Opinion

Canning or freezing home-grown vegetables is a great way to preserve summer's bounty for year-round enjoyment. For beginners, most experts recommend freezing over canning.

As long as you have plenty of freezer space, this option requires very little initial investment and is a simple and convenient way to preserve fruits and vegetables. Freezing also helps retain the fresh flavor better than canning.

A 2004 stopover at a German family's farm inspired an idea that now has my neighbors talking.

Three years ago, while doing my best to stay on Bavaria's small roads instead of the high-speed superhighways, I pulled my rental car into a gift shop near Lichtenfels in upper Bavaria.

A large half-timbered home there had been transformed into a small lodge and gift shop while the rest of the farm's buildings, including a dairy, small brewery and livestock barns had kept much of their traditional look and use.

Visitors to the last week's Perry County 4-H fair had the chance to see and take part in a variety of activities. Busy 4-H'ers proudly displayed their projects and livestock exhibits. 4-H'ers and visitors took part in games, wrestled hogs, listened to music, saw motocross and demolition derbies and saw young people compete in contests and pageants.

This in response to the piece written by Jim Adkins (July 13 guest column "Baron Hill and Cap and Trade.") It's time for an honest discussion on the American Clean Energy and Security Act rather than a partisan rant.  I'd like to point out a few facts about the bill.  

First off, the energy bill is about protecting our national security and creating jobs.  I, for one, am tired of exporting billions of dollars each year to the Middle East where al Qaeda terrorists use it against us.

Summer is nowhere near its end, but it's speeding by. Don't let the season pass without exploring the varied tastes this time of the year brings, whether in local gardens, farmers markets or roadside stands. For me, mid and late summer are the best times to enjoy the bounty of nature.

Many of us tend to gardens of various sizes and I've already overheard green thumbs bragging about their first batches of green beans, ripening tomatoes and the size of new potatoes unearthed.

"Public Enemies," the latest from director Michael Mann ("Heat," "Collateral"), is a strangely quiet mess of a movie.  I expected the story of popular outlaw John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp in a toned down but enjoyable performance) to be more cinematic and interesting.

I'm not going to weigh in on today's front-page story on the apparent proposal to combine the duties of administrative assistants to county commissioners and the office of planning and zoning.

Commissioners will take up that issue this evening, but one of the topics raised during Wednesday evening's meeting of the plan commission is worth my two cents: that of how positions with the county are advertised and filled.

Perry County is half a world away from the nation and people of Iran, in distance and in culture, but we suspect a good number of our readers have seen or heard about the bravery of the many Iranians who are voicing the need for change in their land. These new revolutionaries offer a glimmer of hope for their nation and the world community.

In the June 11th issue of The News, Democrat (State Rep.) Russ Stilwell wrote a misleading piece titled Governor's budget would hurt Hoosiers. Here is what he didn't tell you.

Gov. Mitch Daniels made an honest attempt to meet House Democrats in the middle but they wouldn't have it. The Democratic proposal violates all of the governor's parameters and will go down in history as the least taxpayer-friendly budget of all time. If this budget is adopted it is a surefire path to the bankruptcies and tax increases that many other states are experiencing.