As the past Falmouth District Supervisor, I am writing in response to Harvey Gold’s Dec. 25 column (Board can take tips from Berra).

Handling a gun, for those who must, is a responsibility.

Only in our brave new world…2010.

We’re saying goodbye to the first decade of the 21st century and here we are, after 10 years, still debating about what to call it. This problem is far from unique. From everything I have been able to find out, our great-grandparents, a hundred years ago, faced the same problem. It may be one of those questions that never find a satisfactory resolution.

Those who don’t take care of their teeth, either because of cost or indifference, run the risk of serious medical emergency, as evidenced by a Westmoreland County man who recently ended up with a $43,992 bill because he didn’t have the $25 for a follow-up dental appointment at the Northern Neck Free Health Clinic.

It seems to me…As 2009 and another decade steals away I can almost hear the plaintive sounds of Woody Guthrie and his guitar and his words and music saying goodbye to bad times. Woody sang, “So long it’s been good to know you” saying goodbye to the Dust Bowl, the Depression, mass unemployment and poverty. He told the heartbroken story of folks leaving their homes to seek better lives anyplace but where they lived.

We’re saying goodbye to the first decade of the 21st century and here we are, after 10 years, still debating about what to call it. This problem is far fom unique. From everything I have been able to find out, our great-grandparents, a hundred years ago, faced the same problem. It may be one of those questions that never find a satisfactory resolution.

Admittedly, $14,000 may be chump change for the wealthy, but it’s real money, even for those of us around here on government payrolls or drawing comfortable federal pensions.

Resident addresses officials

Dear Mr. Reid and Speaker Pelosi: I wish to officially offer for sale our votes to you to use in any manner you see fit. After seeing how you are buying the votes of our elected representatives, I conclude that you are not looking to stop your buying spree at the walls of the Capitol.

A new year is upon us, as is a new decade. It’s a time when many of us take the time to look back at all that’s occurred over the year, as well as the past 10 years, and we also take time to look ahead at what is to come.

Local residents ready for health care reform

When I knocked on hundreds of doors in Stafford County this summer, local people were ready for major reform of our health care system. As an intern with a social justice organization I asked hundreds of local residents about the issues that they cared about.

A snowstorm hits the East Coast, affecting numerous localities, including Stafford. A white, but wet Christmas is now predicted.

It seems to me…when Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” he had the Stafford County Board of Supervisors in mind.

The December holiday season is a time meant for joyful celebration, worship, expressions of love and appreciation, self-examination and commemoration. If not handled well, however, it can be a time of extreme stress, overspending, gluttony, loneliness and even suicide.

It’s a common complaint. Parents have been doing this for at least the past 40 years —  moaning about the ever-increasing complexity of Christmas gifts.

As Christmas approaches this week, a winter wonderland of snow has covered Stafford and its surrounding area in a sea of white. This extra touch adds beauty to the holidays, when we hold our loved ones close, and it’s now that we often reflect upon the blessings that bring us together.

When asked, most people can easily name their favorite thing about Christmastime.

Editorial cartoon drawn by Frank Lewis for the Stafford County Sun.

Economic hard times, two wars, the environment in trouble. It’s enough to make you feel like the Grinch.

An indication that we’re coming out of the recession is said to be the crowded parking lots again at major airports. Maybe so, particularly over the holidays.

In this season of Santa Claus and little elves, let me suspend belief and make a wish list of how to spend the mysterious $6.2 million dollar surplus that the county has discovered.

Big and little white reminders can come in all different sizes this season, like this morning, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, here in Stafford, Virginia where we have been having snow all which will then turn into ice. Now is the time and a good idea to just get ready for ice and snow! Life can be disrupted with the changes our temperatures.

It seems to me that the state of our economy can only be improved with the ability of the private sector to provide jobs in all sectors of U.S. industry.

The first snow of the winter fell upon us this past weekend.

Cartoon

I’m frustrated. The story about the missing $5.6 million that neither the schools system nor the county has been able to explain, just doesn’t seem to get resolved…until now?

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of National Adoption Day, held late last month.

Smoking ban a long awaited relief
Virginia’s smoking ban in restaurants, which kicked off Tuesday, is a long-awaited, welcome relief.

Having spent a working career writing about and editing and publicizing the results of scientific inquiry, I’d guess those new revelations of monkeyshines among the world’s most eminent climate scientists come as a shock to many.

Only in our brave new world…