Hasn’t it been great having the Opera House back for the holidays? Whatever would we do without it? Although some fall shows had to be rescheduled to ensure appropriate sound and lighting are ready, programming resumed in mid-October as finishing touches were being made on the $4.5 million renovation of the 1889 landmark. Work on […]
Giving has many facets. A gift can be wrapped with a bow. It can be a financial contribution – say to a nonprofit, church, college, or university. It can also be a giving of time, talent, or kindness. And a gift can be …. (yours to finish.) There’s a tremendous focus on gifts and giving […]
This is the season when Woodstock shines – literally. With the Lighting of the Square on the day after Thanksgiving, we officially launch the holiday season in spectacular fashion. In addition to the thousands who attend the event in the downtown, countless hundreds more come to Woodstock during the following weeks, the Square becoming a […]
Do you consider trash and garbage to be the same thing? They seem to have been used interchangeably during the recent public debate on Woodstock’s new 10-year agreement with refuse hauler MDC Environmental Services. Personally, I’ve tried to keep them separate, as we did in my household while growing up in the 1950s (pre-garbage disposal […]
Has our fondness for Woodstock blinded us to the realistic development potential in our community of 26,000 people? We might have had a hint a few years ago when the city was unable to find a private investor to develop commercial use of the Old Courthouse and Sheriff’s House that the city had restored for […]
The third cloudy, damp, and dismal day in a row in mid-November gives one time to reflect and ask oneself, “Have I finished all my garden tasks for the year?” There are tasks to be done before the first hard freeze and a few afterward. A hard freeze occurs when the temperature drops to 28 […]
I came across the term “Third Place” recently and looked up the reference: “American sociologist Ray Oldenburg developed the notion of a ‘Third Place’ as ‘a space for informal, free social interaction.’” It’s called “Third Place” because it’s outside of the two main “places” most people have – home and work. Basically, it’s a place […]
“It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country go, for healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on Social Security, […]
I didn’t think I’d have to write about this again. But here we are. It’s time — again — to talk about using the word “retarded” as an insult. The new and updated version also includes calling someone mentally impaired as an insult. In the last weeks of the campaign, both versions came from none […]
Recent travels brought my husband, Tom, and me closer to devastation than we expected. Tom and I planned a motorcoach guided tour from Oct. 13 to 25 that would visit major tourist spots in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The final stop scheduled for Oct. 23-24 was Asheville, NC. When we saw news reports of […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
