I received my mail-in ballot in my post office box, I went online to research the candidates I was unfamiliar with; I read about the resolutions and referendums; I…
Read MoreDemocracy, oligarchy, socialism, capitalism, populism, facism
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Traditional democrats (that’s lowercase democrats – citizens of democracies, not the American political party) who live a relatively comfortable life don’t understand the appeal of populism. Populism is a form of salvation to people who don’t understand why they aren’t as comfortable as the next guy. Or who begrudge the elite (which means different things…
Read MoreJ. Denman in support of Chris Henning
To the Editor:I am writing in support of Chris Henning who is currently running for the Greene County board of supervisors. I have known Chris for 10 years and have found her very involved in advancing Greene County. She comes from a farming family, farms herself, is very interested in conservation and preserving the prairie of her forefathers for future…
Read MoreIn support of Chris Henning – B. Brooker
To the editor, It’s time for a change! I am writing in support of Chris Henning for the county board of supervisors. Her opponent has been there for many years and it is time for a change. Chris is a community organizer (Jefferson Matters) and a volunteer (Habitat for Humanity), a farmer herself, and a conservationist as well. I also support evening up the…
Read MoreA female Charles Atlas
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A friend wrote to me her sadness at the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, calling her a female “Charles Atlas, feminism on her tiny shoulders.” What a forcefully expressive definition of a remarkable woman’s life. I’m saddened at RBG’s dying; sad for her, for her family, her friends, her colleagues on the Court, the…
Read MoreA brave magazine
~a column by Colleen O’Brien “Scientific American,” the longest published magazine in America (August 28, 1845), for the first time in its 175 years has endorsed a presidential nominee. Editors have endorsed Joseph R. Biden because they are so afraid of Donald J. Trump. The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its…
Read MoreGrassley on the Supreme Court vacancy
In 2016, with an open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court and a window into the type of justice he’d nominate, the American people elected Donald Trump president of the United States. The vacancy was among the key issues on voters’ minds at the polls. In 2018, having witnessed President Trump appoint two justices to the Court, as well as the ugly tactics…
Read MoreMystery neighbor . . . from snoopy neighbor’s point of view
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I see this person every day either walking past my house early – 7 am or so – or driving by in a black Corvette, a black truck or a high-rise golf cart. He has a boat that I’ve never seen in the water. On my daily walk, I spot him in his driveway doing…
Read More