Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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It’s 2017, and there are a lot of people who are happy to see 2016 go. The year saw a rather contentious and seemingly interminable election; ISIS; terrorism; increasing tensions with Russia; unrest at home about race issues and some indications that fascism is on the comeback in many parts of the world, including those that should know better. We lost a lot of celebrities and musicians, too. So as happy as many are to see 2016 behind them, it’s also important to look back and see some of the positive things that happened in 2016, and the... Full story
Regarding The Community Garden, Although I have moved out of the area, the community garden remains dear to my heart. Being one of the founding members I would hate to see it fail at this point. In the beginning it required a lot of begging for donations of time and materials. It also required calling in favors for equipment to be used at the garden. I think Cindy has done an excellent job of finding funds for the garden. Some of the experiments that have been done are of great interest to other community gardens and private gardeners. I think... Full story
On the opposite bank of the river, things continued in much the same vein, but the farms were more infrequent, and brief stretches of woods started to get mixed-in with the swamps and grasslands. Since it was now the hottest part of the afternoon, even those few farms I did come across featured vacated fields. An hour or so earlier, the families who worked the soil on those farms had probably eaten a sparse meal of rice or to (a starchy tuber mashed to a frankly snot-like consistency and served... Full story
I will be out of the office this week but wanted to make things as easy as I could for my new(ish) staff. So here’s my two cents for the holiday gap. *** I keep hearing about this “War on Christmas.” I call BS. The holy day has come more under fire from people trying to commercialize and greedify it than anything else. So maybe you can’t get a Starbucks cup or a McDonalds Happy Meal that says “Merry Christmas.” Big damn deal. These corporations have customers that service clients that celebr... Full story
Amid the week after Christmas, piles of wrapping in bags, shiny paper and boxes in trash with the tags. Sad little scissors sit broken and bent, from clamshell packaging—they don’t make a dent. The lights are still sparkly, still light up the town, but pretty soon work begins in taking them down. Kids run around ‘cause they’re still out of schools, having a good old time while acting the fools. But the tots are forlorn from here to Hoboken, Christmas is gone and their new toys are broken.... Full story
Dear readers, It has come to my attention that certain groups or entities have been using my name to try and get donations from seniors. Some of these solicitations imply that folks won’t get their Social Security benefits unless they pay $10 and sign a petition addressed to me. These letters are misleading and aim to prey on those who are vulnerable and worried. No one has to pay anyone in order to share their views with me and these professional petition organizers are not as effective as they may claim. I am working to make sure Social Secur... Full story
It’s just about time again for a mental cleaning. I keep putting new things in my head and other things keep falling out. That being the case I thought I would share some of the things taking up space in my cranial cavity so maybe I can retain some other important things. … or not. Since it has been well over a year since I wrote a column composed of half-baked ideas, I figured it was about time. *** Dumplings: Is that what you get when you have bunny-sized poops? Or is that just folks from the... Full story
After turning off the paved road, the first kilometer or two of my bike ride around the barrage were unadulterated bliss. The path rolled up and down country hills, occasionally allowing a snapshot of the sparkling blue lake to be viewed in the distance, its shore growing nearer and nearer. During this initial leg of the journey, I was charged with frenetic anticipation of the day that lay before me, ignorant of the challenges and discoveries ahead but eager to meet both head-on. I pedaled hard,... Full story
Going about my normal routine last Tuesday I noticed a vague irritation in my throat. I didn’t give it much thought as we put the paper out and began to work on the following week’s edition. When I got home though I followed standard “not feeling quite right” procedure and took some vitamin C and ate some chicken soup just in case. Later, while laying on the couch watching TV it suddenly occurred to me that I was very cold. Though the house was a normal temperature I just couldn’t shake the...
Roughly four kilometers from the little farming village I called home in Burkina Faso is something called “the Barrage.” Basically, it’s a dammed-up portion of a seasonal waterway feeding into the Bougouriba River to the north of us, and it’s a very picturesque and tranquil place. I frequently biked there and sat on its south eastern shore, looking at the line of rocky hills lying to the north of the body of water and listening to the gurgling river passing underneath the road. I’m not much... Full story
Its time now to keep thinking about the potential threat of flooding our North Platte River still possesses. As each year passes without a permanent and more substantial management of the river flow the Town of Saratoga’s risk of flooding only increases. We need to focus on a more permanent solution. The pesky gravel islands just South of the Hwy 130 bridge that keep recurring every few years is the most noticeable condition that most of the town folk can see. This is only one concern the citizens of Togie need to be thinking about. Boozer Cree... Full story
I remember the first time I tried a martini. I had been watching M*A*S*H,1 and the lead characters had been on and on about the still they operated in their tent and how great martinis are. So martinis—and how great and fashionable they must be—played wildly in my pre-teen mind as the family went out to dinner at the Tower of Americas in downtown San Antonio. When it came time to order dinner I asked for one. When that request was declined, I explained that I would be willing to try a bit of... Full story
The sun descended in tandem with my hopes of seeing a new part of Burkina, and it was 7:10 when the train finally chugged its way into the station. Workers herded us into a roped-off section of platform, and, like clockwork, pandemonium erupted. For whatever reason (and I spent long hours during my Peace Corps years trying to figure it out) “queuing,” or the social convention of forming lines, is not common in Burkina. Grown men and women, wearing clothes far nicer than mine, threw the... Full story
I didn’t set out to be a “crazy cat lady.” I have acquired three cats though and apparently three is the threshold for being dubbed such. For years I was cat-free–but in the summer of 2001 I felt the need to go to the library. There, in the entry alcove, was a lady I knew. I said “hi” and then noticed the box of kittens she was watching over. “You want one?” she asked. “They’re free.” Against my better judgment, I picked a few up and eventually settled on a little cutie with a checkerboard m... Full story
