Opinion

Why people choose abortions This is a hard article to write. I didn't want to write it, but God won't let go of me until I do. He has placed it on my heart to share the truth, "why people choose abortions". Many men & women (boys & girls) want to get rid of their sin & any evidence of their sin. ...

Following politics as closely as I do is about as sure prescription for depression and anxiety as one might find. As a general rule, I don’t recommend it. For at least once, and for this week alone, we may be able to say that politics isn’t always a drag. The United States played a pivotal role in the official recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain...

Dear Editor, Larry Evans, director of the Trenton Public Library, and Carol Wimer, assistant program director of El Dorado Manor, have made life more tolerable for me. They made certain that books were sent to me to read during the coronavirus pandemic...

This is McCook’s decade! I believe we’ll be sitting downtown after a Live at the Bieroc show in 2030 and look back and be amazed at what the community has accomplished. We’ll talk about how we built a new aquatics facility and new athletic fields. We’ll be excited about the improvements in programming and facilities at the Y. ...

Most students, teachers and parents are overjoyed to see kids back in class, and all the people who made sure education continued during the pandemic deserve our gratitude and utmost respect. The fact that Nebraskans were forced to home school for a time, however, is remarkable to those of us who have observed educational controversies over the years...

Grannie Annie and I were privileged to attend a retirement party (celebration!) for Fire Chief Bill Elliott of the Red Willow Western Rural Fire Department this past weekend. Bill served for over 40 years in many roles as he worked his way up to Chief. Forty years is the entire history of the RWRFD since it was formed to serve the rural communities and empty spaces of most of the area of Red Willow County...

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “I would rather sit in a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” Along with the typical accouterments of my fourth-grade classroom; a US flag, an alphabet posted above the blackboard (upper and lower case, in cursive), and a rotary pencil sharpener mounted to the wall, my matronly, gray bunned and skirted stereotypical school-marm teacher posted a few famous quotes above the green letters of the alphabet. ...

This past weekend, I stood atop a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado and was thankful for the opportunity to be there. While my family are regular skiers, we had never purposely climbed to the top of these mountains. Yet, there we stood, gasping for air and gazing for miles in every direction...

There are events for each of us that stand out in memory for the rest of our lives. Considering my own life the day that I first soloed an aircraft remains a bright moment from the instance my tires left the ground and the sixteen year old me brilliantly realized that I was on my own. ...

Young Nebraskans may find themselves in a strange position these days, if the results of Nebraska Community Foundation’s 2020 Youth Survey are any indication. A majority of the more than 1,300 students who responded to the survey say they are active in uplifting their communities through a variety of extracurriculars and organizations. Despite that engagement, however, many don’t feel invited to share their opinions on building a bright future for their hometown...

Having watched both the GOP and DNC primaries in the past two weeks, to the extent that I could stomach them, I walked away with a firm grip on what one party is against (or more appropriately, who one party is against), but no clear idea of what either party was for. The DNC intensely dislikes Donald Trump. That memo has been received loud and clear, and they have no particular affection for middle-America either...

With the ongoing pandemic isolation and resulting disruptions of routine life, September’s observance of National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month is more important than ever. If you, or someone you know is thinking of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255...

There is a crowbar sitting in the corner of my bathroom at home. In fact, it has been there a few days, slightly hidden among the robes hanging from the hooks. Now, most people would be asking themselves, “Why is there a crowbar in my bathroom?” I quit asking “why” a long time ago after locating my missing dish soap on the trampoline or discovering three bags of marshmallows had disappeared overnight...

EDITOR's NOTE: After publication of the following Open Forum letter, we were contacted by both the Rev. Steve Ayres, the current vicar of the Old North Church, and Nikki Stewart, Executive Director of the Old North Church and Historic Site in Boston...

The major political party’s conventions are over so now we all know how to vote a couple months from now in the upcoming Presidential election. Surely each of you watched both the Democratic and the Republican conventions. Me neither but I did watch both of the presidential candidates nomination acceptance speeches...

Think of the words “economic development,” and visions of a another Parker Hannifin or Valmont come to mind to most of us. Large factories with hundreds of employees don’t come along all that often, and efforts to develop smaller business with a dozen or fewer employers is more likely to sustain growth...

Occasionally, the Sunday-morning talking heads wax eloquent about our divisive times and compare ours to the period leading up to the civil war. I always find that to be a bit of a stretch, but comparisons with 1968 are hard to avoid. We have civil unrest in our cities where, alongside a handful of peaceful protesters, lawless mobs burn, vandalize and loot. ...

Last weekend, I took the latest Graff child to college in northwest Iowa. It is a small school with a swimming program. Additionally, it was located in a small community, where he won’t get lost in the shuffle or just be a number. (The same can be said for McCook Community College and yet another reason for kids to stay here, if only they had a swim team.)...

We can all agree that the class of 2020 got a raw deal. Graduation, prom, spring sports were all drastically altered if not eliminated. Only time will tell whether the classes of 2021 and beyond will experience anything like the traditional transition from youth to adulthood...

A hidden wonderful service. Your old columnist, following major heart surgery earlier this year, was directed to go to a program called cardio rehabilitation. At the time I thought what in the world that was all about? After all I was a farm kid who grew up working as in physical labor. ...