We were hit, but not seriously

We who live in the city limits of Hillsboro and Marion have a lot to be thankful for in regard to the power outages that began in this area following the ice storms of last week.

Marion had about an hour of no power and Hillsboro had about nine hours of darkness after the power went out at 5 p.m. Although I personally only had about three hours without power because I went to bed at 8 p.m. Tuesday. When I woke up at 4 a.m. the next day, the power was back on.

Make this Christmas Brighter

If you?d like to make someone?s Christmas a little brighter this year, there are options available to you.

Both Emprise Bank and Hillsboro State Bank have giving trees for all ages. As of Monday morning there were still unfilled requests at Hillsboro State and Emprise was taking names if more requests came in.

No need to cheer for Mizzou

I didn?t root for Missouri once during the Big 12 title game on Saturday night.

Since whom I cheered for had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome, it made no sense to cheer for Mizzou. That a Missouri victory helped KU?s chances for a better bowl invitation had nothing to do with anything.

KU game a “sellout” for greed

I?m still fuming about this past Saturday night?s football game at Arrowhead Stadium. And it?s not because my Jayhawks lost the game. It?s because of the greed that has crept into college sports.

I do pin this loss directly on the backs of the KU administration. What is home-field advantage for if you don?t use it to your advantage?

Feedback on soap still flows

There must be hundreds of soap welders out there. I can?t remember receiving so much feedback about anything else I have written in this column. And the feedback has come from near and far.

Many can?t believe I didn?t know that you just stick the sliver of old soap to the new bar. Even my sister says our mom used to tie up the soap slivers in a nylon stocking for additional mileage.

Boomers looking to retire soon?

Beginning Jan. 1, 10,000 baby boomers per day will become eligible for retirement.

How many actually pull the trigger at age 62 remains to be seen. The biggest roadblock I see is health insurance.

f you have been self-employed or are responsible for your own health insurance premiums, a good portion of your monthly income would be taken for the next three years until Medicare eligibility kicks in.

Free papers subsidize your stamp

Most people probably haven?t stopped to think about the value of
receiving free publications like the Free Press in the mail, in
addition to the content. The latest figure I read was that the
circu?la??tion of free papers in this country is about 90 million
copies per week. A majority of these are sent through the U.S. mail.

We don’t know all things?

Lately we?ve become the house of information at the Free Press. I?m not complaining, as we take it as a compliment that folks think we know what is going on everywhere and where to find almost anything in these parts.

It?s also a welcome switch from people telling me where to go.

Is delaying a game a new thing?

When the Marion vs. Hillsboro football game was delayed this past Friday night, I was trying to remember if games were ever delayed in the old days. And I couldn?t remember it ever happening.

Then it also happened in Lawrence prior to and during the KU-Baylor game Saturday. I can?t remember it ever happening while I was living there back in the ?60s and ?70s.