The holiday season can be stressful for people struggling to provide good meals for their families. ...more

November 14, 2009

Local residents heard of U.S. Army Spec. Eric Lembke's death while serving in Afghanistan, and they were saddened to hear the news. ...more

October 26, 2009

Every community has an identity. Sometimes that identity is negative, sometimes it's so-so and other times it's something special. In Sebring, that image is all about international car racing and to the people who care about fast cars and a historic, grueling 12-hour race, nothing is better than the 12 Hours Of Sebring. ...more

March 18, 2009

What a wonderful experience we had last month at the Sebring Civic Center, listening and dancing to the Highlandaires, the local big band group. It was sad, however, to see the lack of people who showed up to support this amazing group. I cannot understand how a group of this caliber is not drawing crowds at each and every performance. To see eight musicians in concert and the talent of these Highlands County musicians go un-noticed is unbelievable to say the least. ...more

February 9, 2009

Dog's Peaceful Goodbye Normally in this space, letters appear to voice a complaint, take a stand on a matter or respond to an article. This letter is written for a totally different reason: to publicly thank some very special people for the caring, understanding and compassion shown us through a very difficult time. ...more

January 21, 2008

Patrice Koerper was general manager for public relations and partnerships for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System when she decided to join the Peace Corps. ...more

January 10, 2008

My husband, Hugh, and I moved to Temple Terrace on Dec. 26, 1959. ...more

November 7, 2007

Nov. 15, 1997 was a special day our family will long remember. With the words, "I do," our youngest daughter and the love of her life became man and wife –– a brand new family of two ready to step out on their own. At the reception, the groom danced with his mother to the song she requested. It was "I'll Be Home for Christmas." His birthday is Dec. 24. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Photos of the day can still be found throughout our home nearly 10 years after the event. They now share space with photos of the two children who eventually made them a family of four. As our daughter and son-in-law prepare to celebrate their 10th Anniversary, we find ourselves naturally thinking back on their wedding day. We recall dancing together to "New York! New York!" and Bill dancing with Lyn's Mom to "Chicago, My Kind of Town." Ah, yes, all wonderful memories to treasure. And then, there's the memory of a somewhat unusual incident that's lasted in a most unique way. Minutes before our daughter was to toss her cascading bouquet of roses and ivy into the eager arms of one of her bridesmaids, Lyn retrieved a small scissors from her purse. She quietly proceeded to snip off many long strands of the green ivy. The bride, her grandmother, and father looked on in wonder. Lyn merely said, "Trust me." ...more

November 2, 2007