Looking ahead

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 07 May 2013 14:10

With the graduation season upon us, we add a word of congratulations to the high school and college students who will be receiving their diplomas and are beginning the next stage of their life journey.

We have no sage advice or insight to offer that they won’t have heard, thought or read over these next few weeks. But most of us, whether we were there 10, 30 or 50 years ago, can recall that mix of excitement and dread as one very familiar stage ends and the next one looms before us with no clear understanding or defined expectations.

If we look too deeply into the future, the outlook can be foreboding because even the familiar earth beneath our feet shifts from week to week with the undulating tremors of change. Graduates have...

Read more: Looking ahead

Looking ahead

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 07 May 2013 14:10

With the graduation season upon us, we add a word of congratulations to the high school and college students who will be receiving their diplomas and are beginning the next stage of their life journey.

We have no sage advice or insight to offer that they won’t have heard, thought or read over these next few weeks. But most of us, whether we were there 10, 30 or 50 years ago, can recall that mix of excitement and dread as one very familiar stage ends and the next one looms before us with no clear understanding or defined expectations.

If we look too deeply into the future, the outlook can be foreboding because even the familiar earth beneath our feet shifts from week to week with the undulating tremors of change. Graduates have...

Read more: Looking ahead

Be prepared

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 30 April 2013 11:56

Most of us are still complaining about the stubborn persistence of Old Man Winter as the month of May rolls in. But keep in mind that once warm weather arrives for good, so does the peak season for tornadoes in Kansas. Are you prepared for the unthinkable? Do you have an appropriate shelter if a tornado threatens? Basements and storm shelters are best, whether they be yours or a neighbor who is willing to share. If you have neither, seek shelter on the lowest level in the center most part of your home. Put as many walls between you and the storm as possible.

Have you prepared an emergency stash of supplies in the event of a disaster—such things as personal medications, clothing changes for two days, toiletries, checkbook and cash...

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Justice undone

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 23 April 2013 12:40

News that former McPherson College football player Alton Franklin was acquitted last week of second-degree murder charges in the death of Tabor College student Brandon Brown last fall leaves a bitter taste of justice undone.

A McPherson County jury could not find conclusive evidence that Franklin struck blows that led to Brown’s death. From this distance, we can’t say the jury was wrong. But their decision leaves us disappointed that Brown’s family apparently will not have the opportunity to experience closure for the murder of their loved one. Franklin has now been acquitted, and co-defendant DeQuinte Flournoy pleaded no contest earlier to aggravated battery. Is that sufficient resolution for the loss of a 26-year-old student who...

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