Affordable
food or
riots and unrest? By Jim Surber
The images and accounts of recent riots in the United Kingdom have been
disturbing and confounding. Disturbing by the fear and destruction they
have caused and confounding as to their root cause. It has always
appeared that the causes of such events were as random as the specific
nature and the participants in the events themselves. We must accept
the fact that technologies such as social networking now play a
large... read
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Secretary of State Husted... With
the Start of School, everyone can Make a Difference
It seems like it was only yesterday, but nearly 35 years ago when I was
a junior high student in Montpelier, Ohio, my school bus driver taught
me one of the most valuable life-lessons I ever learned about
compassion and using our gifts to help others. There was a girl who
rode our bus, who took special education classes and walked and talked
a little differently than most kids. But I remember she was always
smiling and never... read
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Commissioners Corner... Local
dollars down nearly $500K
The month of August always indicates the start of many
things.
School openings are just around the corner, families are taking that
last vacation, and of course, The Great Darke County Fair. As
this is written, the fair is in full swing, and by most observations,
it looks like the fair may set new attendance records again this
year. If you haven’t been to the fair yet... read
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Family Events... Are
you raising
a future president of the USA? By Marybeth
Hicks
Remember when your parents asked you what you were going to be when you
grew up? Nearly every child in America at one time or another answered,
“I’m going to be President of the United States!” I was thinking about
this recently because I wonder if kids do that anymore — that is, dream
of being the president or of running for office. Some surveys I’ve seen
indicate they’d rather be sports stars or celebrities... read
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Aphids
arrived in
Darke County last week, By Justin Petrosino,
OSU Extension
I hope everyone is enjoying the Great Darke County Fair. I have had my
share of fun grilling at the Pork Producers grill and eating enough
fried foods elsewhere to make any heart skip a beat! Today let’s take a
fair break to talk about economic thresholds. Economic thresholds are a
level of a pest infestation that a farmer, consultant or crop
production specialist should recommend an application of a... read
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Senate
Bill 5 again?
By Bob Rhoades
Earlier this year, I wrote a lot about Senate Bill 5. I said
that
it was unfair and a witch-hunt by Gov. Kasich to bust public employee
representation all across the state. I also said that it
looked
to me like a lot of good, well-meaning Republican members of the House
and Senate should think for themselves and not follow the Governor down
his yellow brick road because it didn’t look like there was a
rainbow... read
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Family Events... Transitions
mean adjustments for the whole family, By
Marybeth Hicks
8/18/11 - The other day a friend posted on her Facebook page, “Only one
week till I send my first child off to kindergarten — I’m crying
already!” I have a confession. When I sent my eldest child to
school, I didn’t cry. It might have been because she had already been
attending preschool at the same parish school, so I knew she’d be
comfortable and make an easy transition. Or it might have been... read
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Mandel... Why
Ohio’s Outlook has
Improved as Federal Credit Rating is Downgraded
While global financial markets are marred by uncertainty, Ohioans’
hard-earned tax dollars are being prudently invested and safeguarded.
To highlight the contrast between Ohio’s fiscal management with that of
the federal government, look no further than the recent actions of
Standard & Poor’s. In analyzing the fiscal management of each,
the
firm decided last month to upgrade Ohio’s outlook (from... read
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Family Events... Studies
say
learning to lie is a sign of intelligence, By
Marybeth
Hicks
8/11/11 - I’ll never understand why children try to lie their way out
of things. They’re terrible liars. Case in point: I once asked my son
if he put the dog out to do his morning business. My son said “yes,” so
it seemed odd the dog was scratching at the back door. I opened the
door to offer the pup a second chance, thinking maybe his little canine
kidneys were working overtime, only to discover fresh, white... read
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State Senator Bill Beagle... Ohio’s
Credit Rating Boost Bucks the National Trend
COLUMBUS – Throughout the month of July, newspapers across the country
were riddled with the grim and daunting details surrounding the debate
over our nation’s budget and its debt ceiling. Agreement between
chambers and political divides in Washington were few and far between,
and any sort of good news proved even more seldom. However, amid all
the fear and concern over the future of our... read
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State Rep. Jim Buchy... Removing
the Chains and Shackles of Taxes in the Budget
Balancing an $8 billion budget was a difficult process, but balancing
it without tax increases was something many doubters did not believe
could happen. When the budget became law it actually included
changes to tax policy that lower taxes and provide opportunities for
Ohio’s citizens to pay their back taxes without penalty. Tax increases
stifle the growth of business and put a damper on any chance of... read
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Family Events... Wouldn’t
trade
places for anything... By Marybeth Hicks
8/5/11 - A few years ago while I was promoting my parenting book,
Bringing Up Geeks, I was approached by the producers of the reality
show Wife Swap with an offer to participate in their show. If you
aren’t a reality show fan, you may jump to the same conclusion I did —
but rest assured the premise of Wife Swap does not involve airing an
illicit affair on national TV! The show’s concept was to trade
places... read
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State Representative Jim Buchy... Ohio’s
Balanced Budget
Over the past few weeks I have been witnessing our lawmakers in
Washington barter over raising our nation’s debt ceiling.
This
country has over $14 trillion in debt and it will continue growing.
Governor Kasich and my colleagues in the state government have passed a
budget that will ensure Ohio has good credit in the future.
In
fact, as a result of the strong economic policies supported in this
General... read
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From Auditor of State Dave Yost... “Essential Air Service” to Ely,
NV and
Points in Between:
Why Part of the FAA is Shut Down For Now - August 5, 2011 - You may
have never heard of Ely, Nevada, population 4,255. But the federal
government writes a check for $3,700 every time one of its residents
steps on to a half-empty airplane at its tiny airport. The federal
subsidy for Ely – and other little airports like it – are the argument
behind the partial FAA shutdown. The Republicans and Democrats... read
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Letter to the Editor... Darke
County Jobs, By Mike Stegall
Speaking as a citizen and not an elected official, I have been amused
and irritated lately by some of the comments going around about the
lack of jobs in Darke County. I find it amusing that
apparently
all the new businesses in the county that have been highlighted in the
papers and blogs are being overlooked, and irritated that some people
just don’t want to see the positives in what we have... read
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Oh
what a feeling,
when we’re posturing on the ceiling
I apologize to Lionel Richie for this title, but for the last few weeks
we’ve witnessed an impending train wreck, caused by many irresponsible
people, that has been building to its inevitable collision for over a
decade. The latest political game of “chicken” over raising the debt
ceiling would be downright funny, if what depended upon it wasn’t so
serious. Much of what is occurring in Congress may be incomprehensible,
but... read
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I’m
gonna sit right
down and text myself a letter, by Jim Surber
A revision of the title of this 1935 song came to mind last week as I
read an account of the entertainment industry abandoning hand-drawn
animation in favor of computer-generated images. As one who hasn’t paid
much attention to this medium for many years, it got me to thinking
about the most obvious form of personal “art,” – handwriting. I
remembered the time spent in the first six grades of school, when
ballpoint pens... read
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Commissioners Corner… Still
waiting on final state dollars
The rain has shut off, the temperature is in the nineties, and humidity
is there as well, so it must be summer here in Darke County.
Although it has been hot, this seems to be a typical summer for our
area. The crops are looking better after a slow start to
planting
season, and the sporadic rain showers are helping everything to grow a
little bit in this weather. This may... read
more
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