With spring comes outdoor fun

Staff Soapbox

Tuesday, 30 April 2013 11:58

I think—maybe—spring is finally showing itself, which means it’s time to go out and play.

Younger people might want to play in the park, enjoy a game of baseball, go swimming or even catch lightning bugs. It was a neat thing to do at night and only required a jar, holes cut in a lid and grass.

For the more grown-up crowd, planting a garden, taking a walk, riding a bike or sitting on a porch swing and reading a book could be entertaining. Thought-provoking conversations with neighbors is always fun.

Those who know me, know how much I like to talk and, in the spring and summer, some of my best chats with buddies in the neighborhood are the impromptu ones.

For husband Randy, anything outside is fun. He can be working on a car...

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Fracking could drain reservoir level

Staff Soapbox

Tuesday, 02 April 2013 11:54

You’d think this was an old problem that was solved years ago with construction of Marion Reservoir.

I have talked to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers people in the past who said water supplies for communities like Marion and Hillsboro are minor compared to the total volume of water that passes through Marion Reservoir.

But there is a new potential high-water-use demand, already begun, that could greatly draw down county reserves in the future.

It’s horizontal oil drilling, or “fracking,” which could use huge quantities of water. One such well being drilled already draws water from a creek flowing into the reservoir, its neighbors said.

According to analysis by Stephen Ellis with Morningstar Inc., a licensed index provider for...

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Grandma-to-be anticipates changes

Staff Soapbox

Tuesday, 05 March 2013 14:22

Our daughter, Tracy, and son-in-law, Stephan, are expecting their first child in less than three weeks. Even though they are 5,000 miles away, we are lucky grandparents because we have Skype.

When our daughter was born in 1980, it was still the “dark ages” as far as technology.

But now with Skype, it’s almost like being in the same room with them.

We are so excited about little granddaughter Livia’s arrival and seeing the circle of our family expanding.

As the date gets closer, I think about this next generation and how such a small person is already having a huge impact on her family.

Someone asked me recently if becoming a grandmother makes me feel even older. I wasn’t sure how to respond.

I don’t think I am getting...

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Habits lead to being rich or poor

Staff Soapbox

Tuesday, 05 February 2013 13:58

Whether you are rich or poor largely depends on your own habits. Yes, some of us are born to wealth and others are born to poverty. But we live in largely a free country where our own habits can cause us to lose our money if we are rich, or gain our money if we are poor.

There is at least one sustaining principle that can help you gain a higher level of wealth, but first I want to touch on something my father used to say.

He’d say, “Poor people have poor ways.” I should have listened better because for too much of my life I had poor ways. He might have added, “Rich people have rich ways.”

Contrary to the great discussion we have about taxing the rich more to support those of low income and station in life, it often is the...

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