By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor This is hard to believe, but I heard two politicians debating on public radio last week, and — brace yourself — they answered the question directly and told the truth. It's possible this could be a trend, but the more likely...
In a down economy, villages may have to rethink block grants
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor Ah, yes, it has been nearly 30 years since I sat in the Ontario Public Library basement, waiting for my name to come up on the village board agenda so that I might beg for a $6,000 Community Development Block Grant loan. I believe...
Railroad resulted in Kendall’s creation
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor Railroad history is loaded with minutiae of little interest to me. A true railroad buff can tell you the shape of signal lights in 1912 or the type of buttons on a conductor's uniform in 1878. Model railroaders are sticklers when...
Playing politics with postage stamps?
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor If you ever doubted that Americans are bitterly divided along partisan lines, here is anecdotal evidence.Last week, a reliable friend reported to me that he had been standing in an area post office when the woman in front of him...
It’s time to prepare for end of times
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor Much to my dismay, it appears it is once again time to pay my worker’s compensation and property insurance premium. I usually pay this in two annual payments, but I realized that because the world will end Dec. 21, it would be nuts...
Centre County Gazette appears to downplay Sandusky scandal
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor One starts to get a bit stale after nearly three decades of running a local newspaper. If one doesn't get out much, as I don't, one begins to believe that the valley is the center of the world. Luckily, I have loyal readers who do...
Forget Sasquatch: Ginseng poachers pose greater threat
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor My guess is it wasn’t just a typical day when the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department received a call that Sasquatch had been sighted in the town of Stark. Certainly not an everyday occurrence, the report probably provided the cop...
Will education reforms benefit kids?
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor School is back in session, and if teachers appear to be a bit on edge, it’s no surprise. Not only has their union protection gone away, but also most schools will phase in an evaluation system that even the most experienced and...
Party conventions are just theatre
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor If I were misfortunate enough to have a big-time media career, I imagine that my worst assignment would be covering national political conventions. Republican State Sen. Alberta Darling and Democrat Christine Bremer Muggli waxed...
Wolf season is ill-conceived
By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor It didn’t escape my notice that Wisconsin Public Television’s airing of “Green Fire” on Sunday evening had significant timing. The documentary about Aldo Leopold, considered one of the founding fathers of America's modern...
