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Shedding light on gastroparesis
Independence Co. woman shares struggle, career with Dick Clark Productions Frances Lacey would have been honored to have been Dick Clark’s daughter, but she isn’t. While the Independence County woman worked for Dick Clark Productions in California for 34 years and got to know …
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Governors from Batesville
Batesville claims three former governors as its own: Thomas S. Drew (1844-48), Elisha Baxter (1872-74) and William R. Miller (1877-81). Of the three, only Gov. Miller was a native of Independence County. Miller was born to John and Clara (Moore) Miller in 1823 on the …
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Happy birthday, World Wide Web! Thanks for expanding our freedoms
Welcome to adulthood, World Wide Web. You were born on Aug. 6, 1991, as an interconnected system that makes information accessible around the globe. That makes you 21. Since I can’t buy you a drink, how about a First Amendment salute instead? As it happens, …
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Saving distracted pedestrians
“Distracted Pedestrians Are Just As Dumb As Distracted Drivers,” blares a headline on the San Francisco Weekly website. Old news. Back in my day, a particularly klutzy person was mocked as being “unable to walk and chew gum at the same time.” My mother still …
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Mass killings: People more traumatized than society
When James Holmes murderously interrupted the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colo. on July 20, opening fire and killing 12 people and injuring 58 others, it was a sickening deja vu for many of us here in San Diego. On July 18, 1984, recently fired …
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Recalling the ‘Voyage of the Paper Canoe’
In addition to the military/warfare uses of papier-mâché listed in my column of July 12, many other uses of papier-mâché through the years seem mysterious or even baffling — and mostly unknown — to the majority of people today. One common item made in the …
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Letters to the editor
Taking ducks to water Dear editor: My sister and I and many others have suffered along with these unfortunate ducks at Row Lake because someone decided to drain the pond in the worst time of the year. I contacted the mayor’s office and spoke to …
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Somewhere in Texas
It is amazing what all you can accomplish on a mini-vacation. Last week we set out for parts unknown for some much needed rest and relaxation. When the proprietor sent us directions on how to get there, complete with a last stop for food memo, …
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State oversight of fracking
I first heard about fracking (the drilling of natural-gas wells using a method known as hydraulic fracturing) in 2009 when environmental advocates charged that natural-gas drilling could endanger New York City’s water resources. I lived in the city at that time, so the news that …
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Husbands: The gorillas in our midst
Do women have keener ears when it comes to children? I was at the zoo recently where I witnessed a scenario that made me both frustrated and empathetic toward men. As my kids and I were exiting the gorilla habitat we walked past a dad …
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Confederates keeping Union in check
One hundred fifty years ago, both the Confederate and federal armies in Arkansas were preparing for a long military standoff. As Confederate Commander Thomas Hindman directs the daily operations of his worn soldiers, the Federal army in and around Helena fine-tune their camps and find …
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Back to work, joyfully sleep deprived
Greetings and salutations! I finally made it back to work last Thursday, after being off eight weeks with our newborn daughter, Kaylee Ann. Gary and I can hardly begin to express our appreciation for everyone’s thoughts, support and prayers over the last few years after …
