New polls

As I continue to learn the capabilities of this blog, new elements will be added. I just figured out I can do poll questions, so I posted a couple timely questions to the left, pertaining to the Linn gym issue covered in this week's Washington County News. Maybe the poll results will give the USD 223 board members a better idea of their communities' wishes. I often hear board members ask "Nobody talked to me about that." My theory is, it is their job to talk to their community so they know what their stance on the topic should be. So go ahead and vote on the poll.

Our nation's black eye

I can hardly get more controversial than to talk about the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate with my editorial in this week's paper. What do you think about the topic? Where am I right? Where am I wrong? Leave a post with your thoughts.

The Linn gym denial

See my opinion on the denial for use of the new gym at Linn High School in the Jan. 17 archive (The archive subject headings can be seen at the left of this screen) and leave a comment on your opinion.

Other political or government-related things that bother me

• Elected officials who forget they are in their position to represent the people, not to cow-tow to superintendents or city administrators.
• Governors who make decisions on power plants based on political maneuvering and national party platforms rather than for the people they govern.
• The direction of this country. My gut says we are in a societal freefall – accepting of anything that makes us feel good or entertains us.
• Political jerks – Even though I was a liberal Democrat at the time, Republican State Senator Tim Huelskamp was rude and arrogant to me and my cause during a committee session at the Capitol one day many years ago and I will never forget or forgive that. People with power have the responsibility to wield that power with great temperance and wisdom.
• Censorship and propaganda. I believe censorship leads to propaganda and since I learned about propaganda in high school when studying Hitler and World War II, I have very little tolerance for it now, which probably helps me in my career as a journalist.

What about you? What about government or politics gets you fired up? Please leave a comment.

My political flip-flop

Everyone has an opinion about politics and I explained in my “On the backroads” column this week in the Washington County News why I switched from the Democratic party to Republican. Was that the right move? Why or why not? Have you ever struggled with your party? Leave a comment and lets talk about it.

Tribune content

The problem with me posting what I expect to have in the paper each week is that very often, plans can totally change. This week in the Clifton-Clyde Tribune, we had to bump the Business Showcase and related stories, the homecoming candidates because one of them was sick, the 8-man all star football game story I'd worked on for space reasons and the wind farm story for space reasons. Working to stay in four pages is really hard at times. Six pages is ideal and more manageable, but I have to stick to four pages quite often to make the postage and printing costs more reasonable. Such is life in the news business. I hope I don't have to do excuse lists like this every week!

Zenger adds voice to WC News opinion page

Josh Zenger, a former Haddamite and North Central High School graduate, will lend his voice to the Washington County News' Local Voices page starting with this week's issue. Zenger plans to provide commentary on the presidential campaigns that are front and center in the news world because of the busy primary/caucus season currently underway. This week, he talks about the GOP primary in South Carolina and makes some predictions for Florida and beyond. Check it out on this week's Local Voices page in the Washington County News.
Zenger and his wife Heidi (Sedivy formerly of Barnes) reside in Shawnee.

Coming this week:

A sampling of the stories we're working on for this week's Washington County News and Clifton-Clyde Tribune –

Washington County News
• Information on the GOP caucus in Washington on Feb. 9
• USD 223 school board story
• Several filings for county elected positions
• Business showcase
• Bridal guide
• Game-by-game final results from TVL basketball tournament

Clifton-Clyde Tribune
• Story on Jamie Jackson house fire
• Athletes qualify for 8-man football All-Star game
• Story on the wind farm being constructed between Clyde and Concordia
• Business showcase
• Homecoming candidates

And much, much more...

If you have any story ideas, leave a comment or e-mail me directly.

Final TVL tourney results

Centralia won both the boys and girls TVL tournaments on Saturday. The boys beat Frankfort for the title 53-32, while the girls pulled out a close game over Blue Valley 53-51.
Local team results include:

Boys
Hanover 74, B&B 60 for a third place finish.
Linn 42, Valley Heights 31 for seventh place
Washington County 67, Onaga 34 for ninth place
Clifton-Clyde lost to Bern 62-65 for 12th place

Girls
Frankfort beat Linn 56-52 in overtime to give the Linn girls fourth place
Washington County beat Clifton-Clyde 46-42 for seventh and eight place
Hanover 49, Onaga 34 for ninth place