The first time I met Les Stehr I thought he was a rather grumpy fellow and, at least on a superficial level, my first impressions were correct. (But, as bartender Tamara Dedmon points out, most of his gruffness was just show.)
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updated 2:22 PM February 7, 2012
Our state constitution is clear: Education is the “paramount duty” of the state. The recent state Supreme Court decision in McCleary vs. State of Washington reaffirmed what many of us already knew to be the case – K-12 basic education is not being amply provided for in the state budget. The solution to this is to fund education first.
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updated 2:16 PM
February 7, 2012
In the 16 months I’ve had the pleasure of being your community newspaper publisher, I’ve become close with readers in all four of the cities we serve: Enumclaw, Bonney Lake, Buckley and Sumner. I’ve spent an extra bit of time with the folks down in Sumner, our newest market among the four.
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updated 2:12 PM
February 7, 2012
World War II was the most awesome and heinous event in the whole of human history. Though it lasted only six years, the carnage slaughtered 50 to 60 million people, 20 million in Russia alone. It created and nursed atrocities so hideous it’s difficult to believe human beings were actually reduced to such vile depths.
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updated 1:07 PM
January 31, 2012
Last week the governor did the right thing in declaring a state of emergency in western Washington. An unprecedented ice storm provided more than a home preparedness dry run.
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updated 12:56 PM
January 31, 2012
I’m trying to decide between meatloaf or sausage-scallop linguine, chocolate chip cookies or zucchini bread. Or, let’s see, there’s red velvet cake, hot wings, fried rice, stuffed peppers and of course, Jim’s New York cheesecake.
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12:54 PM
January 31, 2012
Once upon a time, I had a cute, 2003 Pontiac Sunfire that was a fun little car that hauled me back and forth across America a couple of times and recently turned over 93,000 miles. (As you may have guessed, “had” is the critical word here.)
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3:17 PM
January 25, 2012
Alternative educational programs are changing in Washington state. No longer just for teen parents or kids with substance abuse or behavioral issues, a wide variety of options are available for any student or family that doesn’t fit the “traditional” or “mainstream” school model.
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updated 11:14 AM
January 17, 2012
Last week I offered a capsule review of three generations of the Morris family in Black Diamond. The patriarch, Jack Morris, beget Evan Morris who, along with his other business enterprises, founded TRM Lumber with his nephew in 1969. Today, TRM is owned and operated by Evan’s son, John Morris.
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updated 11:01 AM
January 17, 2012
Some smart guy told me once that myths are supposed to tell you something about yourself, some deep secret. Most deep secrets about myself I would rather not know. Let it all stay repressed and out of the way. I do like reading myths, however.
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10:58 AM
January 17, 2012
I really like the month of January, named after the mythological two-faced God whose gaze went forward (to the future) and backward (to the past) and was responsible for beginnings and transitions.
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10:54 AM
January 10, 2012