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Today's Opinions

  • Governor should act on commission appointments

    To the editor:

    I recently read a couple of articles about the possible appointments for the Board of County Commissioners.

    I noticed there were several names of highly qualified individuals.

    I also noticed there were several individuals that [sic] did not live in those two respective Districts. If the Governor appoints someone for these two respective Districts who lives outside the respective Districts this might raise a few questions.

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  • New disease sweeping our area

    To the editor:

    It’s a new year and what a wonderful time for change.

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  • The season of miracles

    I grew up in New Orleans where most folks believe in ghosts, signs, omens and the power of voodoo right along with that of the Roman Catholic archbishop. I am down with that. My father died shortly after I turned 10. I’ve often wondered if he would be proud of the woman I am. My stepfather died in the early 90s and he never failed to let me know he was proud of me.

    The death that affects me most is my mother’s. For most of our lives we were at odds. Maybe it was because I was so like her. Maybe it was because I never met her dreams for me.

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  • Throwing the icicles

    The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree has always been a chore that I enjoyed during December.

    From earliest childhood when my father would go into the hills and return with a scrappy, itchy cedar tree to not-so-long ago when my children and I would plod through the tree farm, the tradition of the Christmas tree search has become one of my favorite rituals of the holiday.

    For a while this month, it looked as if Christmas would come and go without fanfare due to a lot of circumstances beyond my control.

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  • . . . if only in my dreams

    Someone asked me this morning if I was ready for Christmas and my answer was truthful.

    “As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s just a day. After all, it should be Christmas every day.”

    For the first time in my life, I will not be with my children during the holiday season.

    It’s difficult to think of my babies without me on Christmas, but then I am reminded the first year I didn’t make it to Kentucky to spend Christmas with my parents.

    Is this what they felt?

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  • Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

    Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

    "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.

    "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

    "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'

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  • Memories and missed opportunities

    Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I listened to an audiobook–Deliver Us from Normal–and one sentence from a very long book hung in my mind for days.

    “Mom made us hot cocoa–with salt.”

    Boy, did that bring back memories.

    As a treat on cold winter nights, my mother would take out the Hershey cocoa powder and make a pot full of steaming hot chocolate.

    In the days before Swiss Miss powder or Quik, Hershey’s cocoa was a staple in our home.

    I’d forgotten how good it was but that one sentence brought it all back.

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  • What prompts this frenzy?

    Levy County is in a gossip frenzy. All it took was someone being out of the office, someone being added to the federal grand jury indictment that resulted in two Levy County commissioner being suspended and folks with nothing better to do than stoke the flames.

    The first::

    Sheriff Johnny Smith has not been arrested. This tidbit has been hanging around for weeks and keeps cropping up anew.

    Smith’s spokesman has said the sheriff has no comment — a number of times.

    This has just got to be hurting Smith’s family and we empathize.

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