Some Oldsters Have a Lead Foot

I get my paper by mail on the west coast, so I just now read about the traffic arrests over Valentine’s weekend. The article reminded me of a thought I have every time I read the arrest records.  Read More

Oh Brother...

•February 24, 2016•

By Mike Brothers
NP Managing Editor

As we travel through the 40 days of Lent, I am reminded of an Oh Brother Easter.

I was known as Mikey throughout my family then and in some places today. Feazel St. in Harrisburg was still a gravel road, and I remember standing in the front yard dust cloud of the traffic getting my picture taken on Easter.

It is a picture of my teenaged cousin Judy and me dressed in our best church regalia. I have seen it often and have often been reminded of the circumstances that followed.

Circumstances that led me to take the heel of my hand, strike my forehead and, maybe for the first time declare: Oh Brother what have you done!

Judy was the youngest child of my father’s oldest brother Kenneth. Her mother, Wilma, had died very young, leaving Uncle Kenneth the task of raising a teenaged daughter alone. Older brother Dale quickly joined the Air Force and left her alone with dad.

Judy and my mom became close and, as a result, I ended up getting to hang out with her when I was very young. Read More

•February 17, 2016•

By Jerry L. Ginther
New Progress Columnist

Many years ago during the late 70s and early 80s, I took some pleasure in the business of farming.  Having enjoyed the erg classes in Sullivan and belonging to the Future Farmers of America (FFA) during my high school years, I later engaged in the occupation on a small scale, relatively speaking.  I say relatively because when comparing 100 acres to today’s farming operations, it would be considered less than peanuts.

However, it wasn’t my “bread and butter” job but mostly an expensive hobby. My father and brothers all farmed so I thought it was in my DNA. I truly loved it, but due to my more reliable full time job with the railroad, there was no expanding the acreage.

Often, I would have to do my fall plowing at night on my days off.  Moonlit autumn nights were my favorite times to plow. The fragrance of the newly plowed earth hung in the cool, night air. The brilliantly scoured moldboards reflected the moonlight like mirrors when they were raised out of the ground at each end of the field. So bright was the light from the moon that I could plainly see the furrow ahead without using the headlights on the little model A John Deere. Preferring not to use them because of the fog of bugs they attracted, they were only switched on at each end of the field to illuminate the headland for the drive to the other side of the plowed ground.

Of course, with each pass through the field the area of plowed ground increased in width, making the drive across the ends longer. Once the right rear wheel of the tractor was in the furrow and the trip rope pulled, the plow settled back into the ground, and the headlights were extinguished until needed for the next turn around. Read More

•February 10, 2016•

Children’s Museum of Illinois in Decatur has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to encourage families of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. The program will enable low-income families to visit the children’s museum at a reduced rate of $3 with the presentation of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Families may also visit any participating museum year-round for free or reduced admission.

Children’s Museum of Illinois is located at 55 South Country Club Road, next to Scovill Zoo on the shores of Lake Decatur. September through April hours are Tuesday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Open on some Mondays for school holidays. Admission is $5 for everyone ages two and older.

“One group that we want to make sure is able to use the museum frequently is our at-risk families. However, $5 per person can be difficult if that family is near or below the poverty line. Children’s Museum of Illinois is proud to join hundreds of other museums across the United States in the Museums for All Initiative, which provides a discount for attendees that present an EBT or LINK card,” says Kate Flemming, Executive Director. The EBT /LINK discount is available for families of up to four people per card and would lower admission costs to $3 per person aged two and older. Read More

•February 3, 2016•

By Trudy Lieberman
Rural Health News Service

When the presidential race begins to focus seriously on issues, you’re likely to hear a lot about Social Security and to some extent Medicare. The nub of debate will center on two questions: Should we cut Social Security or expand it? Should Medicare beneficiaries assume more of the cost of their healthcare and reduce the government’s obligation over time? The questions are connected.

In a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Andrew Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-of-center think tank, argued that a broadly expanded Social Security program is not necessary and nor can the country afford it. He used a lot of numbers to show the case for expansion “rests on misunderstood data and a willingness to ignore Social Security’s rising unfunded liabilities.” One study he cited showed “about 71 percent of individuals ages 66-69 are adequately economically prepared to retire, given expected consumption.”

Others such as Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor at The New School in New York City, challenges that thinking. Ghilarducci says that income declines with age. As assets are used up, she says, it’s not uncommon for people in their mid and late 70s to make ends meet by skimping on food and medications. She adds that her own studies show “there’s a generation of near retirees, age 55 to 64, who will be worse off than their parents or grandparents in terms of maintaining their standard of living in retirement. Sources of income are more limited and less secure (than they were in the days of fixed pension plans) because they are attached to stock and bond markets.” Read More