The poppy came to symbolize the blood shed during battle following the publication of the wartime poem “In Flanders Fields.” The poem was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D. while serving on the front lines. In 1924, the distribution of poppies became a national program of The American Legion. Photo illustration by Annie Spratt on Unsplash. The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them? They have a silence that speaks for them at night... Columns 09 Nov 2021 | 10:08
Photo illustration Orange County Democrats oppose Anti-VAX resolution proposed by the County Legislature In response to the Times Herald-Record story this week about the Republican Anti-VAX Resolution being proposed in the Orange... Columns 22 Sep 2021 | 12:11
Carl Corcoran at the memorial to the Rev. Mychal Judge OFM, chaplin to the FDNY and son of immigrants, at the priest’s ancestral home in Ireland. Judge was killed on Sept. 11, 2001. ‘In the face of unfathomable loss, we rose as one’ I was home from America barely two years when the world changed, on that sunny Autumnal morning (afternoon Irish time). We... Columns 27 Aug 2021 | 12:13
Not fake news In this era of “alternative facts” and “fake news” it is sometimes extremely difficult to debate a point even when you have... Columns 23 Aug 2021 | 11:15
What’s next for newspapers as COVID news cycle fades The Press & Journal, a weekly paper covering Middletown, a small town near Pennsylvania’s capital, folded in July 2020 because... Columns 21 Jul 2021 | 05:30
Source: nps.gov Celebrating the most American of freedoms The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence knew what they were getting into. As we celebrate the 4th of July 245... Local News 28 Jun 2021 | 12:11
Randy Resnick is a mainstay of Sullivan County’s business scene. Short-term pain, long-term sacrifice New York lawmakers are proposing a new way to tax you. Take a close look at the proposed Carbon Tax, now pending in the New... Columns 14 May 2021 | 12:33
Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, asking if Santa Claus was real in September 1897. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun and the quick response was printed as an... Columns 10 Dec 2020 | 12:49
‘Our children are watching” To our beloved Orange County, As James Baldwin said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed... Columns 12 Jun 2020 | 02:06
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York: “I am eager to share some good news. Daily Mass began earlier this week in the parishes of the archdiocese in Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster, Orange, Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties, and Sunday Mass will begin in those same counties this Sunday, June 14.” Mass resumes at Catholic Churches in Orange County this Sunday, June 14 Cardinal Timothy Dolan released the following missive on Friday, June 12: Because the news headlines of the past few months... Columns 12 Jun 2020 | 11:08
America honors the Class of 2020 Last weekend’s massive virtual graduation for high school and college seniors carried a message of community at a time when... Columns 18 May 2020 | 02:11
Soldiers gargle with salt and water to prevent influenza. Sept. 24, 1918. Camp Dix, New Jersey, during the 1918-19 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Deja vu The “Spanish flu” pandemic struck with lethal force in 1918 and infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide, about... Columns 06 May 2020 | 11:18
Photo illustration ( Photo illustration) Roads are a quality of life issue What’s the first thing we notice when driving? The condition of the road. Our roads really matter in people’s day-to-day life,... Home 06 Mar 2020 | 02:01
Photo illustration ( Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash) My Turn/State Sen. Jen Metzger The bail reform law passed last year sought to fix a system that practically everyone, including District Attorneys and law... Home 03 Mar 2020 | 10:48
This is just one of the portraits of Santa Claus created by Thomas Nast (1840-1902), the editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon." ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus' The letter: Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in... Home 13 Dec 2019 | 01:09
