Opinion
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Your Voices
Good morning Dan I wanted to send a note to thank you for all your coverage of the Scales Mound Hornets this basketball season. As you know more than anyone, local small school sports coverage is pretty minimal these days. Scales Mound doesn’t...
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Preacher's Piece
Last week my wife and I were on vacation in Florida. Our daughter who lives in Tennessee joined us and we made a week of it. The first thing we did was pick her up at the airport and then we went...
Point To Ponder
Just when you are convinced the world is a cold and heartless place, something comes along to convince you otherwise. I was having a bad weekend – really bad. The schedule itself had me in a sour...
From The Desk Down State
A primary responsibility of state government is to protect those who otherwise cannot protect or take care of themselves. Sadly, in too many cases, the State of Illinois is failing these most...
Preacher's Piece
Several years ago, I needed a rim for one of my old tractors. It’s a 1958 IHC 330 loader tractor. After I bought the tractor, I took the loader off and it (the loader) has been sitting in the...
Point To Ponder
With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, a couple of my own “Irish” experiences came to mind. Right after college, I moved to New York City to try and see if I could “make it” on Broadway. And wh...
Point To Ponder
Well, the female chauvinism of my household seems to know no bounds. As many of you know, my dog Bucky, is spoiled rotten – usually by yours truly. Just this past week we made our routine trip to se...
Preacher's Piece
Random Thoughts - Part 2 Time - It’s that time of year again - Daylight Saving Time (Saving - not Savings). The clocks go ahead in order to give us more daylight. But we all know moving the clocks...
From The Desk Down State
We all have an internal compass that guides our decisions and our behavior. And for those who seek public office, their ethical standards should be beyond reproach. Most people enter politics for the...
Preacher's Piece
February 17 found me and some friends in Louisville, Kentucky at the National Farm Show. I was there with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International (FCFI). This is the largest indoor farm...
Point To Ponder
OK, as many of you know, I am not a morning person. While my wife, on the other hand, can jump out of bed and complete a full dissertation before breakfast. Never was that more evident, than last Thur...
Farm Bureau Beat
On behalf of the Stephenson County Farm Bureau, I would like to invite you to our 2023 Legislative Dinner on Monday, March 20 at 6:30p.m. at our office, 210 West Spring Street, Freeport, IL. The...
Preachers Piece
Some random thoughts … Taxes and Family - Every year our accountant painstakingly reviews every check we’ve written in the last 12 months. Every expenditure has to have an explanation. We must...
Point To Ponder
Ppplease ffforgive mmme if I sttttutter. It has been a difficult week in the Stevens household. Not for the reasons you might expect – no – it’s been a pain because our furnace decided it was...
From The Desk Down State
Friday, February 10 marked the 2023 bill filing deadline in Springfield, and at the end of the day there were 2,442 Senate Bills and 2,000 House Bills filed. Almost all are bills of substance seeking...
Your Voices
Editor; I am told there are referee shortages for youth sports in Illinois and we have witnessed it as a community. It isn’t just football or basketball but all youth sports. According to The New York Times, 50,000 referees quit between 2018 and...
Preachers Piece
Subjectivism and Objectivism in a culture of relative truth ... Digital communication has its advantages. Text messaging is easy and convenient. Convenient because you can choose to answer when it’s...
Point To Ponder
As a kid, I used to love snow days off from school. You’d go to bed, knowing the forecast called for some heavy snow, but knowing that – all too often – the local school district would still...
Your Voices
Editor; The League of Women Voters of Illinois and the LWV of Jo Daviess County applaud Illinois’ new Protect Illinois Communities Act as a positive step on the path to save lives and free all communities from the threat of gun violence. This long...
Preachers Piece
I was on an airplane a few days ago flying home from Florida. My seat was a window seat in row 7. I’m never in a hurry to board the plane because once you get on, you are stuck in there for the...
Point To Ponder
It doesn’t happen often, but I was truly humbled last Saturday. I want to give a tremendous “Thank you” to everyone who stopped by to help me celebrate my 60th birthday at Cannova’s. The...
Farm Bureau Beat
It is hard to believe that January has come and gone and we are into February, with the Super Bowl right around the corner. Likely the first thing you think about when you hear someone mention the...
Preacher's Piece
The nurse came in and said "Doc, there's a man in the waiting room who thinks he's invisible." The doctor said, "Tell him I can't see him today." We are in the gray, dreary days of winter. My dad...
Point To Ponder
Friends might give you a good zinger every once in a while, and children can dish up some god ones, (although we’ll never openly admit it) but when it comes to drilling a dagger straight into your h...
Farm Bureau Beat
When I started my time with Stephenson County Farm Bureau one of the first major events I was a part of was the Bruce Johnson Memorial Farm To Farm 5K/10K run. During these last few years, it has...
