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  • Some Gave All

    Mike Sunderland, Columnist|Aug 17, 2023

    Ordinarily country and western style music doesn't trip my trigger, but in 1992 Billy Ray Cyrus released the song "Some Gave All" that really struck a chord deep down in my soul. As a Navy veteran of the late 1960's and early '70's many of my high school classmates and young men in my neighborhood were drafted and served in our nation's military in Vietnam. A little over half of them did not return alive, and several of the survivors recovered from their injuries in stateside hospitals. Some hav... Full story

  • A Summer's Day

    Bill Benson, Columnist|Aug 17, 2023

    Popular song writers will, on occasion, dub into their lyrics references to summer. In 1970, Mungo Jerry sang, "In the summertime, when the weather is high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky." In 1972, Bobby Vinton sang, "Yes, it's going to be a long, lonely summer." In 1973, Terry Jacks sang about enjoying his "Seasons in the Sun." In 1977, in the film Grease, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John sang a back-and- forth duet about their "summer days drifting away, to summer nights."... Full story

  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

    Aug 17, 2023

    Editor’s Note: We appreciate and encourage all Letters to the Editor. It is especially encouraging to receive them from readers outside of our community as it is representative of the faith that people still hold for community print media as a means for the sharing of information. To Whom it May Concern, Many Nebraskans, especially those in rural communities like mine, have been misinformed by those circulating the petition to repeal the Opportunity Scholarships Act. The information being given out by both paid and volunteer canvassers is f... Full story

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Nebraska Needs Coal

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Aug 10, 2023

    Last week Nebraska State Senators learned that the Federal Bureau of Land Management will soon begin enacting the Buffalo Resource Management Plan in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. This means that a moratorium is being placed on the mining of coal in that region because the lands are federally owned. In their attempt to go green, the Biden Administration is refusing to renew lease agreements in the Powder River Basin, which supplies roughly 40 percent of the nation's demand for coal. This... Full story

  • Let's Make This Right

    Barbara Perez, Sidney Sun-Telegraph|Aug 10, 2023

    Last Friday, just before we closed for the weekend, a handsome, shy young man came into the Sun-Telegraph office carrying a box that he quietly informed me was a gift. Turns out that it was a sampler box from a local business, Savor & Grace, and it was filled with all kinds of charcuterie delights. I was appreciative of the gift, delighted by the contents (seriously, it was SO delicious!) and inspired by the sheer warmth and neighborliness of the gesture. I lived in NYC for a number of years,... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week 32

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Aug 10, 2023

    "The earth yields crops by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. When grain is ripe, the farmer puts in his sickle. Harvest has come." Mark 4:28, 29. All seed is time sensitive. Harvest starts as seed comes out of the barn and is placed into good, fertile soil. "As a rancher/farmer, my most important crop is my children!" North Park (Walden) Colorado has 3 seasons: Before Hayin', Durin' Hayin' and After Hayin'. Surrounded by the Continental Divide on three sides,... Full story

  • Paid to Commit Suicide

    Mike Sunderland, Columnist|Aug 10, 2023

    Some are addicted to alcohol. Some are addicted to various narcotics, others to various perversions. Our nation and world has increasingly become addicted to these and more to the extent that we have all but passed the national fatality level. Most of us are aware of the various drug addictions that plague our fellow Americans. Even in Sidney, Nebraska there are both young and old who are addicted to the junk that is pouring over our so called sovereign borders. The alarms have been sounding... Full story

  • Letter to the Editor

    Aug 10, 2023

    As a member of this town for 37 plus years, I have seen lots of businesses come and go within the city limits. Of which I can’t recall any of the names of them now, but being that as it may, it should not dampen that spirit of said reality of keep on keeping on. The buildings or stores are still there but alas, no longer do they hold the same feelings as years gone by. My story involves another part of the current population. This you will not like one bit. I am a decorated Navy Vietnam veteran. I willingly gave 24 years of my life to sacrifice... Full story

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Shop Class

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Aug 3, 2023

    High School shop classes are beginning to make a comeback. For those of us over the age of 50 shop classes were considered a high school staple, but many high schools have since retired these classes and switched to technology classes. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, this trend of students taking fewer credits in shop classes started in the 1990s. The result of students taking fewer shop classes over the years is that demand has now gone up for people working in trade... Full story

  • Mutually assured re-nomination

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Aug 3, 2023

    There's being fortunate in your enemies, and then there's having enemies who are helping you take the first step in your political comeback. Donald Trump and his adversaries want profoundly different things in the long run -- Trump wants to be back in the White House; Democrats want him in an orange jumpsuit. Yet, in the shorter term, they both are seeking the same thing -- Trump as the Republican nominee, either so he can sweep to victory (Trump's view) or be beaten again and held to account... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week 31

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Aug 3, 2023

    Psalm 91 "Under His wings you shall take refuge. You shall not be afraid of the arrow that flies by day... for He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you ... in their hands they shall bear you up!" My uncle, Fred E. Brands, turned 17, October 31st, 1941. December 7th he enlisted in the United States Navy. World War II had begun at Pearl Harbor. Freddie took training as a navigator in the Naval Air Force. There were six men in his fighter: Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator, Left, Right and Tai... Full story

  • 70th Anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement

    Bill Benson, Columnist|Aug 3, 2023

    Last Thursday, July 27, 2023, North Korea's leader Kim Jon Un presided over a military parade that celebrated the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean conflict, from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. North Korea's Foreign Ministry announced, in bellicose language, that "the 21st century would see the irrevocable termination of the U.S. "Should the U.S. choose to offend our Republic, we will annihilate them by using all our military power that we... Full story

  • A Next Step for All Americans

    Pete Ricketts, U.S. Senator, Nebraska|Jul 27, 2023

    One of the things I am most proud of from my time as Governor was how we improved services. One way we did this was by helping low-income Nebraskans find quality, higher-paying jobs through an innovative program called SNAP Next Step. The program helps families on SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, with job training, resume writing, and job search coaching to find that better job – that next step toward a better future. We prioritized giving people a hand up, not a handout. The results were i... Full story

  • The military doesn't need diversity, equity and inclusion

    Rich Lowry, American Writer and Columnist|Jul 27, 2023

    House Republicans voted to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and personnel at the Pentagon, and one wonders whether the U.S. military will ever be the same. The provision was one of a number of anti-"woke" measures in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act -- including reversing the Pentagon's new abortion-enabling paid travel and leave policies -- that have occasioned sputtering outrage. According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, there's no way that... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week 30

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jul 27, 2023

    Things were bad in Babylon. The king had been dreaming, but had no idea what he dreamt, except that it frightened him. The Chaldean soothsayers were no help. The king grew furious and ordered the death of all the 'wise' men. Daniel asked the King's Captain why this was so urgent. Daniel asked for a stay of execution, headed for home, conferred with his Hebrew companions and "the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision." Daniel 2 Perspective is a valuable game changer. Like louvered... Full story

  • BLAME BOB HOPE

    Paul F. Petrick, Columnist and Attorney, Ohio|Jul 27, 2023

    The twentieth anniversary of Bob Hope's death on July 27th closes the "Season of Hope" that began with Hope's 120th birthday on May 29th. It will not be observed outside of this column, whose author uses Pepsodent toothpaste because it sponsored Hope's radio show. Nevertheless, Hope's influence on America remains. I am not referring to his unparalleled career at the apex of vaudeville, Broadway, movies, radio, and television. I am not referring to stand-up comedy, which Hope concocted by synthes... Full story

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Our Broken Tax System

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Jul 20, 2023

    Nebraska’s tax system is broken and cannot be fixed. Whether it is the Nebraska State income tax, the State sales tax, the property tax, or the inheritance tax, each of these taxes is beyond repair. The State individual income tax is too complex for the average citizen to understand. In order to show this, consider this instruction from the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s own website: “Taxpayers whose federal adjusted gross income is larger than the threshold amount determined under secti... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week 29

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jul 20, 2023

    "Happy are the people who are in such a state [of blessing] as this! Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." Psalm 144:15 is King David's joyous and thankful praise to God for bringing him through years of persecution and years of war into a time of kingdom peace. Throughout First and Second Samuel, we see the phrase "it happened that..." In the Hebrew, this phrase boils down to 'at the appointed time and appointed place' Father God had an event occur. Most often, these are times when, in... Full story

  • Abraham Lincoln: Infidel or Faithful?

    William H. Benson, Columnist|Jul 20, 2023

    The two books that Abraham Lincoln read often and loved the most throughout his life were the King James Bible, published in 1611, and William Shakespeare's works, first published as the First Folio in 1623, both the best of English literary works. There were some-including his law partner in Springfield, Illinois, Billy Herndon- who were convinced that Lincoln displayed little religious faith whatsoever, that he was a skeptic, a thinker who scoffed at organized religion. Hence, Lincoln's... Full story

  • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

    Jul 20, 2023

    Thank you for your continued efforts to highlight the important benefits available to Veterans. Regarding your latest story about the Veteran suicide rate due to Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) or PTSD. The Cheyenne VA Health Care System would like to provide some clarification regarding an inaccurate statement, and we request a correction of the following statement: Inaccurate statement: • Basis (or evidence) for clarification: National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report 2022-National-Veteran-Suicide-Pre... Full story

  • Farm Families Need College to Stay Affordable

    Pete Ricketts, U.S. Senator, Nebraska|Jul 13, 2023

    The deadline for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms for the 2023-2024 academic year recently closed on June 30th. FAFSA is the form students and prospective students fill out to apply for grants, work-study, and low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Education. Before the next FAFSA application cycle opens up on October 1, there is a critical error that Congress must fix to ensure farm families can continue to receive fair consideration of their applications for aid... Full story

  • 22-a-day is Now 43-a-day: We Must Do Better

    A. Marie Hamilton, Sidney SunTelegraph|Jul 13, 2023

    Every 65 minutes, at least one U.S. Military Veteran loses his or her battle to Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) or PTSD; that's roughly 43.3 veterans a day, which is up from 22 a day just two years ago. Recently, someone close to me, a Marine Veteran, was in distress and our community rallied behind this individual to get him help. We utilized a tool I had never known about before: Veterans Crisis Line. The Veteran Crisis Line is open to all U.S. Military Veterans experiencing a... Full story

  • Delta Dawn When the Light Comes On: Week Twenty-eight

    Ivy Joy Johnson, The Joy Mission|Jul 13, 2023

    “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all.” Proverbs 28:6, Matthew 13:11. 2 Peter 1:3 Men (and women) are divinely ‘wired’ to cry out for justice. God shows up and gives them an assignment to carry His Plan into practice. The Bible is full of such instances under the First Covenant. First Kings 18 tells of Elijah who took on Ahab’s wicked government singlehandedly. “These Are the Days of Elijah” by Robin Mark may be sung with gusto, but some may miss the... Full story

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Dannette Smith

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Jul 13, 2023

    Last week Dannette Smith announced her resignation as director of Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) effective August 4, 2023. I was not surprised by the announcement. I am not suggesting that Smith did a poor job as director. Dannette Smith did about as well as any director could have done given the set of circumstances she inherited and the state of affairs of DHHS that she was dealt when she first took over the Department four years ago. DHHS is Nebraska’s largest sta... Full story

  • Our American Flag

    Pete Ricketts, U.S. Senator, Nebraska|Jul 6, 2023

    As we gather to celebrate the birth of our great nation on this Fourth of July, it is an opportunity to reflect upon the values and ideals that have made America the greatest country that has ever existed. For centuries, our American flag has inspired and rallied Americans through times of triumph and tragedy. It reminds us of the sacrifices made to secure our freedoms. It represents the ideals upon which our nation was founded – freedom, justice, and equality – and our perpetual quest to for... Full story

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