We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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The General Assembly recently completed the 2023 Fall Veto Session, and there was no shortage of political gamesmanship on display. It is typical during veto session to examine bills with upcoming sunset dates and determine which ones will be continued. Two sunsetting bills took center stage during this year’s veto session. The first is 2017 legislation sponsored by Senator Kwame Raoul who now serves as Illinois’ Attorney General. The legislation, SB1722 (Public Act 100-0003), established hig...
It’s easy to read attitude and motives into people’s actions and text messages. I understand that not everyone respects God, the Church, church-goers or pastors. Some people even despise us. I know that some people don’t care for this column or me, even though we’ve never met and maybe never will. I don’t often receive fan mail, but occasionally I get an encouraging letter in the mail about something I wrote. One editor I submit my columns to told me one time that people were threateni...
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but I've never been a role model when it comes to fashion. Recognizing one's limitations is a good thing, and trust me - in the world of fashionable clothing, and looking one's best ... well ... I kinda got left off at the plaid and paisley aisle. Apparently, my fashion sense was never a factor in trying to woo my wife - which is a good thing, seeing how I don't have any. In fact, there are a couple of humorous - at least in her eyes - stories about my...
I am notorious for ruining almost every surprise I plan. I often get too excited and want to tell the gift or plan for an event or a special activity. An example of this was last year for Christmas I bought my husband some concert tickets. I had bought these in September and had told him about them by the end of November, which for me was a pretty decent run. The past month or so we have been working diligently on planning and organizing trips for 2024. We had planned on releasing this...
In the USA, Veterans Day annually falls on November 11. This day is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations went into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the day should be "filled with solemn pride in the heroism...
I really wish I could still see the world through the eyes of a child. I’m not sure about your house, but we had a grand total of four Trick-or-Treaters show up at ours on Halloween. Now, I know it was cold – really cold – because like a doofus I went and sat outside on our front porch waiting for people to show up. And even thought the beers I grabbed for the “Trick-or-Beer” I hand out to people I know was warm when I grabbed it, the three cans I took back inside were perfectly chilled a...
Multiple news sources recently reported that in September, U.S. border agents processed more than 200,000 migrants who crossed into the United States illegally. That’s an average of over 6,600 people per day. The actual number is much higher! As the southern U.S. border crisis continues to consume and overwhelm available resources in border states like Texas and Arizona, desperate state leaders are doing everything they can to handle the influx of illegal immigrants. Part of their response is t...
Dear Dan I read your last column on the EVIL DEMONSTRATED with all the tricks and ugly stuff about HALLOWEEN. WHY would you want to share with young folk on HOW TO PLAY EVIL, DEADLY TRICKS on others … just for KICKS? I prefer to see fall colors, pumpkins, smiley faces, decorations set in yards and NOT THE EVIL BROUGHT ON BY showing the HORRIBLE SIDE OF LIFE....... HAVE YOU EVER LOST A LOVED ONE TO THE EVIL IN THIS WORLD? watch tv and see the crazy stuff going on near Israel........wicked stuff we DO NOT NEED TO BRING ONTO OUR LIVES. Just t...
The story goes how the teacher instructed her students to pass their essay papers forward so she could collect them. The students dutifully did as they were told, except for one little boy, who walked up to her desk and handed the teacher his pencil. “What’s this,” she asked? “It’s my essay,” he responded. “This is your pencil,” she said. “Yes,” he said, “but my essay is inside that pencil. You just need to get it out of there.” If this column were a sermon, I would say here that I’ve decided...
My wife was cleaning out my man-cave downstairs and converting it into the new “grandkids room” where they will be able to go play as they are soon to get to the age where they would prefer to go off on their own anyway as opposed to sitting and listening to the grown-ups talk. And, because she was willing to do almost all of the work, I really had no argument against her idea. I mean, we moved my “office” upstairs after the last big flood, and the big beautiful television we put up in the fam...
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and COUNTRY Financial share a common interest in helping farmers and are partnering to host four “Emergency Planning on Your Farm” seminars in February, 2024. The keynote speaker will be Mike Pearson, host of RFD-TV’s “This Week in Agribusiness.” We need your help getting the conversation started with our members. Each seminar will: Provide current and prospective IFB members and COUNTRY clients with information and questions that are essential to being prepared...
Legislators are preparing to head back to Springfield for the Fall Veto Session, which is scheduled for October 24-26, and November 7-9. Veto Session is the time when legislators can act on items that received full or partial (amendatory) vetoes from the Governor. As the Senator for the 45thDistrict, I look forward to representing the values of Northwest Illinois families during the upcoming veto session. During the spring 2023 legislative session, more than 550 bills were approved and sent to...
Most people in the print business enjoy getting feedback from their readers, especially the good kind. I read where a certain publication received the following letter to the editor: “Dear Editor: When I subscribed a year ago you stated that if I was not satisfied at the end of the year I could have my money back. Well, I would like to have it back. On second thought, to save you the trouble, you can apply it to next year's subscription." A man takes his place in the theater, but his seat is t...
Maybe it was because I was a member of a fraternity, or maybe it was because 20 year old guys tend to pull pranks on each other all the time, but when I was in college, getting “pimped” was a major deal. A “pimp” was a practical joke you pulled on a fraternity brother. They ran the entire spectrum from hanging all of the belongings of one guy – furniture, clothes, everything – in a tree, all the way to the time we picked up one guy’s car and placed it on the platform stage sitting in the middle...
There is a lot happening in the world today - mainly in Israel. Ever since I was a little kid, my parents had the radio on and I remember hearing about wars and battles taking place in the Middle East. I only remember the Six Day War in 1967, where Egypt attacked Israel and was quickly defeated, because I read about it in history. I was a young teenager in 1973 when the Yom Kippur War broke out. At that time, I remember hearing about The Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal...
So why is it that we all love Halloween so much? I mean really, look around - people go bonkers over Halloween. Houses get decorated, people wear costumes, kids can’t wait to trick or treat, and I have to admit it’s one of my favorites - but I had to stop and wonder, why? This isn’t some stupid history lesson about Halloween, and how we got it, I’ve seen tons of those and when you get right down to it - does a kid care? And be honest, how many of you actually give a rotting bone about the his...
A few years back, the coach of UCLA’s football team, Pepper Rodgers was in the middle of a terrible season. It got so bad that it even upset his home life. He recalls: “My dog was my only friend. I told my wife that a man needs at least two friends… so she bought me another dog.” Several years ago, an elderly gentleman began attending Martintown Community Church. He had been out of church for some time – having given up on the possibility that there was a church out there that he would fin...
“Dan, you need a haircut.” That phrase has been ushered at me ever since I can remember. During my youth, my mother would make the proclamation that was then followed by her taking me to the barber. Later on, when I was in High School, my sister would cut my hair – it was easy being poofy like an afro – so she would make the announcement at dinner where my mom would agree, and I was quickly doomed to the chair in the middle of the kitchen floor. In college, I was able to go long stretch...
Editor; Hello! I am Delaney Julius of Stockton Il and I play High-school volleyball as a freshman for SHS. I recently read the Article about Stockton Volleyball written by Dan Stevens. I think this article was way blown out of proportion. I am not trying to stick up for the mother as this whole situation was caused by her. The article was 100% truthful until it started to inform about the play and child of the mother who was posting on snapchat and causing a commotion. Ava Hess is my cousin and we have been very close over the years. I try to s...
When we travel by car, I like to figure out ahead of time how many miles it is to our destination and how many hours it will take us to get there. In the olden days, I would get out my trusty road atlas, look at the index in back where it has a chart that tells you how many miles it is between any two certain cities and then map out the route we’d be taking. Then we’d pack our bags and hit the road. Nowadays, I just bring google maps up on my phone and it does the rest. But some things nev...
I miss television. I don’t know about you, but as for me, it was a lot easier finding time to watch television when I was younger than it is now. But before you think I’m going to go off on one of those self-pity “I work too much” rants, let me get right to the point. With my cousin Chuck living with us, and is addiction to MeTV – a channel that shows old tv shows from the 60s, and 70s like One Adam-12, Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, and Star Trek, there have been a lot of days where I have had plenty of...
This past week I traveled north to the Career Fair at UW-Platteville to talk about the many opportunities with Farm Bureau, such as internships and full-time positions. I will forever be grateful for my time as an intern with the McHenry County Farm Bureau. It ultimately, lead me to my career with Illinois Farm Bureau and the Stephenson and Carroll County Farm Bureaus. If you know someone looking for an internship or full-time position, I encourage you to have them check out...
Who says God is dead? A few years ago, I’d say about 30 to be exact, there was a little white church out in the middle of nowhere in the country that was in trouble. Their pastor had just stepped down in the middle of controversy and they asked me if I’d be their new pastor. This was not an ideal situation, but I was much obliged to walk through the door God had opened for me. On my first Sunday behind the pulpit, we welcomed about 20 people to the worship service. Word soon got out that the...
OK, I’m sorry, but I need to take a deep breath before this one. I have been covering High School sports for over 30 years, and in all of that time I have seen every negative aspect you can imagine. Cocky athletes, major mistakes by referees, arrogant coaches who think it’s about them, administrators with no backbone, and organizational ignorance from the IHSA. But to this day, there is still only one thing that still burns my butt and makes me want to slap somebody … ignorant parents who think...
My household ushered in the beginning of fall this past weekend by “watching” football, or maybe I was half watching and the other half folding laundry, checking my phone and snacking. I did not grow up with a football watching family and only started watching when I got in college because I had some friends who were pretty big football fans. Then when I met my husband, it became a regular fall event. Over the years I’ve begun to pick up on what was happening on the field and gain a bette...
