Welding school a good idea

There was big excitement on North Main last Wednesday with the opening of the new Butler County College welding school. This is the kind of thinking that will make this country move forward. If workers are needed, then grow your own, so to speak.

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They cut the ribbon for the opening of the school with a scissors. I mentioned afterward that I thought it would have been more appropriate to snip that ribbon with a cutting torch.

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I would like to pay a big compliment to one of our longtime team members whose last day at the Free Press was Friday.

Elaine Ewert has worked beside us for this entire millennium. We found her to be extremely personable, dedicated and reliable. We will truly miss her and we wish her the best.

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This past weekend we took in the faspa lunch put on by Hills?boro Museums board at the Scout House. It was in commemoration of the 50th year of the Adobe House moving to town. (Now it is referred to as the Peter Paul Loewen House.) It?s hard to turn down cherry moos, zwie?back, cheese and liverwurst when it is offered.

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Some of the younger generation thinks it?s odd that we don?t use an ATM card. I have no interest in having one, and besides, no one can ever hold me up by taking me to an ATM machine and making me withdraw money.

Or would I get shot because they wouldn?t believe me?

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When I was in grade school we would ride our bikes to where the Adobe House used to stand and mess around. One time my bike tire went flat and it was a long walk it back to town.

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We haven?t even settled the sales tax question for the jail and the commissioners are now considering an $11.48 million plan for remodeling the current jail if the sales tax doesn?t pass in November.

It looks as though it may have been thrown out there to make voters think that option is even less desirable so voters should vote for the sales tax as a lesser evil of those two options.

I received phone calls from people who thought that was the intent and even went so far as to call it blackmail, or something to that effect.

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The political organization Marion County Citizens for a Better Way has obtained a report from a third party that clearly demonstrates that we cannot afford to be in the jail business.

Let?s defeat the sales tax and then determine a better way for taking care of our Marion County jail population. Since all of the jails in our vicinity have vacancies, let?s start there.

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Time passes quickly. It has been a year this week since I had my cancer surgery at the KU Medical Center. I am happy to report the procedure has been successful. The checkups every three months have been perfect, so that?s a big relief.

The reason I am writing this is to demonstrate that regular checkups are what enabled the medical professionals to discover the disease early, which makes the outcome much more positive.

So here?s my advice to everyone who is approaching senior status: Now would be a good time to get that checkup you have been putting off. And in the case of a PSA test, it is harmless.

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