Opinion
Hoarding: The Impact of Compulsive Keepers
According to the International OCD Foundation, between 700,000 and 1.4 million people in the United States exhibit compulsive hoarding behavior. Hoarding is defined by the Mayo Clinic as the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them. Hoarding creates cramped living conditions and homes filled to capacity. Many homes only have narrow pathways through the house that wind through stacks of clutter. Hoarding can aff...
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Other Views
Early Head Start funding The Hays Daily News Despite their efficacy, Early Head Start programs throughout the state are experiencing severe financial stress. Designed to promote early childhood development and parenting skills in low-income households, funding has become a question mark of late. Federal support has decreased dramatically this year as dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 have dried up. State support a...
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Public Mind letters Oct. 8
Truth and consequences To The Sun: During the Parsons City Commission meeting Monday a taxpayer asked if a property in Orchard Park was in the city limits of Parsons. Excessive horses at the property was one concern. A building permit to build an addition to an existing building was another. Regarding the horses, a neighbor witnessed several horses being walked down the road to a pasture up north the night before the code inspector arrived at ...
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FALL FASHION CHART
I was sorry to miss the dedication of the new Bill and Louisa Wiener Therapy Garden. Thanks to them, and to Roger Lavender for constructing it. I expect to be one of them out there enjoying it one day. Many times I've written that when you feel like screaming, go outside and sit in your garden. It's good for what ails you. I've been doing a little reading about how to get fall color in your yard, or better yet, plants that also have flowers i...
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Still readers, despite doomsayers
Despite all the doomsayers out there writing obituaries for the nation’s newspaper industry, 150 million Americans — two out of three adults — read a local newspaper last week. Newspaper Association of America research from 2011 by Scarborough USA indicates almost 70 percent of your neighbors read either a printed newspaper or its online counterpart within the past seven days. How could that be? Well, it’s because newspapers still represent th...
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Scrap zombie campaign
If you ever wondered if your government has gone off the deep end, look no farther than the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. State emergency managers think Kansans should prepare for a zombie attack. Yes, you read right. October is even Zombie Preparedness Month in the U.S. and in Kansas. Emergency managers claim the campaign is tongue-in-cheek, but what message does this send to the public that’s supporting this agency? The agency cl...
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Wilson Avenue construction
To the Sun: This letter is being written about the Wilson Avenue construction between 14th and 15th streets. For years residents have complained about the condition of the street. Nothing was done to improve the quality of the street. One woman’s vehicle became inoperable after being high-centered on a mound of asphalt. Another person lost a piece of the car as well because of the same problem. My wife’s car began making popping noises in t...
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Do some evaluating
Garden Guide By Donna Seeley I've been walking around my yard and city flower beds looking to see which flowers and shrubs were survivors of our horrific hot summer. It isn't often we have so many record breaking days, but still, why not learn from them. An example was seeing my little moonbeam euonymous, and a small azalea, planted in just morning sun, bite the dust. I must add, however, they were in a little area where I had earlier noticed ...
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DO SOME EVALUATING
I've been walking around my yard and city flower beds looking to see which flowers and shrubs were survivors of our horrific hot summer. It isn't often we have so many record breaking days, but still, why not learn from them. An example was seeing my little moonbeam euonymous, and a small azalea, planted in just morning sun, bite the dust. I must add, however, they were in a little area where I had earlier noticed the leaves were full of hole...
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Gulf cruises plentiful
Gulf coast cruisers will have a broader selection of innovative ships and exciting itineraries to choose from this fall as Royal Caribbean International brings new options out of Galveston, Texas, and for the first time in four years New Orleans. Starting in November, guests can set sail on the largest ship to ever cruise from the Big Easy. The 137,000-ton, 14-deck Voyager of the Seas is an unprecedented adventure, weighing 65,000 tons more t...
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Public Mind
Life chain will take place Sunday To The Sun: Some of your readers may recall seeing a group of people standing in the 16th and Main area holding signs on a Sunday afternoon every year in October. These people were not all from the same church or club, nor did they necessarily hold the same political views. The thing they had in common was a deep commitment to the right to life, from conception to natural death. What they were doing was formin...
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Bread pudding, an old-fashioned favorite
By Kyle Ludwig Family and Consumer Sciences Wildcat Extension District-Labette Bread pudding is a long-time, old-fashioned favorite that’s easy and tasty for adults and children alike. This recipe, provided by the Family Nutrition Program at Kansas State University Research and Extension, makes 8 servings. Ingredients: — 2 eggs, slightly beaten — 2 1/4 cups milk — 1/2 cup sugar — 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon — 5 cups of 1/2-inch to 3/4-inc...
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Goat cheese has more health benefits for consumers
Ask Reno By Reno Jain, R.D., L.D. Dear Reno: What is the difference between goat cheese and cow cheese? Thank you. — H. J. The art of making goat cheese originated in the eastern Mediterranean thousands of years ago, spreading into Spain and France. Today goat cheese remains a staple of the Mediterranean diet, and now even North America produces many of its own varieties especially for the gourmet palate. Goat cheese is often called “chevre” ...
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Public Mind
Support local businesses, bowling alley To the Sun: This letter serves two purposes. First of all, I would like to thank every business that invests in our community by operating in Parsons! Thank you for providing us with services, retail, dining and recreational opportunities. It takes a major commitment to operate your own business in a town our size and try to earn a living. With current economic challenges, it doesn’t make it easy — but a...
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Community needs more bulbs
By Donna Seeley Garden Guide Where's the bulbs? This town is nearly devoid of early, colorful, spring flowers. Hyacinths, tulips and daffodils let you know that spring is here. My favorite bulbs are hyacinths. I always found a little nest of Easter eggs in the center of the pink, purple and yellow flowers, big flowers, in our yard. They are 8 to 10 inch tall stems covered with blooms and they should be planted in well-drained soil in sun to p...
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Our View
A newer deal President Obama has released details of his new jobs plan and how it will affect Kansas. Examples: His plan would cut the payroll tax in half, which would help 60,000 firms in Kansas; provide $359 million in Kansas for highways, transit, rail and aviation infrastructure projects; invest $278 million in Kansas to prevent teacher, police and firefighter layoffs; inject $191 million to modernize public schools in Kansas and $45 milli...
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LCC health programs are top-notch
By George Knox Labette Community College President Labette Community College allied health programs are making a significant impact on the quality of health care within Southeast Kansas and the surrounding areas. The allied health programs at LCC include the nursing, respiratory and radiography programs. Through a Title III grant program, the physical therapist assistant and diagnostic medical sonography programs were added in fall 2011. These...
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Businesses can save energy, money
By Kari West City of Parsons Public Information Officer During the Take Charge Challenge, we have spent a lot of time focusing on what homeowners can do to save electricity. While we have been successful in spreading the word about the cost savings, we have not focused on how businesses can save a little money while decreasing energy bills. While saving money is important, the goal of the Take Charge Challenge is to create new habits that enco...
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Apple juice is safe
By Kylie Ludwig Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Arsenic and apple juice. Not words you like to see in the same sentence. There has been publicity recently over the amount of arsenic in the apple juice that many children drink. The Food and Drug Administration has every confidence in the safety of apple juice. Arsenic is present in the environment as a naturally occurring substance or as a result of contamination from human activity. It is ...
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Public Mind
CROP Walk set for Sept. 25 To The Sun: Hunger and poverty are rampant n our world, and escalating in the current economic conditions. Something can and must be done about them. Our local CROP Hunger Walk is a great place to start. For a few hours and a few miles, friends and neighbors will be coming together to, in the words of I John 3:18, “… love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” On Sunday afternoon, Sept. 25, at 2 p.m., the...
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