Opinion: Columns

Kishwaukee United Way received an increase in program funding for the Digital Crossover program through Comcast and Exelon, a combined total of $12,000. The funds will go to decrease the digital gap in DeKalb households by offering supportive services, writes Michele Vaughn.

As a trusted source of tips on being spiritually well, I offer you a time-tested prescription this week.

Menopause is a topic that would not have come up in polite conversation years ago but these days there is more research available, and more attention being paid, to addressing a woman’s physical and mental health needs during this big “change” in her life.

Consciously choosing to think and behave according to your values will have consequences, especially when they are different from those of the people around you.

Opinion: It would be remiss of us not to address the potential effect this tax increase could have on many of our businesses, writes Rose Treml of the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce on a proposed 1% sales tax referendum on the November ballot for DeKalb County public schools.

Opinion: Research shows that about 1/3 of voters do not fill out the entire ballot during a typical presidential election, even though local elections have a much greater effect on our day-to-day living than national elections, writes Lynn Fazekas of the League of Women Voters.

The Loneliness Epidemic has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Surgeon General as a pressing global health threat.

Sterling councilman: Approving the  Public Safety Sales Tax referendum on Nov. 5 will help keep your property taxes lower and free up funds for fire engines and road repairs in Sterling and Rock Falls and other things in other communities.

Several months ago, my husband and I began watching “The Chosen,” a dramatization of the complex lives of Jesus’s disciples.

Cryotherapy will be available soon.

CGH's Sherry DeWalt: Making your own soup from scratch is easier than you think and allows you to control the sodium content and avoid questionable additives.

George Page was a local boy who built a global business empire that included the world’s largest condensed milk factory in Dixon. He certainly left his mark on Dixon and Palmyra and experienced a level of business success that few other locals, if any, have ever achieved.

“Names have power like magic spells.”

Opinion: From harvest festivals and homecoming celebrations to spooky contests and pumpkin parades, there’s something for everyone this month, Katherine McLaughlin of the DeKalb County Convention and Visitor's Bureau writes.

Mangler: We keep upgrading The Dixon so your event experience will be better every visit!

Opinion: To understand the value and power of voting in the United States, it is important to know how our government is organized, writes Cynthia de Seife of the DeKalb County League of Women Voters.

While the Conservation District has many sites that feature accessible trails, campsites, fishing piers, picnic shelters and restrooms, the District continues to look for ways to make all activities more inclusive.

This week, I caught up with a former colleague from The Times Newspaper.

Opinion: Kishwaukee United Way is thrilled to announce the launch of its first DeKalb 211 self-help kiosk experience, made possible by a generous $10,000 grant from the Meta DeKalb Database Center. The kiosks will provide immediate referral assistance for essential services.

Opinion: Candidates can be judged in two ways: the positions they take on issues and the leadership qualities or experience they would bring to the office. Both are important. Christi Slavenas writes for a series of election columns penned by DeKalb County League of Women Voters.

If you have been avoiding exercise because of joint pain, movement restriction or balance issues, give water fitness classes a try.

The Sterling Park District is hosting its 32nd annual Pumpkin Dash from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 5; Haunted Train Walk on the Dillon Home grounds is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct 19.

This past week, my youngest brother turned 48 years old.

In part 1 of this series about George Page, published on Sept. 5, we learned about the meteoric rise of George Page, Dixon’s homegrown mega-successful entrepreneur. In this installment, we learn of his return from Switzerland to Dixon to build his largest condensed milk factory.

Communities that are united and have solidarity are strong communities. Look at what Dixon and Rock Falls have accomplished as one-for-all communities. Sterling could do the same and when they do, the results will be spectacular.

This past week, my husband and I watched “Mission Pluto” on the National Geographic channel.

Considered a hot ticket in the independent music world, Turn Turn Turn will perform Sept. 14 at The Dixon: Historic Theatre.

Examples of grains that go well in salads include brown rice, farro or quinoa. Roasted butternut squash, beets or sweet potatoes also are great for cool weather salads.

The McHenry County Mental Health Board will host its annual Community Connections Summit on Friday, Sept. 13, at McHenry County College.

In all the history of the Dixon area, it’s likely that no other homegrown native has reached such pinnacles of business success as George Ham Page.

Our souls give us the ability to learn, grow, question, study the arts and humanities, science and mathematics – and to find meaning in them – not just as they apply now, but how they have evolved over thousands of generations and numerous civilizations.

The McHenry County Conservation District is helping to reconstruct former prairies, providing new homes for a variety of wildlife species, including the federally endangered rusty-patched bumblebee.

Autumn is written into my bones – so much so that these shifts in the atmosphere that take place each year register deep within my soul.

A new seminar of GriefShare for the Sauk Valley is beginning from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Sauk Valley Community Church.

Opinion: Kishwaukee United Way is preparing to launch a new digital program which will aim to help individuals attain access to basic resources that provide an immediate hand up and not a hand out, writes Michele Vaughn.

On Thursday, Aug. 29, The Dixon: Historic Theatre will again show "Reagan" in the theater that President Reagan used to sit in.

Beyond Trim: Working our body against resistance, whether you use machines, free weights, resistance bands or your own body weight, ensures our muscles will be able to handle the tasks of daily life well into our golden age.

The Methodists were the first to organize in 1837, but the Baptists and Episcopalians would soon follow. All these churches would share the use of Dixon’s first school house, erected in 1837.

Gus Walz showed the world this week what it means to live with embodied heart.

Opinion: A special thank you to all of you who make DeKalb County such a wonderful place. It has been an honor to serve with you, writes outgoing DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory.

Opinion: As a student, I saw Northern Illinois University as an opportunity to learn for my future career, grow outside of my hometown, meet new people and experience new things. Let's help welcome the latest group to DeKalb, writes Anna Wilson of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce.

What is your favorite thing about being alive?

CGH healthy lifestyles coordinator: Since water is the most important nutrient for humans to consume, it’s good to know that watermelon is over 90% water by weight. What a tasty way to hydrate!

The Dixon: Historic Theatre on Aug. 22 will show the new movie, “Reagan,” on its enormous screen with its state-of-the-art sound system. The film premiered in Los Angeles at the Ronald Reagan Public Library.

Challenge your students to not only improve their attendance from the previous year but also be under a reasonable number of missed days, McHenry County regional schools Superintendent Diana Hartmann writes.

Opinion: Locally, units of government aim for transparency. Some achieve better results than others, but it would be almost impossible without local media, writes DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory.

Sterling alderman: Rockford, Sycamore, Mt. Morris, Dixon, Rock Falls, and now Sterling are discussing creating the right incentives to stimulate a stagnant housing development market.

When was the last time you gave your soul a nature bath?

Wadsworth: When did the frontier town of Dixon first “get religion?” What denomination was the first to get established here? How did it happen? Did the town oppose the early religious folks? I researched a variety of sources, such as early church records, to find the answers.

It is an election year, and you know what that means. We are submerged in a sea of soul-depleting negative energy. There seems to be no escape from it.