Columnists

The schools here have been in session since last week. We’re close by Brownsburg High School. It is nice to see the students and teachers back to their classrooms again. The summer vacation is short, but breaks are more often during the school year. Neither students nor educators seem to mind the plan...

Every year I come to appreciate 4-H more. There are several reasons.  I was a small town kid while growing up. Our city of (then) about 15,000 people was considered the biggest town north of South Bend. Of course now, South Bend and Niles, Michigan, are almost indistinguishable along U.S. 33...

Any time we take an extended family trip to Indianapolis or other eastern locations, my mom will always say, “I’d prefer it if you’d take 40.” She’s always had reservations about Interstate 70, whether it’s the speed, the heavy traffic (particularly semi-trailers) or the seemingly never-ending accidents happening on that road...

One thing I haven’t heard much in this latest healthcare debate is that the U.S. has the best health system in the world. That’s different from the last two times around. When the nation debated the Clinton health plan in 1994 and the Affordable Care Act in 2009-2010, a huge talking point for politicians and special business interests opposed to reform was, “The American system is so good, why change it?”...

Have you ever felt unsafe? Maybe you heard a strange sound when you were home by yourself. Perhaps you were just walking to your car at the mall and suddenly felt a little uneasy. Corinne Scully felt that way several years ago when she traveled to Slovakia, alone...

Lisa Kehrt wants to go to Washington. She would like to advise President Trump on healthcare issues from the standpoint of a nurse who works day-by-day in a small community nursing home. I met Lisa at The Villas of Holly Brook’s open house. She was touring the building with Jeanne Burris, general manager of The Brazil Times, and I tagged along...

As Obamacare approaches its fifth sign-up season, policyholders in many parts of the country are facing a marketplace with fewer choices and higher premiums. A New York Times analysis has found that 45 percent of U.S. counties probably will have either just one insurer or no insurers to choose from. That means some 3 million people in nearly 1,400 counties might have only one carrier and about 35,000 people could have none...

Shelby French and Kade Baker were married last year on May 21 in an outdoor ceremony held at the home of her parents, Dr. Charles and Susie French. Shelby had read on the Internet about an old Southern legend which told how to ensure it would not rain on your wedding day. The folklore said you had to bury a bottle of bourbon at the site the bride and groom were to be married. It had to be done one month prior to the wedding. The bottle had to be completely full and buried upside down...

The weeks swiftly come and go. Maybe I just notice more these days. This week can hurry along because Saturday we have a special event to attend in Brazil. Yah! It has been 60 years since I graduated from Brazil High School. I remember the happiness I felt when my name was called and I walked on stage decked out in a silky white robe and those wobbly bright red high heels to receive my diploma. ...

The first time a child looks up at you and says “You’re my hero,” or something to that effect, your thoughts stumble for a moment. If you’re like me, when my grandson Booga said it to me the other day, I thought “Well, if you really knew what went on inside my head you’d think differently.”...

I am so excited about an event that I have been invited to recently. This is the year that the Class of 1957 of Brazil High School celebrates our 60th reunion. The date is Saturday, July 1, 2017. Classmates will celebrate, this time, at the home of Sam and Joyce Emmert. I received my notice of this event in mid-May...

World War II had many casualties. One was Lena, Indiana, native 2nd Lt. Wilbur “Web” Thomas Reinoehl. The 26-year-old man was a navigator on a B-24 bomber flying missions over Germany. Unfortunately, he was killed in action when his plane was shot down during his 6th mission on May 19, 1944...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year …" Sing the phrase of that great old song and people think of Christmas. I love Christmas but I honestly get more excited when the Brazil Rotary Club passes out scholarships at $1,000 each, as we did this year...

My granddaughter, Lindsay Marie Terry, and I set our clocks to make sure we tumbled out of our beds early Saturday morning. The Peach Truck is on tour. Brownsburg’s Frazee Garden Center is on their schedule. The company is located in Georgia. Each year, sometimes twice, they tour through Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania...

This has been a busy day. The yard work went amazingly well. I cut the grass and Paul handled the trimming. He seems to be feeling better. The rays from the hot sun felt good this sunny morning. The first peach trucks will be rolling into town Saturday. ...

It’s graduation season again. If your child is graduating from high school or college, you have reason to celebrate. But what should you give to your newly minted diploma holder? You might want to consider offering a combination of financial gifts and tips, which, taken together, could set your graduate on a path toward a successful, independent life...

I just purchased a tree to replace the ash tree that died last year. The ash borers stripped the stately tree, an amenity to the frontage of this property. Now, months later, we have decided to add a beautiful Royal Purple Smoke tree, several feet from the site the infestation of borers took place. The master gardener at Frazee Gardens in Brownsburg claimed the flowering specimen will fill out and grow as much as 15 feet before it tops out at maturity, perfect for the small yard...