Sorted by date Results 999 - 1023 of 1447
Editor, The Town has been approached by Jared Mason, SHS teacher, to see if the Town can use the services of four of his students in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) to help them earn money to go to Atlanta, Ga., in June to compete at nationals. They need $4,500 for this. Mr. Winter knows we need extra muscle at the Saratoga dog park to do repairs to the holding enclosure to eliminate dangerous ice and snow between the holding pen gates. The 39-foot dirt path between the gates gets dug down over time by the enthusiasm of dogs excited...
It doesn’t take long for misfortune to find me on this journey. It’s January, 2015, and I’m on the first leg of a long Greyhound voyage from Chicago Ill. to Rapid City S. D., where I’ll be visiting a friend I haven’t seen in years, in a place I’ve never been anywhere near. So begins another day in my itchy-footed life. Following a 10 p.m., snowy departure from downtown Chicago, my bus rolls dutifully Northward to Milwaukee, Wis., then Minneapolis, Minn. Not fast enough though. Sub-zero bl...
There it sits. Holed up in a corner of your house specially designed to accommodate it. It works tirelessly—24 hours a day, seven days a week—with little or no complaint (mine groans occasionally). It captivates your attention for large chunks of time. This boxy device bears the weight of your kitschy sayings, destination memories and kid’s artworks. Of course I am talking about the relatively unheralded refrigerator. It used to be an ice-box in simpler times, but then (as evidence autom...
I was in class when I learned my grandmother, Oma, was approaching the end of her life. I left class in horror. Naturally, I was terribly sad for a night or two but I thought back to conversations with her when I was 15 years old, 14, 10. She was at peace with her life. She had an extensive history about her, children and grandchildren and she left many stories. I’m not sentimental generally but I kept several of her things, if only because she was so practical that she would dread things g...
It was late September in St. Louis, the time of year when the heat and humidity make the air feel like a wet wool blanket that wraps around you when you dare step outside of the air conditioning. We sat in a café in St. Louis’ Central West End, where the city’s old money lives, and new money plays. First date jitters were still pretty intense, and the search for light-hearted get-to-know-you banter continued. “So you went back to college when you were in your 30s?” she asked. “Yes, journalism is my second career,“ I said. I told her I used t...
Editor, A wonderful thing about the Town of Saratoga (there are so many!) is that the town is directly on the bicycle trail known as the TransAmerica Trail. The TransAmerica Trail is 4,228 miles long and goes from Oregon on the west coast to Virginia on the east coast. A small number of these riders pass through Saratoga each day during the riding season. I think this is a great opportunity for Saratoga! It wouldn’t take much to show these bicyclists some great Western hospitality. We could provide free or donation camping by constructing, s...
Like many famous quotes, there is some uncertainty over who actually said “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.” Regardless of which dead man gets credit for the sentiment, that is what I set out to do when I packed my car and left the places and people I know deeply and love dearly back in Chicago. That was a little over three months – not to mention several lifetimes – ago. My girlfriend Michelle and I crossed the Mississippi on a dismally foggy early winter day. Both of us were s...
Below is my 100th column for the Saratoga Sun. Before I get to that there are some things I would like to say first. Or you could just skip this and go to the column. When I was initially anticipating putting this milestone (maybe just for me) in, I had no idea the changes that would be coming to the Sun. Making me the general manager? What, they want me to grow up or something? I have had to learn about web pages, online subscriptions, uploading legals to both national and state websites, posta...
This story was inspired by true events. In a small western town there are only so many places to socialize in the winter. Of course you can go to church (we have plenty of those), you can attend community events (fewer of those), or you can go to a bar. I have often said that you know you are in Wyoming when there are more bars than gas stations. We have our priorities. I am not a huge fan of the fact that seeing the friends I do have revolves around alcohol so I try to limit my saloon excursions. I also have been trying to limit the amount...
I always remember having cats. My first cat, Pudgey, was my first pet of all, and while I don’t remember too much about her she was part of my home and what I consider a home to be. My cats now, August and Truck, are two of the best things about my life, and I’m happy to talk about them to anyone for hours. I don’t think I could love them more. I also think of them as good cats for someone that doesn’t like cats. A visitor can get the whole span of who they are and what their personalities are pretty quickly, and to know a cat is to love a cat....
You thought you got rid of me, didn’t you? Well, Erik had his chance to say his goodbye last week, and there wasn’t enough room left for me. It is coincidental that I am leaving the Saratoga Sun now. I started the Saratoga Sun when my son Garry was going through another traumatic time of his life. In May 2005, I started working as an inserter. In July of 2005, the bookkeeper was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was asked to take over the bookkeeping tasks as well. In September 2005, I started...
I’ve had a good run during my time at the Sun. But, all good things must come to an end … so they say. In a scenario I could not have envisioned even a month ago, an opportunity that would take me away from journalism presented itself in a way that made me think “This is the new path I should take. This is where I can do the most good right now.” I am leaving the Saratoga Sun to take over as Interim Director of the Saratoga Museum. It was not an easy choice and the decision was made during...
Do you use the dog park? If the answer is yes, now is your time to shine. The Kaake Walk Dog Park in Saratoga needs volunteers to deal with the worst snow Saratoga has seen in years. The park was founded in 2002 with land donated by the town, but was set up to be maintained by a volunteer force according to Director of Public Works Jon Winter. Currently two octogenarians, Ruth and Leon Hetherington have been doing the bulk of winter maintenance. We want you to picture a woman with hip trouble and a man on oxygen hacking away at icy snow drifts...
Editor, There are only a few people who have changed the course of my life, and Liz Wood is one of them. Almost three years ago, I was a senior in college armed only with a liberal arts degree and a determination to not go home and live with my parents. I sent out around 50 resumes to papers all over the country. I got calls back on three job listings. Two of those phone calls replied with a “thanks, but no thanks.” But Liz, she gave me a shot. There was no place better for me to learn than at the Saratoga Sun — especially under Liz’s leaders...
I went on vacation last week. I had planned it for months. Get some much-needed relaxation and unwind a bit, you know. The plan was to fly to Houston and then board a cruise ship going to the Yucatan Peninsula. I did that. I had some fun. But the day before I was to leave I got some bad news. Liz Wood, the Sun’s general manager and my favorite boss ever, informed me she was leaving for greener pastures. I knew this was going to be on my mind the whole trip. You try to NOT think about s...
To the Editor in Chief Dear Saratogans: On February 19th The Saratoga Sun will lose the most award-winning editor it has ever had. Not that we haven’t had other good editors, but Liz Wood has made our newspaper into an award winning and highly thought of paper in the state. Never has the paper garnered so many awards for the thoughtful editorials, the high profile Sno-Rag and Adventure Guide, the sports coverage of the Valley and the coverage of the entire Valley’s events. We have been blessed with such a person and will truly miss her. Liz...
he Star Wars franchise, I’ve heard, is one of the most pervasive cultural reference systems in modern America. I don’t believe you can fully understand that unless you grew up never having seen it, watching the films for the first time in your 20s. That’s what I did. When Luke, alongside Yoda, is trying to use The Force1 to raise a submerged spaceship2 from the swamp3 in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda famously says “Do or do not. There is no try.” I had no idea that was from Star Wars. Instead,...
Thirty years is a long time in between Editorial Leadership Awards. When Gary Stevenson told me we needed to write more editorials three years ago, my response was: "We are too diverse to agree on anything." You should hear some of the arguments we have in this office. No matter who the reporters are, we don't always agree, but we started finding ways to agree on something. This year, we finally brought home the Editorial Leadership award for our work in 2015. The last one was in 1986, when...
