Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 2841 - 2865 of 3750
Two days after Thanksgiving and one day after Black Friday is an important day. It is Shop Small Saturday. Shop Small Saturday is an outgrowth of years of trying to promote small businesses. Many community papers have pushed a Shop Local or Shop your Hometown First theme for years. This is a national, and natural, outgrowth of that. It has been said many times, but small businesses really are the lifeblood of small communities. The downtowns they occupy are often the center of town activity. Local businesses hire local people, and they support...
THE THING that annoys me the most about General Petraeus is not that he had an extramarital affair, it’s that he lied to us about Benghazi. At the time, that is, when the President, the secretary of state, the ambassador to the United Nations and others including Petraeus, were telling us that the attack on our consulate was triggered by rage over a video movie made in the U.S. that insulted Muhammed. Everyone who spoke knew it was not true. Knew that the attack that killed four Americans was by terrorists. Your average spontaneous riot d...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. Over the years, I’ve pretty much convinced myself I can influence the outcome of a football game by yelling at the television. This tendency to hang on to a cherished notion despite hard evidence to the contrary comes from what most people would call “testosterone.” I also use my testosterone on the newspapers, shouting comments at the headlines because, as everyone knows, the people in the articles can’t hear you if you speak quietly. For example, this story caught my...
Before the campaign promises of more jobs and renewed prosperity fade away, elected officials need to understand that those promises must be kept. Our nation needs jobs and new revenue, but the critical question is, “How?” Make no mistake, President Obama and Congress have a daunting task ahead. First, they must understand that our problems won’t be solved by just heaping more taxes on families and small businesses making more than $250,000 a year. Families need to be able to save for their retirement or their kids’ college tuition; small b...
WELL, WE DIDN’T do too badly this time, our little gathering of political junkies at an election day luncheon. We’ve been gathering for many years, two or three dozen of us, current office holders, ex and retired officials, some lobbyists. Most of the group are Democrats simply because we have more of them here on the Left Coast. We take a vote on the more important races, not voting as we would do personally, but the way we think it will come out We might leave a race off the ballot if a participant is there and might suffer hurt feelings on...
I noticed what, on first glance, was a voting anomaly in Whitman County. The vote tally on most issues was not a surprise. But the positive vote on Initiative 502 Marijuana reveals a strong unstoppable political force—the melding of college students and farmers. Lee Pendergrass, Puyallup...
YYYY Our veterans. We owe them a lot. #!*! The fiscal cliff—the result of stupid politicians, many of whom we just re-elected....
Veterans Day was Sunday. The nation took a holiday Monday. Solemn ceremonies were conducted across the nation. Vets and soldiers shared personal stories with the country. Some were heart wrenching and some heart warming. Politicians, of course, jostled to declare how they had personally persevered to support vets. No effort, they pronounced, was too great or too demanding to support these national heroes. And, heroes, many of them may be. Over the years, our military and veterans have changed. Our new, young veterans are different than our...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. I suppose it is a sign that I am finally being taken seriously by the literary community — have, in fact, risen to the pinnacle of my profession — that I recently was asked to judge a Halloween-costume contest for dogs. To be entirely accurate, I wasn’t an actual judge. Apparently, I’m not qualified to render a decision on matters such as which miniature poodle looks most like Batman. Instead, I manned a microphone during the competition and made announcements like, “Pl...
YYYY Thorn Hill residents for being so generous and such good sports every Halloween. #!*! Not being able to vote at a neighborhood precinct....
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently reported that, if Congress fails to avert the “fiscal cliff” by the end of December, six million jobs will disappear over the next two years, sending the unemployment rate soaring to near 12 percent. NAM says companies are bracing now for the fallout by laying off workers, leaving jobs vacant and postponing major purchases.“Fiscal cliff” is the popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012 when the terms of the Budget Control...
Eventually social science works its way around to confirming eternal verities. So it is with gratitude. An article in a psychological journal a few years ago noted that “throughout history, religious, theological and philosophical treatises have viewed gratitude as integral to well-being.” Psychology has recently worked to quantify the wisdom of the ages and confirmed — sure enough — it was correct. A raft of recent research has established that grateful people are happier people. They are less depressed and less stressed. They are less likely...
The presidential election is over. President Barack Obama has been elected to a second term. Now it is time to decompress and let the emotions of the campaign subside. Roughly half the nation will celebrate. The other half will not. Then, and soon, the entire nation must come face to face with its greatest challenge. That challenge is to get the country and its government working again. And, that can only happen if the country unites to solve some pressing problems. There will have to be compromise and a spirit of working together for the...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. I went to what was considered the third-toughest junior high school in the area, not counting the private schools but including the school for the musically gifted. As such, there were always a lot of fistfights between the boys who were insecure in the pecking order, something I didn’t participate in because I knew I was a coward. When boys at the very bottom of the hierarchy challenged me to a fight, I would affably concede the contest on the spot, giving them a bye so the...
When you peel off the layers and get beyond the rhetoric, this year’s presidential election is about government control. President Obama wants government to have a greater say in our daily lives, while Gov. Romney advocates for greater personal responsibility and private-sector solutions. The path our nation — and to a lesser extent our state — takes on Nov. 6 will have repercussions far beyond this one election. Before we opt for more government control, we should look at what happened to Poland, a country of 38.5 million people, nearly twice...
OK, TIME’S UP. The ballot is at hand and we must choose who we think will do the best job of running the country and the state. Our president has had four years to do something concrete about the fact 26 million people are out of work with little to show for it. He reminds me of that Indiana Jones movie where Indiana and his father are captured by the crooks and the father learns his son has with him the book he had sent to him that tells how to find the Holy Grail and snaps, “I should have sent it to the Marx Brothers.” If we could have elect...
Endicott residents, take a good look at your town. Almost half of our town is an ordinance nightmare. Most of these places have multiple infractions. These offenses are demeaning and dangerous to your town and the other half of the residents who keep their homes, land, and vehicles, “by choice” looking great. No pride in town appearance. No pride in their homes and land. No respect for their neighbor’s property value. No respect for themselves. No compliance for town ordinances or codes. Weeds, rubbish-debris, junk vehicles and parts there...
The League of Women Voters of Pullman opposes 1- 1240, which would establish up to 40 Charter Schools because: Charter Schools are not accountable to voters or elected officials. An appointed state commission is created to authorize and oversee charter schools not the constitutionally mandated, publicly elected, Superintendent of Public Instruction. Private boards rather than publicly elected school boards govern charter schools. An existing public school could be converted to a charter school by a petition of a majority of teachers or of...
In the race for Whitman County Commissioner, district one, Art Swannack is the clear choice. Art is a lifetime Whitman County resident, farmer, rancher, businessman, family man and leader. He has demonstrated thoughtful, strong, and successful leadership in numerous positions including FFA State Sentinel, Sprague-Lamont School Board member, Lamont Fire Commissioner, Sprague Grange Board member, Washington State Sheep Producers president, Whitman County Farm Bureau president, American Sheep Industry district representative, and member of the...
Colfax I am enthusiastic about two local candidates whom I have known personally for many years, Art Swannack and Dean Kinzer. Both will make excellent County Commissioners. Art and Dean have been successful farmers and ranchers and have used sound business and fiscal judgment. Both are enthusiastic and skilled agricultural and civic leaders. They are good listeners and men of sound judgment. I am confident that both will serve as dedicated representatives of the people of Whitman County. I look forward to all they will achieve on behalf of...
Rosalia I write this letter to express my views as who should get the vote for County Commissioner for our district #1 here in northern Whitman County. Before you vote you should consider who will serve you best as our Commissioner. We have someone who is in the running that will represent us as we should be, and that is Bill Tensfeld. Bill has been a leader for years in his job with District 7 Fire District and many other positions, making great decisions that made our district one of the best in the state. His opponent may be popular, but...
#!*! Eating establishments and other public places that don’t have handrails in the women’s bathrooms.We are not young anymore nor are we men. #!*! More than $2 million dollars! For what? Next season?...
The East Coast has been slammed by Hurricane Sandy. The storm stretched nearly one thousand miles across and has brought rains, blizzards, wind and historic tidal surges. Damage estimates have already reached billions of dollars. As of this writing, more than eight million people are without power. The Federal government, state governments and local governments are deep into rescue and recovery efforts. Organizations such as the American Red Cross are in full relief mode. Power companies and utilities are attempting to restore power. All this...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. I’ve always thought that the purpose of musical instruments was to produce music, but my new neighbor — a 20-something young man with an electric guitar — doesn’t seem to agree. When he plays his instrument, it sounds like he is doing something really awful over there, like peeling an electric cat. Not that I’m against electric guitar music — I’m a baby boomer, so I believe my generation invented that, plus everything else. He doesn’t seem to be taking lessons — he’s en...
It is now time to decide how you are going vote for County Commissioner District 1. I am asking you to support Art Swannack for this position. I’ve known Art for years and have worked with him in his role as State Sheep Producers President and in our activities in the State and County Farm Bureau. Whether we were at a local meeting, State meeting or lobbying either the State Legislature or Congress I have always found Art to be very thoughtful, articulate and able to get to the bottom line quickly while looking for solutions to whatever p...
