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The Local Unions: Perspective from the Inside, By Bob Rhoades
Unions have been around in the employee ranks of the City of Greenville
for quite a while. Firefighters originally belonged to the
International Association of Firefighters Local in Piqua. Then
around 1952 they formed their own Local, IAFF Local 1101. During
that period of time, there was no collective bargaining or negotiations
so it mostly existed for the access...
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Trip to Columbus... Local TEA
shows support for SB5 - By Al Bliss
February 17, 2011 - The Sidney Liberty Group has two very active people
that are making things happen -- the corresponding secretary, H.R.
Pence and president, Dr. Joe Lisanti. They initiated a rush effort to
have people from all adjacent counties join them in a chartered bus to
try to directly counteract some of the well organized union pressure
(while being paid) on Senators in opposition...
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Governors vs the Unions, Unions
aren’t the only villains, By Bob Rhoades
It was all over the news this week, teachers and public employees
protesting in Ohio and Wisconsin. Every once in a while this
thing raises its ugly head. This time it’s right after a new
governor has taken office. As the State of Ohio goes, new
governors have to mess with stuff for about six months and then after
they’ve got new furniture and hired a bunch of people who don’t know...
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We’ve come a long
way, baby, By Bethany J. Royer, Mother of the Munchkins
Being a pedestrian in Ohio during the winter is a precarious venture in
a car-driven society. What normally takes me less than an hour to walk
took 90 some minutes Monday as I ice-skated my way through the park.
The melt over the weekend and subsequent cold temps overnight left most
sidewalks slick. Not that I’m really complaining, it made for quite a
workout, and I’m sure it gave... read
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What Greenville needs
to do to pass a levy, By Stephen Gruber, Ph.D.
Hello Bob, I know that you have been a supporter of Greenville City
Schools and their efforts to build new facilities. With this in mind I
have decided to share some thoughts with you regarding the next levy
campaign. Positive in nature
No blame and shame voters if they have not voted in favor of the levy
in the past or use guilt tactics such as “you benefited from the system
now you need... read
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God’s Wife - Verities
& Balderdash, By Bob Robinson
I love children, don’t you? Sometimes you want to grab an ear and twist
it when they are behaving… well… like children. But you don’t. Common
sense tells you there are better ways to help children learn the
lessons of life. Lessons, we hope, that will make them better adults.
But the most precious part about children is what they sometimes say,
simply because they are… well… children. I may have... read
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A common sense
approach - That’s My Opinion,
By Bob Robinson
February 11, 2011 - County News Online posted a Stranger-Danger story
today from Citizens 4 Change, to be offered with the cooperation of
Greenville City Schools. Phenomenal!!! I was disheartened to hear that
Greenville City Council passed its resolution Tuesday night to increase
the 1,000-foot buffer zone where sex offenders can’t live to 1,500
feet. The resolution also expands the... read
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Values for a Lifetime?
By Bob Rhoades, Senior Scribe
Probably! My introduction to education started in 1950 at St.
Mary’s School at 3rd and Elm in Greenville. Under the most
capable tutelage of the Sisters of Charity from Mt. Saint Joseph’s in
Cincinnati we all learned our ABC’s and 123’s. My first grade
teacher was Sister Terence Marie, a young nun in her first teaching
assignment. In those days, there were two grades together... read
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AAADD and Math -
Verities & Balderdash, By Bob Robinson
This is for my aging friends… a group I have joined with few
misgivings. I’ve earned it! AAADD. It comes to all of us… know the
symptoms. Thank goodness there’s a name for this disorder. Somehow I
feel better, even though I have it!! Recently, I was diagnosed with
A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it
manifests: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the
driveway... read
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He has no clue - That’s My Opinion, By Bob Robinson
February 4, 2011 - Florida judge rules entire Obamacare package
unconstitutional. Hardly a surprise. It was only a matter of time. It
was the most egregious trampling of our rights that I can remember in
my lifetime… and that’s been a couple of years. However, the Supreme
Court will likely have the final word. On top of that, Obama’s Muslim
background hasn’t helped our Middle East relations... read
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The Essence of
Insanity, By The Darke
Knight
To the citizens of Darke County... I like to hang out. I love to visit
public meetings of your elected officials – among them your
commissioners and city and village councils. I also like to stop by
your bars and clubs… places where people gather. And listen. I thought
about some of the things I heard. Then I thought of this email that’s
been floating around the Internet... read
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Truisms - Verities
& Balderdash, By Bob
Robinson
Here
are a few truisms for your Saturday. They may make you smile… maybe
they’ll even make you think. Prison - You spend most of your time in a
10 x 10 cell. Work - You spend most of your time in a 6 x 6 cubicle.
Prison - You get three fully paid meals a day. Work - You get a break
for one meal, and you have to pay for it. Prison - For good behavior
you get time off. Work - For good behavior... read
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January 25 was
irrelevant - That’s My
Opinion, By Bob Robinson
Jan. 28, 2011 - I don’t think Date Night went off too well. First of
all, it was difficult to see how well Pres. Obama’s proposals went over
with his fellow Dems, or if there was any support from their “dates.”
Second, it was kind of a bland, ho-hum type of speech, couched in a lot
of hype, plus a questionable comparison – Sputnik? – to justify the
typical pie-in-the-sky dreams... read
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Serving our community
through our youth - That’s
My Opinion, Special Edition - By
Bob Robinson
County News Online started off with a bang. In the first three days of
its “announced” existence it matched and exceeded the highest traffic
my blog had ever received. If growth continues at its present rate,
traffic in the first calendar month will more than double that achieved
with That’s My Opinion. Thank you for your support. It is appreciated.
One reader said “finally, a news... read
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Weird Job Interview
Questions - Verities & Balderdash, By Bob Robinson
A Dayton Business Journal article should technically be a news report,
but it’s just too good not to share in today’s V&B. The weirdest
job interview questions of the year — and the companies that asked them
— were released by California-based Glassdoor.com, an online career and
jobs community that offers insights on companies and workplaces.
Included in the list are... read
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Common Sense Solutions
- That’s My Opinion,
By Bob Robinson
Jan. 21, 2011 - Well, Obamacare has finally been “dumped” by the U.S.
House of Representatives. This august body moved pretty fast. They
postponed dealing with it for a week due to the attack on U.S. Rep
Gabrielle Giffords, and they’ve only been in session for three weeks.
By the way, Rep. Giffords is due to leave the hospital today, less than
two weeks after being shot... read
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I think I’ve seen it
all (Or at least I hope), By Bethany J. Royer - Mother of
the Munchkins
I’m on the hunt for a job. In fact, I have been for quite some time now
and thought I’d seen and heard pretty much everything in terms of job
interviews, through my own experiences and that of others. There have
been, unfortunately, many a horror story such as an interviewer who
asked a friend of mine how much of her life had she screwed up to have
only finished college... read
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The Darke Knight
- Editor’s Note: We received this late Sunday night. It came from the
same address that Saturday’s note and photo came from. When we
responded for more information, the mail came back as undeliverable,
permanent failure. However, as promised, here's the photo and the
message we received… “I’ve been asked why things always seem to
stay the same. We vote for change, we get more of the same – unless of
course it gets worse... read
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Headlines from 2061 -
Verities & Balderdash - By Bob Robinson
I think I’ve seen this before, but I don’t remember ever posting it…
there’s something in it for everyone… the headlines 50 years from now:
Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh
largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.
White minorities still trying to have English recognized as
Mexifornia's
third language... read
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Hate Rhetoric - That’s My Opinion, By Bob Robinson
Jan. 14, 2011 - This has been a long week. It has also been an eventful
one. The blasphemy on our nation was the attack on a United States
Representative, Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. While she and other
victims are likely to survive, six people – including a nine-year-old
girl, an aide and a federal judge – didn’t. Since “Gabby,” as she is
called by her colleagues, is a Democrat... read
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The
Presidency and the Constitution
Jan. 11, 2011 - THE PRESIDENCY is the most visible thread that runs
through the tapestry of the American government. More often than not,
for good or for ill, it sets the tone for the other branches and spurs
the expectations of the people. Its powers are vast and consequential,
its requirements impossible for mortals to fulfill without humility and
insistent attention to its purpose... read
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Our Purpose: Not to compete, but to enhance
Jan. 10, 2011 - This is where you will see unique stories of people,
organizations and events, some of which you won’t find anywhere but on
County News Online. You will also find the widest variety of social and
political opinions anywhere. Other features include information and
links to web sites of interest... local, obituaries, state and national
news and opinion... read
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Sweet
- By Bethany J. Royer, Mother of the
Munchkins
When my youngest was little, not that she’s actually anywhere near
grown or ancient, she’s seven, but when she was younger, just passed
the toddler years, she became quite the chewer. That munchkin would
chew on anything and everything, so it eventually came as no surprise
to find Barbie’s missing hands and feet, plastic toy horse’s earless
and I don’t even want to begin to tell you... read
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The Land that Made Me, Me - Verities &
Balderdash - By
Bob Robinson - Jan. 8, 2011
This
is for all of us oldsters out there… May God Bless all of you, and
especially those who will never understand the memories we cherish…
Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot,
Before the days of
Dylan, or the dawn of Camelot…
There lived a race of innocents, and
they were you and me,
For Ike was in the White House... read
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Welcome to
2011 - That’s My Opinion - By Bob Robinson - Jan. 7, 2011
Déjà vu. Monday was reminiscent of events that led to Darke County
Commissioners Terry Haworth, Mike Rhoades and Bob Downing leaving the
commissioners office and walking next door to the Darke County
Courthouse... read
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Surviving
2010 - Verities & Balderdash - By Bob Robinson - Jan. 1, 2011
Company Memo - FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
-
TO: All Employees
- DATE: November 1, 2010
- RE:
Gala Christmas Party
- I'm happy to inform you that the company
Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in
the private
function room at the Grill House.
There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks!... read
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The Intrepid Herbivores - By Bethany J. Royer, Mother of the
Munchkins
I’ve tried to imagine thirty year old Sadie Bowman in her Voracious
Herbivore kitchen in Portland, Oregon, but I can’t seem to imagine her
anywhere but at the Greenville Public Library in Ohio. I can barely get
passed the fact she’s thirty! When did that happen, Sadie? We first met
at the library and became friends in 1992, which seems eons ago... read
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The
light at the end of the tunnel - That’s My Opinion - By Bob Robinson - Dec. 31, 2010
In a few hours another year will be wrapping up. Some may disagree with
me, but I think it will go into the history books as a catastrophic
year of unbridled government growth at the expense of our freedoms.
Most voters still want Obamacare repealed and for the first time,
Rasmussen says a majority of voters think it will be repealed. I hope
they’re right, but they’re probably whistling in the wind... read
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A Christmas Poem -
Verities & Balderdash - By Bob Robinson - Dec. 25, 2010
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the
room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my
chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a
blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The
sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was
Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep... read
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Two unique words - That’s My Opinion - By Bob Robinson - Dec. 24, 2010
I went shopping yesterday. Among my stops was Shawnee Prairie, where I
picked up some unique home grown products… apple butter, made right
here in Darke County Parks, and maple bear honey, made in Union City,
Indiana. Yeah, I know, UCI isn’t Darke County, but it’s close enough.
Shawnee boasts that these “home brew” products all come from within a
20-mile radius of the preserve. And Union City, Ind., fits. They will
be ‘Christmas’ for some city relatives who don’t know what they’re
missing... read
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The other side of the
fence - Bethany J.
Royer, Mother of the Munchkins
My writing has fallen into a rut about my divorce. I would complain if
not for the fact that divorce has become my cause; much like someone
who must deal with a personal illness may take up a cause for cancer or
heart disease. When a parent has lost a child to a drunk driver and
they become active in MADD. For me, divorce and I have literally been
siblings in constant rivalry since I was eleven years old. We’ve been
forced together on a very long, tumultuous path where we’ve tussled,
pulled each other’s hair... read
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A time for
introspection - That’s My Opinion - By Bob Robinson - Dec. 17, 2010
In Wednesday’s Advocate, I wrote about some of my fondest memories of
Christmas seasons of the past. I made the point that I hoped today’s
kids will have the same opportunities to look back on their seasons
with fondness a half century from now. I believe they will, although
those memories will undoubtedly be a world apart from mine. On Tuesday
I posted a suggested Christmas gift list of ten books: “Townhall... 10
life changing books... read
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The demise of the Fourth Estate - That's My
Opinion - By Bob
Robinson - Dec. 10, 2010
If you’ve been following my posts, you have noted that there are a lot
of opinions floating around about the state of affairs of our country.
What you see on my site are only the tip of the iceburg. I post maybe
one out of every three or four I read. That doesn’t include the dozens
more that I don’t bother with... read
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Ignorance comes back
to bite us - That’s My Opinion - By Bob Robinson - Dec. 3, 2010
After my special opinion Sunday, Both Sides of the Story, I got the
following comment: “Bob, Your position on an issue from either the
right or left perspectives matters less to me than your providing a
truthful reporting of what is happening concerning local issues. We
have plenty of pundits to take care of the state and national "news".
What we really need in Darke County is someone willing to keep local
politicians... read
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