Columns

   Someone asked if it bothered me that sometimes people don’t like what I have written for the newspaper.  My answer is always the same:  Not at all. I know I have never sat down at the keyboard with the intention of irritating…

I couldn’t help but read with a smile when Allegan columnist E.C. Stoppel posed a question to random people (in this week’s Allegan County News) as to whether they liked pickleball or not. Some younger people answered that it was…

What is the difference between a hurricane, typhoon or a cyclone? There is no difference except for the fact that they are known by a different name depending on where you are in the world. Most of us are familiar…

The beginning of the summer season is this weekend.I know, I know, the calendar says summer starts June 21st, but let’s face it, the season always starts with Memorial Day weekend…Two Clare County schools have already held graduation ceremonies with…

Latter Day Saints Church Early photo NE Corner Carland and Main This week brought some physical changes to Main Street and some fond Blevins Street memories for me.We don’t know what’s in store for the little former church-become-Community Space in…

By Scott SullivanEditor50th ReunionAs a diabetic, pokes and pricks-abetted, it’s imperative I have insulin. At the druggist’s I saw: Good healthIn a single stopSign up forShingles shots here The cute dark pharmacist on the cardboard sign next to the poem…

     On Memorial Day, there is no place I would rather be than in a small Midwest town. More specifically, it means a small town in southwestern Michigan.  Like the rest of the country on that day, we will pause for a…

Is anyone concerned about artificial intelligence as I am?You know the technology is growing at such a rapid rate that humans might be subservient to robots soon. Or so say a few prognosticators.Being somewhat a libertarian, I do not favor…

Here are six Rules of Life I wish I had known when I was younger:

Next Tuesday, April 18, is Tax Day. If you haven’t filed yet, the time for procrastinating is over. If you have your taxes done professionally, I wish you the best of luck, because tax preparers have been busy for the…

Wednesday is nearly here – deadline day – and once again I am sitting here staring at the darn computer screen. As usual, I couldn’t think of a thing to write about this week, but sometimes when I start typing……

What a grand thing this warm, springy weather has been. It gives us just enough oomph to get through any cold and gloomy siege Mom Nature may yet throw at us. The balmy breezes have us thinking of all the…

By Scott SullivanEditorDatedMarriage put a crimp on my dating and itself grows dated. Internet to the rescue. “[Dating] begins No find I able to impossible was to It be letter it is,” emailed Calvina Grasso. I couldn’t have said it…

My alma mater’s alumni office phoned me recently, seeking money of course.The student making the cold call mentioned it had been quite a while (a few decades, really) since I had last visited the school. When I asked how he knew, he…

As I sit here with a walker at my side, I have gained a newfound affinity for those that must endure ailments and pain. You see I’ve been very healthy all my life, and never have had surgery. I didn’t…

“Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” ~ Robert SchullerIf you are an investor, you’ll want to mark your calendar for Tuesday, April 25 and make reservations to attend a “Lunch and Learn” event at the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce…

Our photo this week is an oldie, and so we apologize for the quality. This is from a glass negative photo taken in 1908. The large house on the right is the Carrow/Mrs. Little’s Maternity/Fosnaught-Holdship Funeral Home. The next is…

It seems like this spring has been unusually chilly, but in looking back through past year’s columns, it actually was pretty typical weather for March, but other than a “spritz” of snow and some windy weather, March kinda went out…

By Scott SullivanEditorThe WallRe: last and this week’s lead stories: So much for practicing law with no brains.Continuing in that vein, scientists have created a tiny robot that melts, moves and can reform elsewhere, great for escaping prison and other…

    Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, was renowned for her sharp and caustic tongue.  She was also famous for a needlepoint pillow she took to parties.  She would find a seat and set the pillow on the cushion next to her: It said: “If…