About: Margaret Vander Weerdt

Veterans Day is next week. Thank you to all our veterans for their selfless dedication and commitment to their country. All our courageous folks out there, whether past or present, man or woman, you are all included in a big thank you. I have learned many things about veterans this past year. It all started a...

If there is no other reason to vote next Tuesday, it should be in celebration of the end of all the negative campaigning. I’m quite tired of all the “she said, he said, they said, and nobody said” stuff on TV, on radio, printed, and in my mailbox. You may be thinking I shouldn’t be...

Phyllis Diller once said, “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.” She was so right because I recently read, when you laugh you make more than a sound. Experts on the matter say your body is in on the joke, too. First, a laugh builds in your chest and throat. Then your belly begins...

Okay, I have the message. Most people in the area really like the fall season because they have told me so since my Oct. 2 column. They especially like it because it is harvest season, and fall finds them in the fields culminating their year’s work. It finds them getting their questions answered: “I wonder...

It’s National Newspaper Week, Oct. 5-11. I am sharing some inklings from various articles written to commemorate the special week. Newspapers are community. Living in a community is special. Everyone wants to have a sense of home, a place where they can be involved, and where getting to know neighbors is a blessing, not something to...

The fall season is here and that makes me unhappy for three reasons. The first reason is the obvious: Fall means my least-favorite season of winter is next. Fall trumpets the relentless march towards winter, towards four o'clock dusks, and icy pavements. The second reason for my unhappiness this fall is my favorite fall foliage tree has...

September is almost over but it’s not too late to mention that September is National Chicken Month. Roasted, pan-fried, grilled, in a soup, or rolled into enchiladas — the options are endless. You could eat chicken all month and never have it the same way twice. Personally, I have an aversion to live chickens as...