“My life is really quite conservative. I’ve been married nearly 50 years. I don’t have hobbies or children. I don’t much care to travel. I’ve never had a big social […]
“Most other competitions are individual achievements, but the Olympic Games is something that belongs to everybody.” – Scott Hamilton, U.S. Olympic gold medalist in figure skating “The best kids are […]
By Paul Lockwood “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” – Ben Franklin Was Ben Franklin right? Am I healthy? Somewhat. Wealthy? Not […]
By Paul Lockwood “Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.” – Mahatma Gandhi I grew up as the son of a United Methodist minister, but for over 15 […]
“…somewhere out there a lucky person is moving closer and closer to the most sought-after prize in history. Though we cannot help but envy whoever he is, and we may […]
“The problem with winter sports is that – follow me closely here – they generally take place in the winter.” – Dave Barry “A lot of people like snow. I […]
By Paul Lockwood As I write this column, it occurs to me that Wednesdays this month have ranged from: Horrifying (the deadly assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6), to […]
“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” – Meryl Streep “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive […]
“Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules. They apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. […]
Black Lives Matter. “I can’t breathe.”It doesn’t matter which of those three-word phrases causes the most vivid images to come to mind. The first sentence should be a given. And […]
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.
