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Letters to the Editor

Lisons cancel train show

We regret that we will not be able to have a train show this year at the Florence County Library as in the past. Both I and my wife, Melissa Lison, have had some major health issues much of this year, several still continuing. This has not allowed us to be able to get the show together this year. We both are trying to be on the mend. Hopefully we will feel better next year and the train show can resume. Toy and model train fans can still join us at our home to see the progress on our HO and Lionel layouts. Merry Christmas to all and thank you to all the folks who attended over the ...

Diversity’s role in democracy

Is diversity important in a successful democracy? The definition of diversity is: the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social or ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, cultures, sexual orientations, ethnicities, etc. It appears to me that a very significant reason our country rose to the height it has is because of our diversity contributing in the areas of science, literature and civil disagreement. The end of Jim Crow laws, women’s right to vote, fairer labor laws and workplace safety, are a few examples of diversity in ...

Chicago area a ‘war zone’ because of ICE presence

My family is living in a “war zone,” but not in another country, right here in America — in Waukegan, Illinois! Waukegan, a northern suburb of Chicago, is a predominantly Latino community, full of hard-working, Christian families. It was a peaceful place to raise a family … until President Donald Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the Chicagoland area. On Sept. 8, the Department of Homeland Security officially announced the start of Operation Midway Blitz, targeting “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago.” The federal campaign ...

County board off base on public comment plans

As a former Dickinson County Commissioner who helped draft the board’s bylaws, I’m alarmed by the proposal to amend them to dictate what visitors wear, how they address commissioners and how long they may speak. Bylaws exist to govern the conduct of the board — not to control the public. The people who attend meetings aren’t intruders; they are owners of the government and commissioners conduct business in their name. Faith communities welcome people as they are; our county meetings should, too. The right to access, address or petition county government should never be qualified ...

Escalating medical insurance costs

The open enrollment period for Medicare policies started Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7. So my spouse and I went to the Medicare site to review our Medigap and drug insurance policies. We started with the drug plan and saw a nice surprise. The monthly cost was going down by $2, a reduction of 2%. Not a huge amount. I would have been satisfied with a 2% increase. Inflation is always present, moving costs up. Our attention then turned to the Medigap policy. All I can say is ouch. It went from $117/month to $181. This is a 54% increase in the monthly cost, or $64. The Federal Government ...

Let’s reclaim our voice, vote as founders intended

Sept. 17 was Constitution Day, a day meant to celebrate the founding of the highest law of our country. It’s worth remembering that our founders gave us a republic grounded in self-government, where, through our elected representatives, We The People decide the laws that govern us, including our election laws. But today, thanks to a series of misguided Supreme Court decisions, Congress and the states are prohibited from setting limits on campaign spending. Now billionaires and special interest groups flood our elections with unlimited money while the rest of us are drowned out. This ...