By John Shaffer A few months ago, Hillary Clinton was seen as the inevitable nominee of the Democrat party, and, likely, the next President of the United States. However, her changing stories about her “home brew” server, and the emails it contained; about what was on the server and how and when it was “scrubbed,” if the emails were classified or not or contained sensitive material; and of course, if, as Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton should have had a private server at all. We have been told various stories about where the server was (In her basement in Chappaqua? In a business in New Jersey? A bathroom closet in Denver? Or somewhere else?). She wants it all to go away, and well it might have, if Mrs. Clinton had told the truth back in March or even if she had stuck to the same story, true or not. Perhaps if she was not dishonest and untrustworthy her poll numbers would not be in free fall and folks would not describe her as dishonest and untrustworthy.
By John Shaffer The EPA has admitted its responsibility for polluting the Animas River with over a million gallons of wastewater from an abandoned gold mine, north of Silverton, Colorado. Farmers and ranchers were advised to cease taking water from the river, and recreational areas have been shut down as well. The EPA, we are sure, will not be harsh on itself – in fact, within a week, the Administrator of the EPA was assuring the public that “the river is restoring itself.” That may be true – but if it is, it also is true with almost every other chemical or toxic spill. Severe damage may be caused to water quality, wildlife, local economies, etc., but as time passes the damaged river begins to recover. W
A few weeks ago Mary Alice and I traveled to Arlington, Virginia to attend our oldest granddaughter’s 30th birthday celebration. The next day we went to the old section of Georgetown, in Washington, D.C., to hear the “Walkways”, a group of which our son is a member.
While the band was setting up for the concert on the green, Mary Alice and I went for a walk. While admiring the old homes, we also noticed many round seed pods lying on the sidewalks. I picked up several of the pods, and I must have had a puzzled look on my face for a young man walking by stopped to tell me that the pods were from the ginkgo trees. I looked up and saw the familiar leaves of a ginkgo tree. The ginkgo tree is unique in that it is the only existing tree in its family. It is an old tree, with similar fossils found dating back 270 million years. It is native to China, where it is widely cultivated. The ginkgo tree belongs to the Ginkgo biloba family. The scientific name ginkgo is the result of a spelling error that occurred three centuries ago. In Japan, ginkgo was spelled ginnam and pronounced ginkyo. Later, a Westerner, who was the first to investigate the fruit, wrote the word as it was pronounced. PA Game News
I have two favorite magazines that I subscribe to each month; one is Pennsylvania Game News. I have been a regular reader since 1962, my sophomore year in high school. To realize that the August 2015 issue is the 1,000th is quite a milestone. If you can get this issue yet this month, please do so. Most sporting goods stores sell Game News. It is definitely “collector material.” Pennsylvania Game News is the official monthly publication of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Each monthly issue has many regular features which are entertaining and educational to anyone who loves the outdoors, whether you are a hunter on not. I pass on each issue to several folks in our church. “Field Notes” is my favorite read in each issue. It is a collection of notes sent in each month by Wildlife Conservation Officers, Land Management Officers, Deputy WCOs and some retired officers. The notes are a great read and the artwork is worthy of any awards available. My friend Nick Rosato, Warrensville, PA, was the illustrator of Field Notes for many years until his passing in 2014. His first was in November 1961 and last was July 2014. The current illustrations are still very good. BUT…Are You REALLY Going to Do That?
Recently I have had many people share links to exercise videos that say things like: “Do these 5 moves for flat abs”, or “Best butt exercises”. Most people who watch and share these videos are people who are just starting out, have medical issues or other things that make me think to myself, “Are you really going to do that?” I recently watched one video that someone shared on Facebook that was promising flat abs. First off, the lady on the video was no beginner, nor was she showing moves that a beginner could do. Secondly, most of the exercises could lead to someone straining their back muscles if they didn’t do it correctly. They might have worked if you didn’t hurt yourself first. Here is where people who are starting out, or those with issues, need to be smart about searching the internet for their next workout. I have actually tried searching the internet for a video of a lift that I wanted to teach a few of the athletes. I had a tough time finding one that showed correct form and had a clear description of how to do it. So, beginners beware. By Kathie Lepper I've been out and about checking for news here on "The Ridge" this humid Monday morning. There were a couple items in the news box.
Kathy Temple wrote that she has a stress fracture in her foot which is casted and non weight bearing. So on Saturday, she and her sister Bonnie Vanemon spent a busy day working on wood crafts. Kathy said she, thankfully, could do her part from a chair with wheels. Saturday evening they attended "Momma Mingle" at the Canton Fire Hall. Kathy said they had a good time and enjoyed the evening. On Sunday, they spent more time in Bonnie's basement and accomplished a lot on their projects. My sisters, Jeannette May, Pauline Clark, and friend Susan Schiess and myself attended the wedding of our great-great nephew Tony and Jennifer (Cole) Pepper, Saturday afternoon. The wedding took place at D'Vine Vineyard and Winery in Columbia Crossroads. It was a lovely wedding with a beautiful bride and her lovely attendants, even Mother Nature joined with loud thunder and flashes of lightning to celebrate their special day. Alba Borough Council held its’ regular borough council meeting Monday, August 10, 2015 at the First Christian Church of Alba’s basement.
Council received updated information regarding the Sister Street and Cemetery Road resurfacing project. Last month, council agreed to proceed with a grinding and paving project that had a preliminary estimate of just over $26,000 contingent on the budget staying at or beneath the original quote with ditch work to be performed by Canton Township at an additional fee. Councilmembers sought other professional road construction opinions and found the original estimate to be understated for the scope of the project that had been outlined. By Richard & Joyce Pratt We have had some beautiful summer weather mixed with a little fall weather lately. What should we expect when school will be starting soon, then comes football and soccer and a lot of the fall programs coming up.
Happy birthday wishes go out to Harry Jones who is celebrating his birthday today, August 10th. He says he is 48. You can decide on that. Happy birthday to a nice neighbor and friend. Our cousins Ray and Pat surprised us twice this week with some huckleberries from Sunfish Pond. Some of them ended up in a delicious huckleberry pie. Which reminds us to say a special thank you to those who are bringing in vegetables. One day last week there was a whole table full. Thank you. By Terren Smith Hi everyone how was your week?
Well, I'm going to eat some crow. Lake Ondawa Grange did not take first place at the Troy Fair. The display got honorable mention. I was not at the fair with my fluid build up and elder sitting my father-in-law, Earl. I was not able to make it. Our prayer list: Neil McDonald had his pacemaker put in and that went well. Randy Burkholtzer is home from the hospital. But while he was in his sister Rebecca had her appendix out and is recuperating. She was in ICU. Mom was running away from a swarm of bees and lost her balance and fell and sprained her wrist. By Fr. Michael McCormick Dear Readers,
The other day I stumbled upon an old book on my “non-theology” shelf in my library. It is entitled A Wrinkle In Time. The story aside, I was thinking that we can think of the Mass as a wrinkle in time. In every Mass, Jesus opens a corridor through history, linking three things: • the here-and-now of our normal, everyday lives, with all of our struggles, joys, and sorrows; • the historical sacrifice of his own body and blood on the cross at Calvary, by which he repaired the damage done by Adam and Eve's disobedience to God; By Lorelei Colton As I sit here at the computer compiling this column, I’m waiting for the predicted thunderstorm to arrive. We really need the rain – as I told you the corn was pointed straight up to the sky craving moisture. However, that was last week… We had a band of scavenging raccoons ransack our sweet corn, leaving just about a dozen of short, skimpy ears – the rest trampled down and devoured. Lovely. The green beans succumbed to too much rain – leaving them musty and even moldy. Ron has picked a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes, and the big ones – that I was going to use to make spaghetti sauce – are really coming on nicely. But, when you go to pick one that looks quite red and ready, the bottom has been eaten by either snails or slugs or something. It’s heartbreaking! I hope other people are having better luck than we are in those categories. It turns out we’ll be buying sweet corn and tomatoes from the locals to do our preserving.
By Lois Ribovich The class of '55 met at the Midway last week for lunch. Those who attended were, Janice Hertel, Betty Sechrist, Deanna Whitford, Pat Moon, Barb Eck, Jim and Shirley Brenchley, Norma Jean and Ted Schmelzle, Marie Foust, Dale and Ev Landon, Barb and Dick Bellows, Carolyn and Don Bixby, Connie and Bob Robbins. A good time was had by all.
Remember the Book Swap open Tue, Thur. and Sat. 9-12. By Kathie Lepper Another beautiful morning here on "The Ridge" and I have some happy news to share. My great granddaughter, Kaitlyn DeCristo gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Ava Marie DeCristo Cooney, Saturday evening. Ava Marie's great grandparents, Ralph and Judy Lepper and her grandparents David and Amy DeCristo and me, great-great-grandmother are so happy to welcome her into our family. Does this mean I'm old now???
There is other news here. When I saw Sally Johnson in the hall earlier, she reported that her sister Lorraine and husband Ray had visited her over the weekend. Since Left Handers Day is August 13, the Chef thought it would be a good time for get recipes out for LEFTovers. So here is goes.
By John Shaffer Sometimes it seems as if there is little that remains constant in this rapidly changing world, but one thing we can rely on is big-government politicians -- for purposes of illustration, let’s say, Hillary Clinton... trying to win votes by spending other people’s money. Another is the habit of politicians to respond to rising costs of a service – let’s say... college education . . . by throwing even more money at the problem. A third constant is when politicians dangle money in front of the states in order to coerce them to do something they can’t afford -- let’s say, making college free. And,what do you know? The three come together very nicely with Mrs. Clinton’s recent plan to provide “free” college education to every state that will provide “no-loan tuition at four-year public colleges and universities.”
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