Stories from Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving, and it is. One only has to look at parking spaces outside local stores to know that the shopping season is shifting into full gear. It's the season for us to think about what will bring pleasure, in some small way, to our friends and loved ones and show them that we care...

Dear Editor, It is really sad that college football is being dismantled by the likes of ESPN, ABC, FOX sportscasters and the Associated Press writers. Get your head out of the sand and come in out of the rain before you drown. You cannot blame any football team for what some computer has been programmed to say and do...

Several years ago, I used to take my Sunday School class on field trips. They were an enthusiastic bunch, with more than their fair share of energy. We'd take nature walks, which consisted of herding them around four city blocks during each of the four seasons to see the differences in those same four blocks as the year progressed. We took picnic lunches out on the church lawn so that other classes wouldn't be disturbed by our enthusiastic feet. (Our classroom was on the second floor.)...

Wilda May Stanley COLWICH, Kan. -- Wilda May Stanley, 84, of Colwich died Monday (Dec. 3, 2001) at her home. She was born July 28, 1917, on a farm near Cambridge to Charles Wesley and Mable Alice (Sears) Meader. On Oct. 2, 1927, she married Lyle Russell Stanley at McCook. She was a homemaker...

Mara Crawford TOPEKA, Kan. -- Mara Crawford, 49, died Monday (Dec. 3, 2001) at her home in Topeka. She was born Aug. 25, 1952, at Oberlin to Elmer J. and Colleen (White) Kathka. She was raised in Oberlin and graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1970. She attended Kansas State University...