By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher I am not quite sure what I expected from the mock crash held at Brookwood on Sept. 23. A cynical old lady, I anticipated being mildly amused and probably a bit bored. But an odd thing happened on my way to blasé. The tarp was...
History shows bike trail sparked contrary controversies
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher Years ago, when the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail crossed Highway 71 just east of Norwalk, I used to take exception to the insanity of mixing vehicle traffic zipping along at 55-70 mph with bikers on fragile contraptions. I think...
With ubiquity, is photography losing meaning?
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher Of all the changes that technology has brought into our lives, I am the most conflicted about those associated with photography. I absolutely do not miss being held hostage to the price of film and developing it. And I certainly...
Rural life more complicated than popular depictions
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher I was cruising from Ontario to Kendall last week when it occurred to me that I was mentally checking off what I knew about many of the places I passed by. I suppose if one lives in the same place for long enough, one builds up a...
Report gives view of Wisconsin that gubernatorial candidates may not address
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher Labor Day is over, which means the usual: go back to school, change the furnace filter, and prepare to clean out the garden. Luckily for us, here in Wisconsin we can look forward to a gubernatorial election. Despite both...
N-O-W's $1.2 million loss in federal aid cannot be recovered easily
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher You can't really blame the Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School Board. After all, wouldn't your curiosity be piqued had you learned that you had been shortchanged more than a million dollars? Consequently, when board members discovered...
1930s textbook reflects Wisconsin's dramatic changes
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher I was rummaging around on a dust-covered shelf in the office last week when I came across a book someone had dropped off at one time called "Home Regions of Wisconsin." Ah, just in time for our back-to-school issue, and just in...
Will Wal-Mart come to dominate medical care?
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher Has the Wal-Marting of America been good or bad for the average citizen? Certainly we all like lower prices and one-stop shopping. But with Wal-Mart's dominance, the mom-and-pop stores that catered to the family's need for...
Drug, alcohol abuse not in short supply locally
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher Whenever I find myself totally disgusted with the newspaper business, as I did last week, when we ran two page 2's, I remind myself that one could be in a worse career. Pumping septic tanks and law enforcement usually come to...
Kickapoo canoeing is a phenomenon
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Publisher It appeared that every Wisconsin resident had come to the same conclusion Saturday: "Let's canoe the Kickapoo." I would like to accompany this column with a photo of the mobs of vehicles that filled nearly every bare patch along...
