Columns
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Misadventures in Flying
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During December our family spent a few days enjoying the warm weather and sunshine in Florida, something we certainly missed the last few days as temperatures plummeted here in Happy Valley. Our flights to and from Orlando were uneventful – the way you like plane flights to be – but we did have a minor…
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Politicians Need to Stay Out of Classrooms
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From governors to university trustees, public pressure is mounting to dictate curriculum in the classroom and get involved in micromanagement of education. Much of this has come from a political party that used to espouse the ideas of limited government and local control of education. What we’re seeing now is hardly the stuff of limited…
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Prof Enters Transfer Portal
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For the past few weeks we’ve been hearing about all these student-athletes entering the Transfer Portal. Where, I wondered, is this Transfer Portal, and can I enter it? Well, by virtue of the investigative powers vested in me as a professional journalist, I have found out the location of the Transfer Portal. I promised my…
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Avoiding the Financial ‘Boomer’ang
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“In 2017, 49% of adults from the ages of 55 to 66 had no personal retirement savings, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation.” – Erin Lowry, Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering personal finance. Let that sink in for a minute. Sorry folks, this will not necessarily be one of my…
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Penn State Football: Measuring PSU Wide Receivers’ Effectiveness Under Taylor Stubblefield
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There may be a number of reasons why Taylor Stubblefield is no longer Penn State’s wide receivers coach after three seasons in Happy Valley. Recruiting prowess and success, ability to attract wide receivers in the transfer portal, development of a younger cadre of receivers and ultimate program/head coach fit may be a few of the…
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Refuse and Recycling Fees Finally Exceed 1991 Rates for 5 Centre County Townships
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2023 marks the first time in 30 years that the rates for curbside refuse and recycling collection in five Centre County townships surpass the fees residents were paying in 1991. Prior to 1992, the Centre Region Council of Governments annually set the maximum fee garbage haulers could charge homeowners for refuse collection. At the time,…
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10 Things Your Young Adult Should Know About Auto and Home Maintenance and Upkeep
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Adulting. According to Merriam-Webster it means “to behave like an adult: to attend to the ordinary tasks required of a responsible adult” or “to become an adult.” In the years that I’ve written a column on this website I’ve used the term once before, when our daughter made a comment to us about her life…
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Words, Deeds and Patriotism
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Each year on Martin Luther King Day, people take to social media and post quotes from Dr. King. Mostly they cherry-pick something that represents their stand on something political. But the actions of what some politicians have done and will continue to do run counter to the ideals espoused by Dr. King. Many of these…
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Content Note: This Column Contains Harmful Language
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Friends, does your house have a walk-in closet? And would it, perchance, be in the master bedroom? If so, you might want to keep quiet about it. Mum might also be the word when you’re entering your user ID, killing two birds with one stone or identifying yourself as an American. The danger: harmful language…
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The Joys of Coaching Youth Sports
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It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning just south of Sun Valley, Idaho for our final day of Overspeed Hockey’s Winter Clinics at the town of Hailey’s Campion Ice House. Riley, a young “Squirt” player (ages 9-10) was changing shifts when she slipped on the ice and slid feet first into the foam and vinyl…