Opinion
Public Minds
Blood drive set Aug. 31-Sept. 1 To The Sun: Summer is nearly over and school and fall activities are starting soon. I hope your summer was filled with relaxing and fun times spent with family and friends. During busy times, we do not always think of the individuals who are fighting life-threatening diseases. These individuals are in desperate need of blood and blood products in order to maintain a stable quality of life. I am pleased to report...
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How to communicate
You have something you want to share when you communicate with another family member. Using words is the most common way to express thoughts and feelings, but you also send nonverbal messages with your eyes, facial expressions, and body movements. Have you ever known anyone in your family to stomp out of the room without saying a word? That is a nonverbal message. Another important part of communication is listening. A good listener sends a...
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Kudos to police
The Parsons Police Department should be commended for its attempt this week at educating parents of USD 503 high school students about drug use and abuse. Beginning Monday, officers began going door-to-door in the community handing out packets of information on drugs, their appearance, symptoms of their use and common street names for them. Included in the information is whom to contact to get more information, including e-mail addresses of k...
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Asking the right question to support students and teachers
As the new school year begins, Kansas teachers are once again bringing their best skills and commitment to classrooms across our state. We’re ready to do everything we can to ensure each child, regardless of geography, economics, ethnicity, or language background, gets a great education. We know that the health of our communities depends on the kind of education we provide. This is not a challenge that we take lightly. We embrace it. Some p...
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Spirits from Parsons’ grand past
Seldom do I get news that is both bad and good, but that is what I received last week when Alice (Pefley) and Jack Olson called from Tucson, Ariz., to tell me of the death of his sister, Martha Olson, 90, who lived in New York City and Southampton. She was with friends and her beloved fox terrier, Bentley, named after one of her flashy fast cars she loved to drive. The Olsons (another daughter, Jean, lives in Montecito, Calif.) and Pefleys l...
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A downgrade and global debt
At Monday’s market close the Dow Jones lost more than 6.5 percent in value. This was not just a result of the S&P downgrade of U.S. issued debt. U.S. treasuries were actually the safe haven of the day, pushing the US Bond Aggregate index up .5 percent. The sell off in stock was an emotional response to what is happening in Europe and a potential recession globally and here in the U.S. Stronger European nations such as Germany, France and the ...
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Scouts help mulch trees
To The Sun: The Parsons Tree Advisory Board and I want to thank several members of Boy Scout Troop 33, sponsored by Wesley United Methodist Church, who helped mulch 30 trees lining the Corning bypass on Wednesday night. The boys were: Steven Cronick, Conner Falke, Chance Rand and Scout Leader Cory Falke. With their help, the trees were mulched in less than 2 1/2 hours, which is an outstanding achievement for that number of trees. And we would...
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Change you can trust?
To The Sun: Three years ago our president campaigned on a promise of a change you can trust, a fundamental change in “the greatest country in the world.” He was outspoken in his criticism of the national debt, stated that a need to raise the debt ceiling denoted a lack of leadership, and the greatest need for the country was to stop the deficit spending which was ruining the country. (He didn’t mention that the current Democrat Congress was i...
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It’s broken; fix it
Congress is broken, and while its members blather and trot around the country, and the globe, the U.S. taxpayers continue to foot the bill. It’s time we demand that the system be changed, that congressional members follow austere fiscal measures that the rest of us have to live with and that they cut spending, starting with their own offices, and approve a balanced budget. The recent ridiculous rhetoric and chest pounding over increasing the ...
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Foods and Migraines
Dear Reno: Eating onions, especially the raw ones, trigger my migraine headaches. Can you tell me what other foods may cause this to happen? Thank you. — W.M. Almost 20 percent of Americans suffer migraine headaches. For most people, these are triggered by certain foods they eat, and for others it could be a combination of other factors. Many times skipping meals, low blood sugars, fasting, dehydration, stress, illness or fatigue can cause he...
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Arkansas offers choices for travel
Every once and a while you just need to take a road trip. I have always loved Arkansas and there were some new places I wanted to check out. So I jumped in the car and first headed to Harrison. My husband and I go there at least once a year, as we have found a very private, secluded cabin to go to get away from it all, even if it's just for a couple of days. I knew of other places I like to go, so I visited them plus found a couple of new ones...
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Public Mind
Merrell should be head football coach To The Sun: Since our son-in-law, Adam Merrell’s, resignation was announced last week in the Parsons Sun, we have been asked by so many people why he resigned. Some people would comment they just “assumed he would stay.” His players even commented they assumed the job would just be given to Adam. Why? Because he and his wife Elizabeth were both born and raised here in Parsons, went to Parsons schools, had...
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Flowers to buy for spring containers
Gardener's Guide By Donna Seeley How can a person look out my kitchen window into my yard and not wonder why anyone would even want to think about shrubs and flowers now? My rose bushes are burnt up. I’ll take the blame for that. I was not patient enough to let the water soak in around the roots, so that the foliage would not get wet. I just hurriedly watered over the top, sometimes in the morning, and when the hot sun came out the leaves were...
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Recipe offers colorful fruits, veggies
By Kylie Ludwig Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Research shows that the single best way to improve health is to eat plenty of naturally colorful fruits and vegetables with deep reds, orange, yellows, whites, blues, purples, blacks and greens. Color compounds form more than 2,000 pigments in fruits and vegetables. These colors make plant foods not only look scrumptious, but also contain strong antioxidants. Adults are advised to eat 2 to 4 ...
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Public Mind
Stuff the Bus was a success To The Sun: I am Bridgette Gilmore, a Cadette Girl Scout in troop 70188 in Parsons. Recently, I had the opportunity to organize the Stuff the Bus project. With the help of my Girl Scout troop, my leader, my family and many, many other wonderful volunteers, I have completed the project and am hoping to get my silver award. The past few years in Girl Scouts have taught me so much. I feel fortunate to be involved wi...
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Public Mind
To The Sun: As with every non-profit organization, The Labette County Chapter of the American Red Cross makes yearly goals to raise "x" amount of dollars so that we can replenish funds and continue our mission. This year, our chapter set out to raise $25,000 by June 30, and with every penny given by our citizens, we did it. On top of that, we forwarded from our office $8,500 in donations to Joplin. The American Red Cross is, as a whole, a n...
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Forest Park improvements delayed
The soil is so dry and hard, but I decided to just fill the bird bath, give the plant's leaves a shower bath and get out of the heat. I have read that the leaves will soak in moisture. While I was watering, I kept thinking about the article in the Sun telling of the "city father's" meeting pertaining to city parks. I was anxious to read it; bummer. I thought sure they were finally going to announce the continuance of the three-phase Fo...
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Estimating Corn Yield Potential
By Keith Martin Labette County Kansas State University Extension agent With the ongoing heat and drought conditions in our area, many corn growers are trying to decide if their corn crop is worth keeping for grain harvest or if it should be harvested for silage. With that tassel, silking and pollination complete, or nearly complete, producers can begin to get some idea of what the potential yield might be. To get a reasonable yield estimate, c...
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Our View
Excitement building The 100th edition of the Labette County Fair is just around the corner. While some events have already taken place — food judging and clothing — the bulk of the events run over a period of days. The first day is Saturday, with horse check in and 4-H horse competition. Sunday features a parade and a cattle drive down an Oswego street. Most weeknights will feature musical acts, many from this area, but also a big named count...
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Public Mind
Prayer definitely necessary for city meetings To The Sun: The walking trail as first proposed seemed rather a good idea, utilizing the Frisco right of way for an estimated cost of around $100,000 with 80 percent to be paid by the taxpayers of all Kansas. As time went on the length of the project dramatically decreased, accompanied by a dramatic increase in cost to possibly $1,000,000, about the same cost as the wonderful running track at Pars...
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