National Award-winning,
Family-run Newspaper
Family-run Newspaper
|
I have developed a very special talent in my happy golden years. I can hide things… from myself!
Oh, yes, I know you’re thinking, how is such a thing possible? Allow …
more
Kathy Werner
|
12/12/25
|
|
A spy kit for spying.
A real monster truck.
A hockey stick.
A make-up kit.
A remote-control airplane.
An Alexa of his very own so he doesn’t have …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
12/9/25
|
|
When I first became a fan of stand-up comedy, I studied the very best. George Carlin was my Comedy 101 guide and helped shape my views of the genre. One of George's well-known bits was about phrases …
more
Guest Columnist Mike Werner
|
12/5/25
|
|
There are things you mean to do. Then there are the things you actually do.
Somewhere in the middle is a passport that expired two years ago sitting in a drawer.
I'd been meaning to renew …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
12/2/25
|
|
A sea of presents scattered by Santa beneath the Christmas tree.
Claiming a bunk in your first college dorm room.
Leaping off the train into the arms of your partner when you're making it …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
11/25/25
|
|
I like to talk to people and I think people like to talk to me. Not bragging, exactly. It …
more
Kathy Werner
|
11/21/25
|
|
It’s that time of year when all the money you’ve poured into your stomach over the past few months finally pays off.
Stores are putting on their best Oprah impressions to celebrate …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
11/18/25
|
|
I just returned from a quick trip to Toronto, a beautiful Canadian city on cold and windy Lake Ontario. My daughter Liz was attending a conference there and I like to tag along when I can. …
more
Kathy Werner
|
11/14/25
|
|
I’m not sure how many episodes into our latest binge watch we were when we first spotted it.
There, on the screen, walking through a Los Angeles police station, was a main character …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
11/11/25
|
|
Sicily had put us through our paces, but what a wonderfully interesting place to visit. The sheer amount of people who had invaded, ruled, and fought over this island at the bottom of Italy …
more
Kathy Werner
|
11/7/25
|
|
Twenty-three dollars and one cent.
That’s how much money a Sullivan County adult living on their own with no dependent children would have to make per hour at a full-time job to …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
11/4/25
|
|
I got to visit my first volcano on our trip to Sicily in September. Mount Etna is the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, and we could see it from our hotel balcony in Taormina. …
more
Kathy Werner
|
10/31/25
|
|
Who should I vote for?
With Election Day staring us in the face, it’s both a question on minds across the county right now and one we better answer quickly.
When it comes to …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
10/28/25
|
|
On day four of our Sicilian adventure, we traveled via bus from Palermo to Taormina with a brief stop in Cefalú. This beach town has a very laid-back vibe above which towers an ancient …
more
Kathy Werner
|
10/24/25
|
|
I was scrolling through the podcast options on Spotify, looking for something that would keep us entertained for the long drive back from our daughter’s college, when I spotted a name that …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
10/21/25
|
|
One of the most fascinating parts of our Sicily trip was visiting the Trapani Salt Pans and the Museo del Sale (Salt Museum). The long history of salt-making on the west coast of Sicily from Trapani …
more
Kathy Werner
|
10/17/25
|
|
You don’t need to spot them from a mile away — you can hear them. “I have to pick her up from the bus in Monti-chell-o,” the woman says to her friend as they wander the store, …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
10/14/25
|
|
Our second full day in Sicily began with a two-hour bus ride from Palermo to Agrigento to see the remarkable Valley of the Temples. These Greek ruins date from the 5th Century BCE, the era …
more
Kathy Werner
|
10/10/25
|
|
There’s a certain kind of mother you see in the movies.
Her kids are grown, and she desperately wants to connect with them. They come to dinner, and she shares all the news of the …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
10/7/25
|
|
Our trip to Sicily was a “hub and spokes” tour. This means that you stay in one place (the hub) and take daily trips (the spokes) to see the sights. For our first four nights, we …
more
Kathy Werner
|
10/3/25
|
|
One thousand four hundred and forty-two. That’s how many tornadoes have ripped through spots in the US this year.
Seven have hit New York State so far.
The one that hit …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
9/30/25
|
|
I’m not sure which gave me more hope.
Was it the little girl marching away from the Western Sullivan Public Library’s booth at the Jeff Jamboree, a book tucked beneath each …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
9/23/25
|
|
The first thing I noticed about the tiny little hand poking out the tractor window was the face behind it smiling down at my camera and me.
The second thing was the dirt, traces of it …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
9/16/25
|
|
Nothing could be more enjoyable than a laid-back afternoon spent wandering through downtown Callicoon.
Callicoon remains the lively town I knew in my youth, although of course the stores …
more
Kathy Werner
|
9/12/25
|
|
Standing in the pouring rain on Monticello’s Broadway on Saturday, I had just one thought: Not again!
The Sullivan County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association and the Monticello Fire …
more
Jeanne Sager
|
9/9/25
|