Archive for the ‘Communities’ Category
Gorgeous Victorian home lovingly restored and pampered with all the room you’ll need for your family or your lifetime treasures. One of London’s grande dames in a prominent neighborhood, this spacious two-story has loads of updates since 2007 (kitchen remodel, bathroom remodel, new wetbar, siding and foam insulation, insulated windows, master bathroom remodel, ceiling fans throughout). Decorating scheme recalls the grandeur of a century ago blended with all the amenities expected by modern-day homeowners. Distinctive leaded glass windows, inviting front entrance with beveled glass and sidelights, four beautiful fireplaces, tons of woodwork, working pocket doors, window seat in huge bay window, second bay window in dining room, beautiful burrelled oak built-in china cabinet in dining room, butler’s pantry, wine cellar, and great “man cave,” mother-in-law suite or college student room. You’ll love all the closet space, expansive front porch, loads of storage in full attic and basement, fenced yard and detached two-car garage. Unparalleled curb appeal, beautifully landscaped lot and super neighbors! AND THE PRICE HAS BEEN REDUCED AGAIN!!!
For your personal showing of this beautiful home, call Lisa Jackman at (614) 619-9295 or (740) 852-6446.
www.BuckeyeRealtyGroup.com
THE FACTS: Two-story Victorian, built in 1895, 3,384 square feet, central heat & A/C, lot size: 66 x 165, 4-5 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, 3 living areas, formal dining room, dining in kitchen, large inviting foyer, 4 original fireplaces, working pocket doors, window coverings, chandeliers
For more photos of this wonderful home, click on this link: Read the rest of this entry »
EDITOR’S NOTE: Newspapers are in the unique situation of often being loved while at the same time being despised. There are occasions where school boards use strong-arm tactics to bully spineless corporate newspaper administration into backing off of doing exactly what a newspaper is supposed to do: Serve as a watchdog for the community, not just a cheerleader. Laurie Ezzell Brown has done a masterful job of depicting the fine line community newspapers must walk — whether in Texas or Ohio or anywhere else – while doing their job.
When school officials have sought an ally in the battle over school finance legislation, or in local efforts to stir up support for a multimillion-dollar bond issue for capital improvements, this newspaper has always been there. When public school students have excelled in any number of sports and academic competitions over the last few decades, when school nurses have wanted to announce vaccination requirements, when school administrators have wanted to promote parent/teacher open houses, when local merchants have wanted to congratulate students on their many successes, when Rotary Clubs have wanted to acknowledge their school’s student leaders … The Record and other weekly newspapers like it in other towns like this one have always been there.
Laurie Ezzell Brown
That is why it is even more puzzling that the Texas Association of School Boards would be on the leading edge of a movement among tax-supported entities to circumvent the state’s public notice laws. Or maybe it’s not so puzzling.
You see, there are things most school boards really want the public to know about their students and their schools. They are the stories and images that fill the pages of most community newspapers from Labor Day through Memorial Day each year, and which most publishers welcome as the vital news and information they know their readers count on finding inside the pages of each week’s edition.
We could stack up a long line of witnesses — including parents, students and most notably, our school trustees and administrators — who welcome the newspaper’s ability to shine the light on their educational efforts and would willingly testify to how essential it is to the business of raising the next generation of leaders.
There are other things, though, that some school boards would prefer the local newspaper not report, like low TAKS scores or high dropout rates, errant teachers or contentious school board meetings or principle-less principals or — heaven forbid — school trustees who flout open meetings laws and violate the public’s trust. But even most of them would admit — however grudgingly — that there’s no better way to stir up a hornet’s nest than to land on the wrong side of the local newspaper editor.
That is because this country’s community newspapers are the only media that report the important news of their hometowns — day in and day out, win, lose or draw, and even when hell occasionally freezes over. Read the rest of this entry »
By Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. – A Wisconsin newspaper editor demoted after writing a column that offended advertisers has started a legal campaign to get her job back, saying she is taking a stand for editorial independence.
Autumn Drussell
Autumn Drussell filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Rights Division seeking to be reinstated as editor of the Stoughton Courier Hub. Drussell said she is standing up for journalism at a time when struggling small newspapers are especially susceptible to advertiser influence.
Months after being named editor, Drussell wrote in a July 2010 column she was shopping more at low-cost big box stores because of the economy. She suggested that local businesses needed to improve customer service, stop badmouthing their areas and appeal to frugal customers, advice offered at a chamber of commerce luncheon she attended.
The column upset some of the newspaper’s advertisers in Stoughton, a city of 13,000 people, including hardware store owner Jim Gerber, who warned he would stop advertising until the economy improves.
“I will stop short from calling for your job — Walmart and Target need your money,” he wrote to the paper.
Days later, Drussell was called into a meeting with the general manager of Unified Newspaper Group, which owns the weekly and other newspapers in the region. Drussell, 35, said she was removed as editor and asked to sign a document agreeing not to write opinion pieces and be on probation for 90 days.
Julie Kay Smithson and Wiggles
I pass the gracious home on Elm Street in London with its “For Sale” sign out front, its spacious porch still looking as welcoming as ever.
I realize that things have a season, a time, a purpose. Can the time and season of Our Community have come and gone so quickly? Say it isn’t so — but know that each issue of this publication makes me feel like a better person, a stronger member of our community, and more positively focused on our part of the world.
Jerry Jones' football palace has become an ice palace. (AP photo)
Madison County and much of the nation’s midsection are chipping out from under a crippling layer of ice.
Even in the “sunny” south where the football world’s attention has turned for this weekend’s Super Bowl, ice has paralyzed the Metroplex and wreaked havoc for what was supposed to be a week of gala events. And if that’s not enough, the Super Bowl venue is forecast to receive up to three inches of snow Friday, with temperatures moderating into the 40s for the weekend.
Snow in amounts approaching two feet have all but buried northern locales such as Chicago, Detroit and Boston, bringing life to a virtual standstill for much of the week.
But there are those who realize you might as well make the best of the situation, and have even taken the opportunity to poke a little fun at the weather.
A sense of humor may not keep you warm, but it goes a long way in keeping you sane. (AP photo)
Lauren Prochaska of Plain City is the driving force behind the success of Bowling Green State University
Lauren Prochaska of Plain City, a senior guard at Bowling Green State
Lauren Prochaska broke the NCAA women's Divsion I record of 66 consecutive free throws, and eventually hit 70 in a row before the streak snapped
University, broke the NCAA women’s Division I record of 66 consecutive free throws by sinking her 67th straight charity toss in the waning seconds of a Dec. 9 victory over Western Kentucky. A two-time Mid-American Conference player of the year, Prochaska swelled her amazing streak to 70 consecutive free throws before missing in a Dec. 21 victory against Canisius.
As of December 31, 2010, the Jonathan Alder graduate had converted 84 of 89 free throw attempts, a 94% success rate which topped all Falcon players.
Lauren’s 20-point scoring average leads all Bowling Green players.
LATEST NEWS: Lauren signed a free-agent contract with the Seattle Storm in April’s WNBA draft.
London Imagery, 7½ S. Main Street in historic downtown London, is offering free sittings for holiday pictures of children of all ages with Santa Claus. The professional photography session will be from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at the London Imagery studios.
Photographer Trent Bever has provided a festive set with a fireplace, Christmas tree and a special visit from Kris Kringle. Following the free photo shoot, you’ll have the opportunity to order photos of the special occasion for family and friends.
London Imagery is the official portrait photographer for the entire staff at Our Community.
So dress the kids in their favorite Christmas clothes and visit London Imagery for a free photo session just in time for Christmas.
During their recent vacation to Florida, Lynn and Brenda Adams visited the sugar-white sandy beaches of Panama City Beach where Lynn paid tribute to his hometown Buckeye state with the traditional O-H-I-O.
Wiggles Blue Heeler shed his worn-out blue heeler earthly trappings December 5, and he was truly ready, thanking me and the two young vets who helped him, by giving us kisses. I thought I’d lose him two days earlier, but he gifted me with 48 more precious hours, giving even as his life was ebbing, showering me with affectionate, consoling kisses.
It is not that I am less, now that he has shed this life, but rather that I am far more because Wiggles lived!
Looking around, there are reminders of him everywhere (as though I needed reminding!), but now I see and am consoled by the things he no longer needs, corners he needn’t fear bumping, and all those places he once trod at a light and lightning-swift pace — as a child’s book says, “Slow down, dingo dog; you are moving too fast!”
Wiggles taught me patience, unconditional love, gravity-defying exuberant joy at the smallest of things, how to see without the use of physical vision — because he always saw the world and everything in it, with his heart — and how to forgive crabbiness, because his person was afflicted with occasional bouts of frustration. I pray to grow in love — because of his teaching by example, every minute of his life — and make him proud of what his life created in me.
All the terms of endearment encircle me, just as his presence is so near and so warm, swaddling his mommy in comfort on this vividly blue-sky day in December. LittleFoot … Many Kisses … Punky Brewster … Dear, Sweet Heart … Punkin Munkin … PooCheeser … The Sweetest One … Wigglety Woo … My Little Wommie (his first name was Wiggles Wombat) … and so many, many more.
Thank you for your prayers for us, which have uplifted us and taken any sadness away. Silly me, thinking I’d be lonely without him. He’s still here, in a form that no longer suffers.
Blessings bestowed upon me and countless others by Wiggles Blue Heeler are replete with joyful events and now, rejoicing memories. When next we meet, I’m certain that we will know one another instantly, because we each carry the other in our hearts and souls!
Thank God that He chose me to be Wiggles’ person and chose Wiggles to be my dog of a lifetime. This is the best day of my life: Wiggles is no longer blind or sick. In fact, his incredibly warm and loving presence is in every nook and cranny of my heart and soul!
Garage sales often turn out to be a treasure trove – both in terms of must-have items as well as the diverse shoppers who patronize such outdoor bazaars.
Lynn Adams
I held a three-day sale recently in an attempt to clear out antiques, knick-knacks, household items and collectibles left over when Brenda closed her three consignment booths around Madison County. The good news: I got rid of a lot of the stuff. The bad news: There were still leftovers which I ended up donating to the thrift store.
Of those who visited my sale, there were some I knew, some who knew me, some who asked about Brenda, some who knew me but I had no idea who they were, some who struck up a lengthy conversation as if they knew me, some who wanted to weigh in about how much they miss Our Community, one who thought we got “a raw deal” [his words] during our four years in London, some who lamented our upcoming move, some who envy the warmer climate awaiting us in Texas, some who complimented the items for sale but left empty-handed, some who claimed my price was too low on certain items but who also left without buying anything, many who wondered if the big pile of rocks was for sale (they weren’t), many who wondered if the antique stove and antique wash tub were for sale (not them either), some who recalled living in our house 50-55 years ago when it was a triplex and many who were happy to have a warm weekend for the year’s final garage sale.
One of those who cashed in on the last day’s “Make Me An Offer” clearance pricing was Drew, who works for Tom Raper RVs at its headquarters in Richmond, Ind. After he filled up his car with treasures, I mentioned that Brenda and I had lived in Richmond for a time in 1999, so we were familiar with Tom Raper even before a location opened in London. Drew told me that it was about 10 years ago that Tom Raper, the person, turned over management of Tom Raper, the dealership, to the general manager who then purchased the franchise. Drew said that Tom and his wife, Suzanne, never had children, so – seriously, I’m not making this up – “the business was his child.”
Although the sun was shining, I ducked in wide-eyed anticipation of a lighting bolt headed Drew’s way for having the audacity to compare a business to a child. [See the Nov. 5 response on this website to the ludicrous uproar that arose from the “Our child died today” eulogy to our business in the final issue of Our Community, Oct. 9.] Of course, there was no lightning strike, no earthquake swallowing up poor Drew, no swarm of locust attacked him and Drew wasn’t leapt upon by the whiners who assume the responsibility for determining what is and what isn’t appropriate when one grieves.
Then, later that afternoon as I was watching the Oklahoma-Texas Tech football game, something was said about a woman being a football widow. I wondered if the announcers and the network would receive nasty letters from appalled women whose husbands had died, accusing the announcers of being insensitive for daring to link the term “widow” with something as frivolous as football. Okay, taking exception to something like that would obviously be ridiculous – just like getting bent out of shape about someone comparing a business to a child.
Garage sales are sure a good way to get rid of extra stuff and to discover that there are those who, unsolicited, are able to look at things the way we do. Thanks, Drew.
