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Community Voices

Recognizing red flags of teen dating violence

Teen dating violence has become more recognized and there is a nationwide initiative to increase awareness and education about the dangers of teen dating abuse. In 2006 the first National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Week was held. Since then, the month of February has been recognized nationally for bringing awareness to teen dating violence. The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” stands true to what we want for our youth and teens in all aspects of life. Teaching youth and teens about healthy boundaries and relationships with themselves and others is one of the most ...

President’s Day: A time to reflect on national leadership

Monday will be Presidents Day, an ideal time to think about our perspective on the nation’s highest office. I’ve seen a big change in my lifetime in regard to how people view the presidency. When I was growing up, I had a book with biographies of all the Presidents. I memorized their names and the years that they served. I’ve never forgotten that. The presidency was considered a vital part of our society. We looked up to our president. That’s why people felt betrayed by Nixon during Watergate. I remember when Watergate hearings were taking up most of the daytime ...

Parental arguments can harm children

Not all homes are happy homes, and not all marriages are happy marriages. Unfortunately, whether homes are happy or not, there are frequently children involved. Whatever the problems are in the home, that is the environment in which the children grow and develop. Parents are role models. The father is the child’s prototype male relationship, and the mother is the child’s prototype female relationship. Children watch their parents interact, show affection or not, show how to resolve problems and differences, display a work ethic, and so many other things. What the children see ...

Bishops urge administration to revise immigration order involving Catholic church or school property

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.” — Leviticus 19:33 (NAB-RE) Sadly, our nation’s immigration system is broken. For too long, our laws on paper said “stop, no entry,” while in fact, for economic and political reasons, undocumented migrants were allowed inside, sometimes with the encouragement of business interests and even our government. As Pope Francis has said, migrants have been too often treated “as pawns on the chessboard of humanity.” Elected officials in both major political parties have failed to rise above political ...

Facing the Valentine’s Day rule

Valentine’s Day is upon us, that annual holiday wherein we are required by law to express our undying love and devotion to our Significant Others. Failure to comply with this law is punishable by a lengthy banishment to the doghouse. I once pointed out to my wife that this rule is unevenly enforced, that males tend to be found in violation a lot more often than females. Much to my delight and surprise, I found a box of chocolates on my desk the next Valentine’s Day. My delight was dimmed somewhat when I opened it and discovered that all of the pecan clusters – my wife’s ...

Trump chaos changing our country

I remember as a kid hoping that between chores and supper, I could watch Walter Cronkite give the news on our black and white television. Yeah, I was a geek. I’ve been a news junkie ever since. I get that not everyone is so obsessed. If you have kids at home, maybe working two jobs, you might not follow the news like I do. It would be easy to not know we are in one of the most unprecedented times in our history. And the lives of those kids you’re cleaning up after will be altered because of this. First off, whenever I mention Donald Trump, I get texts from a couple friends ...