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Impressions

No man is an island; we interact with many people over the course of a lifetime. Most folks, however, leave no lasting footprints in our lives. We appreciate the skill of our dog groomer or our doctor, enjoy joking with the grocery cashier, and fall in love with our 2nd grade teacher. But as the years pass, these interactions fade into memory and the memories get lost in the clutter of time. Two groups of people, however, leave a lasting impression in our lives: Those who hurt us, and those who love us. Some who hurt us intend the hurt. Some are mean people who seem to enjoy creating ...

Amelia Earhart visits Parkersburg

Aviatrix Amelia Earhart was the Taylor Swift of the 1920s and 30s. It was not music but her accomplishments in flying and her charm that made her so famous. She visited Parkersburg, WV, to give a speech at Parkersburg High School on October 30, 1936. That was just months before she and ...

Your exercise program starts now

In less than a month, hundreds of runners and walkers will take to the streets of Parkersburg for the News and Sentinel Half Marathon and The News and Sentinel Two-Mile Race on Aug. 17. If you are a person that takes exercise seriously, you might want to give the half marathon a try. I will not sugar coat it and say that it is easy, it is after all 13.1 miles. It is doable if you are moderately fit. Runners and walkers come in all shapes and sizes. The idea is to have fun, and spending a morning with hundreds of like-minded people is sure to carry you up and over the hills of the ...

The nature of work

When God created humanity, God placed the earth in our care. Genesis 1:28 (NIV) records God’s instructions, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Ruling over the earth requires continuing effort; it’s not a one and done. Mow your grass and get it looking really nice, but in a week or two, you’ll have to do the job again. Plant a garden and make it a showpiece, but get out your hoe and be prepared for the weeds. Houses have to be ...

Encouraging your child’s identity

Who our children become is important to parents, and the level of this importance is seen in how much time, money and effort parents devote to their kids. I put “who” instead of “what” because “what” our kids become is limited to doing - what they do for a career, for a hobby, etc. Who our children become is much broader than this, and includes how they think, act, and what they stand for in their lives. Parents have a huge impact on this. Thinking about your own child(ren), aren’t you more concerned with “who” they become than “what” they become? As a ...

Spice up your salsa with cilantro

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley Farmers and Gardeners! I see many gardeners at work across the Valley as we harvest the season’s first fresh tomatoes and sweet corn. A few calls have come in concerning blight in tomatoes, so I am looking at symptoms of this disease. Late blight symptoms include leaf, stem and fruit lesions on tomatoes that have a water-soaked appearance. The lesions eventually turn brown and the plant looks like it has been frost-damaged or blasted by a blowtorch. Staking tomatoes, adequate spacing and watering at the root level are a few management techniques used to avoid ...