Letters (April. 25, 2012)

Capitol Ideas

Written by Nicole Suderman Tuesday, 24 April 2012 15:49

Speak out against

Atmos rate hikes

In regard to the Notice of Public Hearing that Atmos wants to raise rates (Free Press, (April 11 and 18), I hope everyone sits up and takes notice.

In the fourth paragraph, it states they want to raise residential customers’ rates by 21.7 percent! This is outrageous and we all need to stand up and say I’m not going to take this anymore.

In the second paragraph they say natural gas is subject to market forces, weather, supply and demand—we had a milder winter this year. So because we didn’t use as much, they want to penalize us because they didn’t make as much money? If they raise our rates 21.7 percent and next year it’s a very cold winter, it will hurt the public while greatly lining...

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More adventures in the Big Apple

View from the Hill

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 07 August 2012 15:19

Our trip to New York City seems like a lifetime ago, but the Smithsonian Student Travel excursion to the Big Apple my wife Kathy and I sponsored actually took place in June. I reported on the first couple of days in last month’s column. What follows is an account of the final two days.

We departed on the ferry from the New Jersey shore at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, which is like the crack of dawn for New Yorkers.

The Statue of Liberty is something you have to see at least once. But, we found Ellis Island more intriguing. The old buildings feel haunted by historical figures. Like the Metropoli­tan Museum of Art the day before, there was not enough time to adequately soak in all that this stop had to offer. We could only imagine what the...

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Food processing ‘skillz’ improve with time, tips

Fearless Farm Frau

Written by Shana Thornhill Tuesday, 14 August 2012 13:08

To borrow an antiquated phrase, “I got skillz.” Of course, the English expert in my head insists that I rephrase that as “I have skills.” Apparently though, I don’t have enough skills yet.

Even though I’ve learned how to process chickens, how to raise rabbits, and (hopefully) not stab myself in the foot, I have much to learn. I’ve been taking a certain amount of pride in roasting one of those home-raised chickens for dinner (and a few lunches) but what do I do when my husband says he’s tired of roasted...could I please make fried chicken?

I grew up like many of my generation: with a dim idea of chickens as feathery things, but the kind you ate came on a Styrofoam tray, in nice neat pieces that all looked the same.

Um...

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First day is always full of questions

Horizons

Written by Bailey Kaufman Tuesday, 28 August 2012 13:04

The first day of school is always full of questions: “What class do you have fourth hour?” “Who’s the new kid?” “When is the first football game?” And, the most important question of all, “How was your summer?”

When asked this question on previous first days, I always smiled and responded with the basic, “My summer was good! How about yours?” And that was always the truth; my past summer breaks have been good.

For instance, one summer I had mononucleosis. For two whole months, it seemed like all I did was sleep and eat. Then there was the year my room was infested with bed bugs. I slept on an air mattress in the middle of my bare room the whole summer vacation. And I can’t forget last year, when two of my...

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