Columns

I thought I’d take time out from writing about politics to offer a few weird, or absurd items that appeared in the news last week. It seems some news stories are getting weirder and weirder as weeks and months go…

“I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” -Helen KellerOne hundred…

Time for my annual Mother’s Day column again.Sunday should be a special day for everyone. It is time to remember that Mom was always there for you when you needed her and time to make her one day of the…

It is interesting to note that when I was a child the mass and most liturgies were in Latin. While few people in attendance knew what was being said there were other things about it that were appealing. I remember…

Arbor Day happens each April, although just one day to honor and plant trees doesn’t seem quite right. Perhaps the late date is meant to coincide with the coming of green across the land. We are especially fond of our…

By Scott SullivanEditorDerby DayWhat’s worse than a man without a home? In Douglas, a land without a zone. The planning commission May 9 will weigh saving 16.77 acres — bought in 2013 and annexed from Saugatuck Township two years later…

Someone figured out a better idea. No more hose drinking or palm lapping. We had to have our water in a sanitary container – a thin, one-time-use bottle – so we would be safe from all those evil germs. We…

Like many of us I struggle with having to pay taxes each year. I often wonder why I put aside more and more each year to pay the government yet get lesser and lesser services.For instance, I’m drawing social security.…

We continue with our theme of “Albion—100 Years Ago.” May 1, 1924. “The Sheldon Hospital is Opened Today. Mrs. Ida M. Allen Has the Distinction of Being the First Patient to Be Cared for in the New Institution. She was…

If you are a fan of Jeopardy! and enjoy participating in trivia games, here are some interesting facts about the Great Lakes you might want to jot down and remember for your next trivia gathering:

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing again out there. Seems like that is the way of things around here more often than not!As I often repeat, we live in windy Little Chicago, even…

Many people tell me that they would like to read the Bible, but somehow, they just don’t get much out it. It is like reading about things that happened a long time ago and that it doesn’t really pertain to…

It’s that time of year already. Mom’s Day, graduations, reunions, and a host of get-together events are coming at us fast. And if you are hosting an open house, your daughter’s bridal shower or a big birthday party, the moment…

By Scott SullivanEditorProtest ContestI was sorry to miss the Satanic Temple’s invocation before last week’s Ottawa County Board meeting. When I looked at both sides, clouds got in my way.Ordained Minister of Satan Luis Cypher called on the hosts to…

Democrats and Republicans will hold national conventions this summer in Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively.I advise you avoid traffic snarls at these mutual admiration society meetings. Prices are apt to inflate then and there as well.Protesters are sure to turn out…

Like most of you, I chose the wrong profession if my goal was to make a lot of money. It seems the best way to achieve financial success is to run for elected office, in particular a federal office.It would…

By Scott SullivanEditorSubpar Sushi ManWho needs civics classes when we can learn watching local leaders fight over playgrounds? For advanced studies, turn to Traverse City, where two men engaged in what police called a “sword fight” over subpar sushi.One brought…

Fifty years NBC television began broadcasting “Little House on the Prairie” based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series of young reader novels of the same name.Some of us of a certain age practically grew up reading her stories of growing up in the…

What goes around, always comes around again.I remember the early 1970’s when college students as well as others took to the streets of campuses and cities to protest what they thought was an unjust Viet Nam War. It was a…

I’m not a fan of roundabouts. I know they are all the rage in road construction at this point, but I’m not sure they help in alleviating traffic congestion.More importantly, the latest round of round-a-bouts in some of our circulation…