Columnists
The 2025-2026 Winter Weather Forecast
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn I usually run the winter weather forecast column during the first part of October, but I procrastinated this year because it was so hot then. I figured I’d stand a better chance of getting persimmon seed predictions if I waited until the weather was cooler. (Persimmons don’t usually…
Read MoreAsk Rusty – When Will My Disability Become My Regular Social Security?
Dear Rusty: I hope you can answer this question. I’m currently receiving Social Security Disability benefits, and I will be turning 65 in February 2026. I’m confused as to how Social Security Disability transitions to regular Social Security, and when. I assume it’s age 65 but maybe it’s my retirement date? Also, does the amount…
Read MoreHeady Times for Purdue Basketball As Boilers Start Season No. 1
It’s a season of great expectations for the Purdue men’s basketball team, starting with yet another first for Matt Painter’s program. Until Monday’s release of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll, no Purdue team had ever began the season ranked No. 1. The Boilermakers earned 35 of 61 first-place votes to edge…
Read MoreLETTER PERFECTwolfsie column
There should be a law against having phone numbers that denote words instead of, well, numbers. It’s a phone number, not a phone word. For example, there is a national organization dedicated to educating people about a common, but potentially serious illness. Their phone number spells the name of the disease. Is that an incredible coincidence,…
Read MoreThe Stephenson Jury Delivers Its Verdict
Concluding the trial of D. C. Stephenson and his bodyguards, Earl Gentry and Earl Klinck. . . With the jury finally selected, the trial began in earnest. Emotions were running so high that Hamilton County Sheriff Charles Gooding took to sitting behind the defendants to ensure their safety, something he’d never done before. Although nothing…
Read More‘Soleful’ Sojourn into Solace of Sensational Shoes
Before I wander into this week’s whirl of wonder, let it be known that we, in this United States, have a fond fascination with footwear. So, let’s take a sneak peek into the sanctity of sneakers, slippers and all other sensational shoes and the obsession surrounding them! As far back as I can remember, the…
Read MoreTHE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT
(CURRENT) It’s already October, and I haven’t seen my Christmas Hammacher Schlemmer gift catalog. This historic company is closing. Their publication is 144 years old. And I have been making fun of their quirky gifts for more than two decades. The company has had a good sense of humor about my ribbing. In fact, they sent me…
Read MoreAsk Rusty – Should Spouse Get Half of My Social Security Amount?Â
Dear Rusty: I was referred to you to ask a question about Social Security benefits. I receive about $1,700 a month from Social Security while my husband receives only approximately $750 monthly. Is he entitled to file for half of my Social Security as a monthly benefit without touching my amount? Signed: Curious Wife Dear…
Read MoreLooking Back at Recruiting, Players, Coaches Under Joe Tiller
After back-to-back 9-win seasons and coming off an upset of fourth-ranked Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl, Joe Tiller and his coaching staff thought it was time the Purdue football program reached for the stars: the four- and five-star recruits who could lift the Boilermakers into national prominence. Tiller learned a hard lesson with the…
Read MoreDon’t be a Collywobble, Read Branna
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am the ultimate, often indulgent, word nerd. I pray not to appear as a fopdoodle, making idle claptrack. Oops, there I go again! While we are bringing back the vestige of vintage clothing, why not revisit the vocabulary of days gone by? For those of you not…
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