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These birds have me completely puzzled

I’m a puzzler. I’ve tackled jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles and occasionally number puzzles since I was a kid. And oh, the happy, smug satisfaction it brings. I begin my day puzzling with my first cup of coffee. Every morning, I do three types of word puzzles on the computer. By the time I finish, my sleep-slit eyes are open, I’m vertical, and taking nourishment. Dear Richard refills my coffee cup. At bedtime, I do the newspaper puzzles. Then this Christmas, to my delight, my grandson, Malcolm, gave me a jigsaw puzzle. A gift I would be thrilled to get every year. This ...

Dairy’s role prominent in state, county

Do you know what the Dairy Community does for Warren County? Hi I am Miranda Gates, your 2025-26 Warren County Dairy Princess and I am here to tell you. Based on the 2022 NASS Agricultural census performed, there were a total of 4,027 farms in Pennsylvania, 455,024 dairy cows and the average herd size is 113 cows.The dairy industry creates 45,502 jobs in the state. In 2022, Warren County was the home to 29 dairy farms mostly family owned and operated with 3,053 cows residing. The average herd size is 105 cows. These farms operate and employ other individuals to keep the farm running ...

Just one well-aimed snowball did the trick

Frankly, I don’t throw a snowball very often these days. Occasionally I might toss a mischievous handful at Richard in the driveway. I do remember though, back when I was first aware that a good snowball is a weapon. I’ll never forget what happened: I was in the fourth grade. In the winter we couldn’t wait to blast out of school and race home for snow play. My classmate, Nancy, and I built a tall snow fort behind the front yard low hedge. It was a fun place to snuggle out of the wind and we kept fortifying and smoothing its sides with each new snowfall. We dug out peep holes so ...

Growing government eats away at paycheck

The latest political rage is the “Affordability Crisis” – which basically means inflation is eating away at your paycheck. Ironically, the people who most loudly proclaim the Affordability Crisis are usually the ones who caused the problem in the first place by supporting over-spending and over-regulation by the Government. They also think the answer is (curiously) more spending and more regulation. Under President Joe Biden, inflation averaged over 5% per year, with one year being over 9%. By comparison, Trump 47 reduced it to 2.7%, but still more must be done to reverse the ...

Runaway energy costs are just the beginning

The energy statistics in the U.S. have not changed: Pennsylvania remains the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country. If the Appalachia Basin region (Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia) was its own country, it would be the fourth largest producer in the world. From century-old “conventional” wells to far-larger Marcellus and Utica “unconventional” shale wells, these resources have supported grid reliability, driven industrial competitiveness, and supplied relatively affordable and reliable energy to millions of Pennsylvanians. How crazy is it to think, then, ...

Lake Placid is small town with big triumphs

The tiny village was named after its tranquil little lake. My dictionary defines placid as serene, gentle, calm. Writing last week’s column about the 1980 Olympics brought back memories that were anything but peaceful. The downtown streets were loud, crowded and fun. It doesn’t seem possible that four and a half decades have slid by since easy-going Lake Placid played host. I was reminded of those many years as Scott Hamilton remarked about this year’s figure skating competition in Italy. When we saw his Olympic debut in Lake Placid, he was 21 years old and stood at his ...