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Local Commentaries

County reassessment ‘necessary’ for schools

On behalf of the Warren County School District Board of Directors, I want to take a moment to address the important issue of the countywide tax reassessment. First, I want to be clear: many members of today’s board had no role in the push for reassessment. However, as current board ...

Rounding Third: A holiday that was worth waiting for

Beginning in 2001, I took three writing classes each summer at Chautauqua – for five years. I gradually learned my way around campus absorbing the babbling fountains, magnificent gardens, and snatches of symphony rehearsals. I dreamed of spending a week there. My dearest friend, Ginger, ...

Homecoming Queen had her laughs, priorities

My old feisty friend, Louise, is gone now. But boy, did she give it a good run. After 94 years, my mother’s and my dear friend wasn’t challenging her world anymore. Instead, she was amazed at her good fortune. “They take my social security and give me all this -- a warm room, a great ...

Trump’s tariffs serve a purpose

Local commentators recently claimed that President Donald Trump’s general 10% tariff constituted a sales tax on consumers. That would be true if tariffs directly affected consumers, but the point of a tariff is to affect the behavior of producers and governments, not consumers. Trump’s ...

Lifelong blessings from an early career

Barbara, my friend of 60 years, came to visit over the weekend. We keep in touch occasionally, but it was time to catch up on our lives and our families. We always fall easily into fond memories, laughter, and enjoyment. We met through her brother, John, a TWA captain who lived next ...

View from Hickory Heights: End of the line

Every time I open my computer I get another message. One fine day I am not going to be able to write anything. I am working on a seven-year-old computer which by today’s standards is a dinosaur. The only thing I use my computer for is this column. For Internet access, reading and ordering ...