SEBRING — Sebring High School sophomore Megan Foster had a surprise Monday for her favorite teacher from eighth grade – Sebring Middle School's Tom Libby. "Oh! Woo! that does look like him," Libby said, after his first glimpse of a painting of Ben Franklin that Foster made for him. "I'm going to get emotional; I feel honored," he added. Over the years, Libby has let his history students know about his fascination with the bespectacled founding father. ...more

June 5, 2008

I have concluded that the old mighty government is fooling no one but itself. ...more

May 22, 2008

When Army Spc. Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and free thinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending. ...more

May 10, 2008

The first day of May is Loyalty Day and is such a day filled with activities designed to involve everyone in a great display of loyalty to our flag and or country. The VFW has fought a long and hard battle to have this day approved by Congress and it not only belongs to the VFW but to each and every American citizen. All staunch Americans must awake and live up to their obligation as responsible citizens if we are to remain free, for only the loyal and responsible fully deserve to be free. ...more

April 25, 2008

Patrons of Centennial Park Library on Tuesday were visited by a facsimile of Benjamin Franklin, one the nation's Founding Fathers and the person responsible for the first public lending library. The portrayal of Franklin was courtesy of Rich Davis of Charleston, S.C. Promoting reading, Davis asked questions throughout his presentation and gave out bookmarks for correct answers. He will bring his presentation to the New River Library on Thursday at 4 p.m. Davis will talk about the life and times of Franklin and his achievements, and will re-enact a science experiment. ...more

January 23, 2008

I read Terri Otterman's column on "A Change We Can Believe In," in Highlands Today and found it very interesting. With the primary elections at hand and all the candidates calling for change, your column was very timely. Without getting overly political, I am leaning toward a Mormon candidate. I wanted to know more about the Mormon church, their mission regarding Christianity and their view on politics. I was pleased to find out through the church's Web site that political neutrality is their position. The church's mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to elect politicians. Many Christians believe the Mormon church to be a cult; it is not. The Mormon church is as much Jesus Christ-centered as any other Christian denominational church. In short, at this time, when we have many voters who lack knowledge of the Mormon church, you could apply your views to your readership. You also must stay neutral in your writings regarding politics. ...more

January 19, 2008

Rob Bell backs James Hibbs op-ed page column against religious zealotry in American public life. ...more

January 8, 2008

Gazing through rose-colored lenses, we should be basking in the glow of American democracy in action during this election season. We should revel in the diversity of the men and women seeking the presidency and marvel at the incredible foresight our founding fathers had so many years ago. We can still do that, of course, but we also must add that a lot of racist baloney is going on by bigots who hate the thought of a black presidential nominee. ...more

January 6, 2008

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee issued a new videotape where he wished Americans a "Merry Christmas." ...more

December 20, 2007

More than 200 years after they were written, huge portions of the papers of America's founding fathers are still decades away from being published, prompting a distinguished group of scholars and federal officials to pressure Congress to speed the process along. ...more

December 15, 2007