Tammy Taylor

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Grandma’s Recipes | Mark’s Remarks

My grandmother was a fantastic cook. Good cooks ran in her family, and I sorta think they may all have tried to outdo one another at times. One great-aunt (her…

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Linda | Mark’s Remarks

When I was hired as a teacher 25 years ago, I was in my early 20s. I knew very little and I moved to a strange town two hours away…

Religion of peace? Not so much | Planet Ryan

In the wake of the tragic terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 10 employees of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, plus two police officers who tried to stop them,…

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A clean slate | Mark’s Remarks

Right before Christmas vacation, I encourage my students to clean out their lockers and get organized. “It’s nice to come back after vacation and have everything neat and tidy,” I…

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Lists and priorities | Mark’s Remarks

Everybody does it. You look toward a new year and start thinking about changes. You start making mental lists of what you would like to change and what you would…

The black box | Planet Ryan

I waited until the last minute of this week’s early deadline to write my column because it evolves around yet another “missing” jumbo airliner in the same general area as…

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The case for Santa | Mark’s Remarks

Santa Claus can become a very touchy subject for some.  There are people who are very torn about the whole thing. As with many things in my life, I have…

Pioneers of the Illinois Frontier, part III

by Deborah Heal James and Isabelle Garretson and the other families had come to the Illinois Country in 1782, thinking that with the Revolutionary War over, they were fairly safe…

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The Last Three Letters of Christmas | Mark’s Remarks

This is my final column in a series I’ve been writing based on Hank Hanegraaff’s book called “The Heart of Christmas.” As I’ve said the past two weeks, I hope…

Above and Beyond | Planet Ryan

Have you ever had someone go out of their way to do something so nice that it left you with a smile on your face, a renewed faith in humanity…