Take a stand against Common Core

March 3, 2015

I remember taking the Iowa tests in school as a kid. Oh, the pressure of that single test. But I was assured by my parents and my teachers that the test had a simple format and covered topics which I had already learned. I scored well, although that was no surprise as I was doing well in school.This year is the first year that my children are in public school, having been homeschooled up until fall 2014. They are faced with the PARCC test. I'm sure you've heard of it, particularly if you have a child in school between the third and 12th grades.I have been hearing about this test from my ...

Protecting Packards’ past

February 24, 2015

There's an antique Packard automobile sitting in a prominent position at The National Packard Museum on Mahoning Avenue here in Warren. It's a 1903 Packard Model F. It's painted deep red with a wooden body, white rubber tires and a one cylinder engine under the rear engine cover. This is the car that had crossed the United States San Francisco to New York in 1983 in a re-enactment of that same feat performed by a 1903 Packard Model F, 80 years earlier. The 1903 crossing was to prove the reliability of the Packard automobile. The driver in 1903 was Tom Fetch, an employee of the Packard ...

Lent about more than giving up

February 20, 2015

Lent, the 40-day journey toward Easter, began on Wednesday. Chances are, you saw a friend or coworker with a cross of ashes on his or her forehead or tasted paczki, Polish doughnuts eaten on Fat Tuesday. Even the religiously ambivalent find themselves observing Lent, if only as a way of dieting: Ask most people what they're giving up for Lent, and the response is almost always "chocolate."So, yes, my assumption is that most of us in our community are practicing Lent - and if not practicing it, are at least aware of it. Yet, to even the most religiously committed, Lent's true meaning is ...

Silence naysayers to brighten life

February 13, 2015

A good friend of mine often reminds me, "You can never please everyone, and there are some people you can never please." I was brought back to this lesson in an important way when I found myself reading reviews of my book on Amazon, and after receiving a rather grumpy email about my last column.Of the 80-some reviews for the book, some were (thankfully) quite positive. Of course, there were more than a handful of negative ones. This, of course, reminds us that it really is impossible to please everyone. Even our best-laid plans and greatest of intentions can unintentionally leave someone ...

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to farm

February 12, 2015

Water, that vital life source the keeps us from offending our co-workers (by bathing) and also fills that succulent orange you ate. Water, next to land, is probably the number one commodity for farmers.Animals, like people, need water to survive; plants need water to grow; and people need safe water to drink.It seems like this past summer, all we heard about was water. Now we're in the middle of winter and we're still hearing about water as we're surrounded by snow.So what does this water issue have to do with farmers and why should you care?Well, to dispel some myths, farming is not the ...

Pesky pup story ends happily

February 10, 2015

What could be nicer than a story with a happy ending? How about one with a little twist at the end, too? Try this one:Once upon a time, about 40 years ago, my sister Shirlee had a dog named Bonnie. Bonnie originally was her youngest son Todd's dog that he had received as a gift from his then-girlfriend. Todd was unable to keep Bonnie because of his travel and educational commitments, so he gave Bonnie to his mother,Bonnie was a beautiful small collie, but she had a few problems, like running through closed screen doors.Bonnie became Shirlee's constant companion, going just about ...