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Opinion

  • Drummond selection was right on the...

    Kay and Luther Drummond were more than surprised Tuesday night when the Greater Chiefland Chamber of Commerce named them its Citizens of the Year.

    They shouldn't have been.

    For decades the Drummond name has been synonymous with giving back.

    The couple has been on the frontline of helping build a better community through their civic leadership and generous financial giving.

    The Drummonds have been instrumental in raising money for Haven Hospice through their Fall at the Farm event, last year securing more than $30,000 in contributions for the agency.

  • How to spell nightmare? H-A-R-T-S-F...

    I must be a real party animal. This past weekend I had about 60 beers, stayed up all night, caroused with total strangers, wore the same clothes for two days and crashed and burned immediately when I got home.

    How can this be?

    Well, I didn't drink 60 beers. Remember a few weeks ago when I said that missing one hour of sleep is equivalent to drinking two beers?

    This past weekend I had more than my share without ever popping a tab.

    It started innocently enough.

  • Notice to all political candidates

    Even though qualifying for county and district political offices doesn't begin until June, already many candidates are out stumping for votes.

    The Chiefland Citizen wants to ensure that all candidates are treated equally during the months ahead.

    Following are a few notes worth mentioning as we launch into what promises to be a full depiction of the American electoral process.

  • Sew what?

    I am ashamed. Eight girls, eight young girls who are three, four, even five times younger than I am have shown me just how incompetent I am in an area where women are, by tradition, supposed to excel.

    Of course it's sewing and when it comes to the fine art of stitchery, I am all thumbs. The gals of the Suwannee River Fair have accomplished more in their short lives than I have in four decades.

    My grandmothers were seamstresses, but of course, back in the day they had to be out of sheer necessity.

    I grew up with feedsack dresses trimmed in rickrack.

  • Julia Haile found ways to bring...

    I'd like to first say "Thank you Chiefland" for your beautiful support shown before, during and after the death of Mrs. Julia Haile. I'd like to give a very special thanks to the Greater Chiefland Area Chamber of Commerce for giving her and Papi (Mr. Haile) their flowers while they were able to see them by honoring them as Chiefland's Citizen of the year 2007. We don't know what the future holds for any of us, but we do know Who holds the future of all of us and I thank God for sending me here 13 years ago and placing Mr. and Mrs. Haile into my life.

  • Anabolic steroids are not the rage

    Anabolic steroids become a public issue of greater importance each year. Baseball, football, and most of our beloved professional sports have all fallen victim to some degree of illegal steroid activity.

    The continued rise of Internet advertising as well as the proliferation of dietary supplements has also given "performance enhancement" more prominence. This has created a relatively new market for steroid products. Not only athletes, but more average guys are now using or considering anabolic substances.

  • Naps: The best alternative to sleep

    One of my favorite photographs of my parents was snapped on an early summer afternoon. They had no idea that I had come out of my room only to return for my camera and capture them for all eternity in a rather endearing picture.

    They were curled up at opposite ends of the sofa napping.

    You see, both my parents always denied they napped.

    "Just resting my eyes," my father would say.

    "Oh, I wasn't asleep," my mother protested. "I just closed my eyes for a minute."

  • Being heart smart

    February may have come and gone, but the facts remain: every month should be Heart Month-especially if you're a woman.

    Television commercials, print ads and even soap operas got in on the month-long message that women need to be more aware of their hearts.

    And that's not the figurative heart that we give away on Valentine's Day.

    Heart disease is now the leading cause of death among women in this country.

    The reason? It's unclear.

  • Starstruck? But of course

    When I sent out the call for celebrity sightings, someone asked what I was looking for.

    My response: I'm not sure, but we'll see what defines celebrity to people.

    I was right.

    Most of the names you submitted I was aware of. Some were a little more obscure and I had to do my own Internet research to educate myself on names like Brenda Fraizer and Anthony Green.

  • You'll hear me coming

    It wasn't until the nurse practioner pointed it out last week that it dawned on me.

    I've become Phyllis Vining.

    I worked with Phyllis a very brief time around 1995. She was hired to sell ads at the paper I worked for and from the time she walked in the door, I knew she was different.

    I thought she was elderly back then-now I realize she was probably mid-50s but in her mind Phyllis was no more than 25-only the lines around her eyes gave away her secret.

  • Television

    My name is Jeff and I am a television addict." I can picture my first visit to the televisionaholics anonymous meeting. Well, I am not quite so bad that I must join TA. Of course, all of us "aholics" say we are not so addicted to those things to which we are addicted.

    We can all give up "x," or "y" or "z" any time we want.

    For instance, I might say, "Just let me watch The Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill and I'll let American Dad go by the wayside this week, just to prove how I can handle this habit."

  • Overlooking the imperfections a must

    My car suffers from a bad case of dutch elm disease. Or oak blight.

    I guess whatever ailment it has comes from parking under the trees at my house.

    Being vertically challenged, I don't see the roof of the car.

    Perhaps that's why I didn't know the car was ailing from some alien rash.

    Sunday afternoon brought it all home.

    I washed-yes, hand-washed-my car. That in itself is an accomplishment.

    I am not a car washer.

    It's a bone of contention between Tom and me.

  • No Fair

    No Fair

    Life is not fair.

    Saturday at about 7:30 a.m., my wife Sharon and I left to go to the Florida State Fair in Tampa.

    I had plans to take photos of award-winning cattle and to have lots of fun.

    I drove our Jeep on Alt. 27 to catch I-75 at Ocala, but it was very foggy.

    I decided to go down U.S. Highway 19 instead, because the traffic would be slower and lighter than on the Interstate.

    Shortly after going through Chiefland on 19, we smelled smoke.

  • An evening done right

    Saturday night the people of Levy County showed how seriously they take the mission of granting a proper education to the children of our communities.

    Despite a waning economy, folks who believe that a successful society is based on a well-educated population donated more than $22,000 to the Levy County Schools Foundation.

    Saturday night the fruits of their labors were celebrated with the Eighth Annual Superintendent's Gala.

  • Super upset sheds ray of hope

    Teams that win a lot – a whole lot – usually draw animosity.

    Seems folks just plain get sick and tired of watching the same teams win time and again.

    Look at the New York Yankees. Many like to point at George Steinbrenner with disgust as he tries to buy another World Series.

    People even got fed up with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls– dynasty in the '90s. Jordan shuffled off to play baseball before coming back to the NBA with the Bullets.

    Which brings us to the New England Patriots.

  • Sometimes you miss the boat&...

    I keep my politics to myself. I've been voting since I was 18 and have missed only one election during that time. In the course of all those elections, city, state and federal, I have not discussed my vote with anyone.

    Years ago when the state of Georgia was pondering a lottery with proceeds aimed at education, my then-husband and I were at odds on how to vote. We discussed the pros and cons right up until the Tuesday we voted.

  • The results are in–and we...

    Three weeks ago readers were asked to let this newspaper know how it can best serve you in the year ahead.

    Specifically the editorial board was looking at the types of information and stories you want to see that will cause you to invest in a subscription or drop 50 cents every week into a coin box.

  • What are you passionate about?

    At dinner Monday night, friends and I discussed the passion so many of our other friends have for a myriad of topics.

    For one it's water quality; another hunting; someone else history and still another, football.

    "What are you passionate about?" I was asked.

    There was no answer.

    At one time in my life, I was passionate about my children, but as they grew and needed me less, my passion waned.

    Once my work was a passion, but during 20 years in journalism I have developed a cynicism that caused that passion to ebb.

  • Tell me what you want

    Last fall our parent company sent a demographic survey pertaining to the reading preferences of Levy Countians based on subscriptions monitored by the U.S. Postal Service and amassed by an advertising agency for marketing purposes.

    It included a wide range of periodicals received via mail by Levy County readers based on statement of ownership documents that must be filed with the postal service annually.

    We were thankful to see that the Chiefland Citizen remains the most-read newspaper in the area surpassing other weeklies and three dailies.

  • Mojo–Don't mess with...

    Mojo. The dictionary defines it as a magical spell, but to loyal fans, mojo means much more.

    It is a religion to live by. It takes normal rational human beings and turns them into superstitious individuals.

    Mojo is knowing what jersey to wear to the game. It's knowing when to take it off when things aren't going quite right, only to expose the team shirt underneath. To change the shirt at halftime is to give mojo a kick in the pants.