Nancy’s Aunt Lil of Hesston passed away on Feb. 4 at the age of 89 and was the last living relative of that generation. She was funny and liked to laugh—a lot. My father-in-law, Ennis, was her brother and when they were together you never knew what would be said. ◼ Dr. A.R. Claassen died the same day, on Feb. […]

One thing I’ve learned through all the ups and downs is that if you’re doing things right, then you have a core group of people. Not just a core group like your homies or your buddies, but a group of people that has a good influence on you, who you respect and admire, and you know that if they’re on […]

I have met or know of people I call “mixers”. Bob Woelk is one. It’s not that some of what he says isn’t truthful in a limited since. It’s that it’s said to evoke a response ( most likely a negative one) from those he feels are, in some way, spiritually inept. When he talks about the Christian faith; it’s […]

As we begin 2019 I am excited about several capital improvement projects that will be crossing the finish line. One of the projects has been in the planning process for over three decades. In the next few weeks, weather permitting, construction will begin on the downtown improvement project. New sidewalks, curbs and guttering, period lighting, and handicap building entrances will […]

We learned from Byron when we were in Jamaica, that the world’s largest KFC is located in Montego Bay and they are not known for Jerk Chicken. The KFC doesn’t stand for Kentucky Fried Chick­en but rather “Keep From Cooking” or “Keep Fat Com­ing.” Friday night is the time and he said the wait can be up to one and […]

More than 20 years ago, I recall sitting across from our church pastor with my soon-to-be wife, answering questions about our likes and dislikes. At the time, I wondered whether the information being garnered would ever have real meaning. After all, we were a couple of crazy young people, head over heels in love and details about which one of […]

These days, if someone doesn’t like the facts as presented, he or she can simply declare that there are alternative truths. Mind you, they are not lies. Allow me to offer some ATs that if true, would rock the world. Dale Earnhardt was gay. Were this true, NASCAR lovers all over America would be trying to scour away their tattoos. […]

Our airplane sped east toward St. Louis, leaving behind the sun and palm trees of Phoenix for the snow of the Midwest I had left only days earlier. I looked out my window. The 737 held me suspended miles above ground, well beyond the layer of clouds that covered the earth like a blanket. Losing an hour mid-flight, darkness came […]

So far, cleaning the office is not going well. In fact, there is more stuff in here now than there was a month ago. We decided to move the exercise bike into the spare bedroom and exchange it for the Church pew bench that was in the spare bedroom. And just like Nancy said I would use it for a […]

This month in my English III class, we worked on 300 word essays. We could pick any topic, but it was supposed to be a descriptive essay. We were to think of something that could happen over and over, and we were like a fly on the wall describing what is going on. When we were assigned this, there were […]