Foundation has grown quickly

The Hills??boro Com?munity Foundation has probably already exceeded expectations for many people, including its founders.

Think about all of the money in the form of grants from the foundation?s investments that has helped area groups and organizations fund their mission and operations. This is the fifth year grants have been awarded with a total exceeding $40,000.

Now HCF has a new website that tells the story. It can be found by going to hillsborofreepress.com and clicking on the HCF tile at the top of the home page. Or you can go to hcfoundationks.com.

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One of the great things about living in a small rural community is our natural instinct to trust people?almost to a fault. We?d like to be able to trust everyone, but life experience and common sense dictates that we be prudent, wary and on-guard at all times.

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?Just because you saw it on the Internet someplace doesn?t mean it?s true.? The preceding quote was attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

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I will be receiving my first Social Security check this week. At least I am under the impression that I will. It was tempting to start at an earlier age, but that meant limits on how much one could earn without a reduction in benefit, so I opted to wait until that?s no longer an issue.

I?m not sure if I should be happy about the check or sad that the system is going broke but will pay me anyway. True, I have paid into the system since I was 13 years old and haven?t missed paying in for the 53 years since.

I will still be paying in as long as I continue to work and receive a paycheck.

I?ve started making it a practice of thanking the younger workers for sending me a check each month. Truth be told, it is the younger group that needs more help than I do.

Former budget director David Stockman, under President Reagan in the 1980s, was on the Cavuto show recently and said something will need to be done to keep Social Security solvent. One of his suggestions was means testing to determine how much each person should be receiving. He would also apply means testing to Medicare. I wouldn?t have any problem with that.

I haven?t heard any numbers in that regard so I don?t know if I would be affected or not. I don?t consider myself rich financially, but feel very rich and blessed in many other ways.

All I know is that something needs to be done?sooner rather than later.

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Football has finally ended and I am glad. We can now turn our attention to basketball, golf and Daytona.

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Another tragedy hit the music world this past weekend, as I?m sure everyone has heard by now. I had always been a fan of Whitney Houston, whose pure voice was like none other.

Again, everyone is asking why do things like this happen, where someone who seems to have everything can make lots of bad choices and fall so far.

If you want to hear how our national anthem should be sung, go to YouTube and search for the 1991 Super Bowl national anthem sung by Whitney Houston. It was flawless?unlike many others who, in my opinion, make a mess of it.

If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@hillsborofreepress.com.

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