Overload on sports this week

I think I?ve been on sports overload these past few weeks. Most of the college bowl games have been great to watch, including K-State?s beatdown of the storied Michigan football team and program. It was never a contest as KSU dominated every aspect of the game.

The NFL playoffs are equally enjoyable to watch. I?d say even if you are a Green Bay Packer, it wouldn?t be any fun to play in below-zero temperatures.

A fan who has to pay good money to sit out in the cold with winter gear is almost as crazy.

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A postal increase is coming Jan. 26?and it is a big one. I believe all types of mail are going up. First class is increasing from 46 cents to 49 cents, which seems like a lot, but have you tried sending a letter through UPS or Fed Ex?try north of $10 each.

Folks who complain about junk, bulk or standard mail might want to reconsider. It is standard mail that subsidizes the first class and other mail classes and makes it possible to send a letter anywhere in the U.S. for 46 cents. Standard mail would include free publications, like the Free Press, that subsidize other rate classes.

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We were sorry to hear the news that one of our Hillsboro High School alumni members passed away Dec. 28.

Darryld G. Lowen, 89, who lived in Las Cruces, N.M., was a charter member of the Hillsboro American Legion and one of our supporters of the Hillsboro High School Alumni Associ?ation annual banquet. I believe he attended every year that I can remember. He would also stop by the office to see if there was anything he was missing or needed to know about the community. I enjoyed talking with him.

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Google+ hangouts is a new service that we tried out during the holiday. It is Google?s version of FaceTime and works really well. We had a video call with Dan and Katie and also added the Camelis, who were actually at our house at the time.

You can also add hats, glasses and mustaches, to name a few, to the video?which is a hoot.

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I am sure many have wondered if Terry Lee Loewen, 58, who was charged with attempting to create a Jihadist terror attack at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, has any connection to Hillsboro.

I can tell you that he does. His great-grandfather was an inventor and started one of Hillsboro?s early manufacturing businesses. His grandfather, a son-in-law of the founder, became one of the owners of this business along with two of the founder?s sons when the elder stepped down. His father attended Hillsboro High School in the 1940s.

I am leaving the names out because they are all good people and really have nothing to do with the acts that the younger Loewen is alleged to have committed.

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

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