Obituaries

Kids running around haphazardly swinging hard, metal bats, dirty white pants, and over-zealous parents. That?s right, folks, grab your sunglasses, cameras and cold water bottles ? it?s time for t-ball.Well, perhaps it?s more accurate to say it?s time for me to watch t-ball ? a lot of t-ball. This summer, my four-year-old nephew, Camden, is playing on his first-ever t-ball team with the Denmark Ball Association, ...

DEAR ABBY: We have a child who was adopted through a closed adoption. We met the birth parents briefly at the hospital, but they wanted no further contact. Both birth parents had issues with drug abuse, and our daughter was born with drug issues, too.A few years later, we were contacted via the adoption agency by the birth grandparents. They requested some photos because the birth father was getting out of jail ...

Many people know Marie Hainline from the Bonaparte Retreat Restaurant in Bonaparte. If you?ve had lunch there, she has probably waited on you. Marie is the friendly one, the lady who will chat your leg off about most anything. She has a deep, clear voice, and bright eyes.If you attended the Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at Harmony High School this year or last, you?ve seen her. This year she was the star of ...

I don?t know if this is an omen or not, but this column is being published on April Fool?s Day.Wow, I could have a lot of fun with this one, but a publisher I worked for in another life, was totally against the April Fool?s stuff. So I am passing on my chance, although the temptation is there.But since I plan to include some politics in this column, nobody will ever know whether this is an April Fool?s column ...

What the lame duck?It?s a question I?ve asked myself a lot recently.Over the course of the past two months, I have heard President Obama labeled a ?lame duck? specifically in reference to Congress? decision to not to hold any hearings to confirm Obama?s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.Following Justice Scalia?s death, Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland as his replacement. ...

To the editor:I am dismayed. Last Saturday (Feb. 20) the Mt. Pleasant High School sent their Jazz I and Jazz II ensembles to the Tall Corn Jazz Fest at UNI, in Cedar Falls. A total of 11 bands participated in Class 3A. Our Jazz I placed 1st, and Jazz II placed 8th. I understand that one musician from Jazz I was selected to be the outstanding soloist.I have not noticed one word in the newspaper of this event and ...

I can?t stop reading.Printed material to me is like lifeblood. It makes no difference whether it?s a hardbound book, the Kindle, National Geographic, Time Magazine, or newspapers?we get six of them a day?my brain requires a daily dose of written words.Here?s three books I recommend for winter reading, all by the same author, Anthony Doerr. Doerr won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for ?All the Light We Cannot See,? ...

Snakes and extreme heights ? those two things really scare me and have for as long as I can remember. But it wasn?t until I moved to college a few years ago that I realized another fear of mine.No, it wasn?t the intimidating, stoic college wrestlers that filled my government classes, or the dreaded 7 a.m. class held on the far end of campus that had me shaking in my boots. It was, in fact, the gym. Yes, gyms ...

Okay, I?ll admit it. There is no comparison to athletics when I played and athletics today.That statement also encompasses injuries.Back in the ?olden days,? we not only never heard of the ACL acronym, but had we heard the term, we would have had no idea what it was. While we had an occasional ankle sprain, hamstring or quad injury, that was the extent of the injuries.The only way athletes during my era missed ...

To the editor:Last August, my brother, Gary Sammons, passed away unexpectedly. My family lost a husband, brother, son, father, uncle and grandfather. We, of course, miss him dearly. We relied on him for many things.This became more evident this past Monday morning. Mom, who is almost 90 and still living in the family home, called wanting advice on who to contact to reattach the cap of her security light. It was ...