I sat at a traffic light at State Road 60 and 22nd Street in Tampa on Thursday as law enforcement agencies escorted a hearse bearing the body of a soldier who had died in service to our country. He was home for burial. I arrived home a short time later and turned on the news to see that numerous brave souls awaiting deployment overseas were killed in Texas. ...more

November 7, 2009

A federal judge has ruled that a rural Panhandle principal and his athletic director did not violate an order against praying in school. ...more

September 17, 2009

It began with a prayer and ended a block away with candles on a sidewalk, the tiny flames twinkling in the breeze. More than 70 Jackson Heights residents gathered Thursday for a vigil in memory of Britney Mills, the 11-year-old girl who died at a city pool on July 9. ...more

July 17, 2009

Dollean Mercer and her friend Dedre Leobold were sitting by their apartment complex pool June 20 when they saw a girl being pulled out of the shallow end. ...more

July 1, 2009

Dollean Mercer and her friend Dedre Leobold were sitting by their apartment complex pool June 20 when they saw a girl being pulled out of the shallow end. ...more

July 1, 2009

Every time I read a letter about the noise at the bombing range, the noise! I think about a friend of mine, Fran, whose husband was stationed here and was an airplane mechanic during World War II. Fran lived in a travel trailer and Wayne, her brother-in-law, was training to be a pilot. When he would come back in from a training mission, he would buzz her trailer and rattle the dishes; she would yell "Wayne I'm going to hit you in the head!" or something like that. ...more

May 21, 2009

Christopher Leto will receive the honor of Eagle Scout this month. The 17-year-old is a member of Troop 217 that is sponsored by St. Paul's Catholic Church. His Eagle Scout project was construction of a prayer walk and garden for the church. ...more

April 15, 2009

WEST TAMPA - Al Noto began the fundraiser for Tampa's MacDonald Training Center 34 years ago. Through the years it has grown to a fundraiser that attracts people from all walks of life, including judges, politicians and civic leaders who come to lend a hand serving spaghetti. ...more

March 31, 2009

Gingerlee Prettymitchell's "Words of Wisdom" published March 17 in the letters to the editor are really "Words of Folly." We can't even call them words of knowledge for she is talking about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and claims Jefferson's words support them. ...more

March 20, 2009

We do have a brilliant, knowledgeable president and an excellent speaker. All these attributes can either be an asset or a liability depending on how they are used. He has and is talking the talk. I hope all of you are joining me in prayer that he will walk the walk. ...more

March 12, 2009