Opinion

A few years ago, one of my co-workers encouraged me to read an article in The Atlantic titled ?Is Google Making Us Stoopid?? The author, Nicholas Carr, hypothesized that computer users? attention spans have become shorter because of the speed at which information can be found on the Internet.?Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy,? he wrote. ?I?d spend hours strolling through long ...

Iowa is superbly organized. I have a colleague who claims that there?s a hundred and one ways to get to anywhere in Iowa. She?s probably rather close to being right.Our roads are, for the most part, all nicely laid out on a grid system. They go either north-south or east-west. Miss a turn? Just take the next one.Like any system, it?s not perfect. Every so often, you have these dog legs along the road, usually ...

December 22, 2011Washington, Iowa To the Editor:Although toxic lead has been removed from paint and gasoline, tons of lead are shot or left in the wild every year from hunting, recreational shooting and fishing, where it enters the food chain and endangers wildlife. Birds and mammals are needlessly poisoned by lead and die painful deaths. Mounting evidence points to lead ammunition and fishing tackle as the ...

Tonight is the night we people of Iowa get to prove University of Iowa professor and certified pseudo-intellectual snob Stephen Bloom wrong.Over the weekend I had the chance to see the 1985 movie ?Back to School? again. I hadn?t seen it in years. The scene that jumped out at me was the one where star Rodney Dangerfield attends his first Business 101 class. In the film the stereotypical ?80s academic stuffed-shirt...

Using sheer athleticism, the Washington boys? basketball team is off to a 6-3 start.The Demons aren?t tall (their tallest player is 6-foot-3). They don?t shoot the ball particularly well (45.3 percent as a team). But they?ve out-hustled every team they?ve faced this year.The Demons run the floor like gazelles, and their 63.4 points per game ranks 10th in Class 3A. They also rank fourth in 3A in steals with 99. ...

Sometimes God thumps me on my forehead to let me know my swift judgments are not his swift judgments.My husband Jim, daughter and son-in-law Emily and Cory Crile and granddaughters Lucy, 5, and Carly 2 (almost 3), went to ?Zoolights,? a festival of lights at the Denver Zoo in Denver, Colo. It was the evening of Monday, Dec. 26. We were among a few thousand who all had the same idea for the evening?s entertainment...

To the editor:I must begin with the organizers and staff involved with Fairfield?s 1st Fridays Art Walk. It has certainly become an event to anticipate ? both by Fairfield citizens and visitors alike. The variety of events and participants provides more than enough choice of entertainment for attendees! I hope it continues to expand and enjoy an increased attendance each month.I would like to offer a ...

To the editor:I urge every Iowa voter to attend and vote in the Iowa Straw Poll Aug. 13 in Ames. This is a first in the nation event that will gain national attention for candidates running for president on the Republican side.All Republicans should definitely attend, of course. Others should attend as well.Even though you might support another party usually, if you are an Iowa resident of voting age, ...

To the editor:What ever happened to our mild-mannered, always civil, long-serving congressman, Jim Leach, representing us here in Iowa?s 2nd congressional district?Like an hourly worker, impatiently waiting to hand off his workstation to the guy on the next shift ? in his case, Dave Loebsack ? when he lost the 2006 election, it was time for Iowa?s son to finally come home. And so he did ? to Iowa City. And ...

To the editor:Thank you Fairfield for supporting the 2011 13-year-old Babe Ruth State Champions. We all had a great time up in Bismarck, N.D. The competition was very good and all the teams there were very tough. None of them were bad. For all those donors that supported us thank you very much. We will remember this trip for a long time. ? Giovanni Cingire and the Fairfield All Star team

To the editor:Some in our community don?t like the smell of hog stuff but dog stuff is OK.I used to walk in Chautauqua Park ? no more. I used to walk on Dave Neff?s hike trail ? no more. Too much dog stuff. Why would this dog park be any different?A lot of pet owners shouldn?t be. They don?t take care of them. Some bark all the time day and night. No water ? no shade. Those who want this park should have ...

To the editor:I am writing this letter to all the moms and dads who will be sending their children to school for the first time. I remember how that felt. I want to encourage you to volunteer at your child?s school.I was a working mom with two kids in school and a preschooler when I went to a site team meeting. I got excited about the possibility of starting a parent/teacher organization at Pence. There ...