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Homecoming Queen led full life

My old feisty friend, Louise, is gone now. But boy, did she give it a good run. After 94 years, my mother’s and my dear friend wasn’t challenging her world anymore. Instead, she was amazed at her good fortune. “They take my social security and give me all this -- a warm room, a great sack, and three hots a day.” In her flat Boston accent, she continued, “I get sixty bucks a month — it pays my phone, cable, and an occasional hairbob. Sometimes I watch TV all night,” she grinned. Louise’s precious house had become an unhealthy burden and she was forced to sell. Every ...

Evolving phones create true busy signal

I recently heard a news item that reported that more and more states are considering a ban on smart phones in schools, and it got me thinking. Back in my school days before bus rides were provided for everyone, if you lived in town you either walked or got a ride from someone. Once you got to school you were cut off from the outside world unless there was a family emergency. Back then neither students nor parents saw a need to be in instant contact with one another during school hours. By the way, I don’t begrudge bus rides for all students because it’s probably safer, but many ...

Can’t nickel and dime tariff impact

By RICH BARTELL The Aug. 9 commentary by Scott Axelson and Michael Dee concludes that “tariffs are only a tax in uneducated minds suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.” I consider my mind to be reasonably well educated on business and economics, but I struggle to find any coherent argument in their commentary to justify that conclusion. The writers are responding to another commentary on July 12 by Fred Larson which argued that “the United States has essentially imposed, for the first time, a 10% national sales tax on the wholesale value of everything imported into our ...

Standing in solidarity with Canada

One of the joys of living in Western New York has been the lifelong friendship that we have had with our next door neighbor, Canada. Back in the days when I was a bit more mobile, we would take a yearly trip to Canada for a week or two of wilderness canoeing. You had only to drive a few hours north of Toronto before you were in the “bush” as we called it. There is the well-known Algonquin Provincial Park in the Huntsville area, but we also paddled rivers north of North Bay...up in the areas where the roads north end, and the only way to go further north is with a canoe and a ...

Swedish ties shine bright in county

Earlier this month, I had the tremendous honor of welcoming His Excellency Urban Ahlin, the Swedish Ambassador to the United States, for an official visit to New York’s 23rd Congressional District. It was a powerful reminder that the cultural bonds, historical ties, and economic partnerships that connect our region to Sweden are not only alive—they are thriving. For generations, Swedish-Americans have helped shape the character of Western New York. Their work ethic, traditions, and values are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities, and hosting Ambassador Ahlin allowed ...

Innocence in the Mideast: Finding troubles in faces of children

From its inception in 1999, the Herkimer County Hunger Coalition had two goals: to help in the fight against hunger in Herkimer County and to put smiles on the faces of area children living at or below the poverty level. We’ve been fairly successful regarding the first. Through securing monetary donations and generating a lot of publicity, we’ve helped our county pantries’ shelves stay filled. They’ve become models of what rural pantries should be. And they don’t rest on their laurels, continuing to improve their quality of service as exemplified by the Kuyahoora Food ...