Breaking News

Columnists

ASK AUGUSTINE

Should churches be celebrating Reformation Day, which is on Oct. 31? I have a mixed reactions to celebrating Reformation Day. I’m disappointed that most Protestants and Catholics have no more idea of what the Reformation was about than they could explain the Theory of Relativity. This, no doubt, is because few churches today bother to teach about Reformation Day. Yet it is a significant historic event. It was on Oct. 31, 1517 an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the church door in Wittenberg as an invitation to scholars in the church to debate those issues. ...

FUTURES FILES

Pork Market Meltdown The breath-taking crash in the hog futures was caused by a sudden realization of supply of large hogs coming to market and not finding buyers. Brazilian pork output and exports have been large and are expected to keep growing. Though the extent this could continue is not known, there were precedents only old-timer hog producers can remember. In 1998, for example, cash hog prices fell roughly 75% with some communities seeing a drop to near zero due to the supply glut. Here in Indiana, for example, your author recalls home-made signs on State Highway 41 giving away ...

Skeletons, broken bricks and cheeseburgers

This coming week, the old Keen Edge brick building along Madison/Nevada Street should be demolished. Our Housing Department and City Administrator plus other staff has helped this project along. The owner of the property is taking the building down and paying all costs to do so. Good for them, ...

Same old, same old

If you live long enough you hear the same promises and accusations repeated ad nauseum by politicians of both parties. They will make your life better if you vote for them. Is your life better because of a politician? I doubt it. Mine gets worse when they raise my taxes. Democrats are re-cycling the "filthy rich" vs. the average person who lives paycheck to paycheck. Question: When Democrats are in office and raise taxes, do you get any of their money? Dishonesty and corruption among members of both parties is always a problem extending back almost to the nation's founding. Promises ...

EMPTY NEST

Sweet MiMi is a clown. But not just any ordinary clown. Behind the makeup is Thelma O’Neill, an octogenarian from Mt. Pleasant. Thelma used to hire out as a clown for birthday parties and special events, but these days she devotes her time to volunteer clowning at local elementary schools. What makes her approach unusual is how she introduces herself. Sweet MiMi doesn't just march into a classroom in full clown regalia. Instead, she arrives in street clothes and transforms into her persona right in front of the children—like Superman changing clothes in a phone booth. By doing ...

How can a data center help a police department?

Since joining the Altoona Police Department as chief back in 2017, I have had a front row seat in watching this community grow. From expanding my department to moving into a new city hall and public safety building, the change has been tangible and allows us to best serve our citizens. As ...