http://www.tribstar.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:34:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_185203528.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_185203528.html One of the things I forgot (or never knew) was the Statue of Liberty’s official name: “Liberty Enlightening the World.”Her French sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholi, bestowed that title upon the monumental work, a gift from the French people that was dedicated in New York on Oct. 28, 1886. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:16:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_183211714.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_183211714.html If you think about it, everything you do is because of some sense of uneasiness or desire to make some improvement in your world. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:22:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_182201744.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_182201744.html Times are tough. This isn’t your father’s rock ’n’ roll fantasy. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_180215236.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_180215236.html It is official: Neither rain, snow, sleet nor a surety bond will keep the United States contract postal unit in 12 Points from making its appointed rounds — or, rather, opening its doors. Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:31:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_178192937.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_178192937.html When news broke about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his affair with a woman from Buenos Aires, I was in a meeting near a television set. As the story unfolded during the governor’s fascinating press conference, I said, “Whenever another one of these guys gets caught, it really brightens my day.” Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:17:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_174231836.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_174231836.html One day from his 84th birthday, Cecil Tilford has learned to be patient. The unofficial “Mayor of 12 Points,” he discovered long ago there is always a lag — often a very long one — between the things official people promise and the promises being kept. Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:08:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_164210618.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_164210618.html I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.” Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:19:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_164172131.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_164172131.html My dad worked at a power plant.But for a kid fascinated by secret-agent shows like “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Mission Impossible,” it looked like a high-security compound. Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:40:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_161224208.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_161224208.html A White Castle hamburger costs 61 cents. Hauteans used to drive 70 miles just to eat them. Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:06:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_160230606.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_160230606.html The news came in a late-night radio broadcast. Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:02:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_156214823.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_156214823.html The Great Flood of 2008 will remain an upper-case memory for many Vigo Countians. We’ll tell, and retell, the stories of what happened to us last June 7. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:52:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_157222503.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_157222503.html What divides us as a people washed away in the floodwater. Neighbors became family. Strangers worked shoulder to shoulder to help others. Some saved lives. Adversity brings out our humanity, and it was never more apparent than a year ago. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:54:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_157215651.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_157215651.html The date had been circled in my agenda planner for weeks. June 6. Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:17:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_154221844.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_154221844.html In another part of the country, some political spin master could pluck a few key words and have a field day. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:48:00 +0000 http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_153224755.html http://www.tribstar.com/opinion_columns/local_story_153224755.html The day after Dr. George Tiller was shot to death in his Wichita, Kan., Lutheran church, the home page of Operation Rescue’s Web site was busy, as usual.