Greg Dennis: Should we close some of our schools?

When I was a little 15-year-old, the powers-that-be in my small town decided to consolidate our schools. It caused a lot of anguish for many parents, who were suddenly faced with seeing their children schooled in a different building in a different town. Consolidation also prompted students to scream. Those of us on the basketball team didn’t want to exchange our proud blue-and-white uniforms for purple-and-gold, and neither did the cheerleaders. (No girls’ teams in those days.) But the financial arguments … (read more)

My neighbor and I are at the northwest corner of my three acres, clearing out buckthorn. We stack that prickly invasive into piles of brambly cover for birds and other critters. We’re clearing out the buckthorn to provide a more gracious procession of big … (read more)

I’ve been patient, I really have. I don’t bring it up with friends anymore. I no longer ask strangers for donations. But my campaign is going nowhere. So I figure it’s time to make some noise. Starting with this reminder to the Lamestream Media: I’m runni … (read more)

A friend who works in academia told me that, having gained the job security of tenure, they have decided to write less about stuffy intellectual topics and more about low-brow subjects. (1) An added advantage to my friend’s new writing approach: They don’ … (read more)

The old joke goes that the only time you need to lock your car doors in Vermont is during the summer, because if you leave your car unlocked someone will fill it with extra zucchini from their garden. Now there’s a new plant that’s becoming just as common … (read more)

In the race against time that is the worldwide effort to avoid the worst of climate change, there’s a lot to despair. Sometimes it seems every day brings more bad news about the seeming inevitability of global heating, food shortages and chaotic mass migr … (read more)

President Trump and his MAGA cult claim to hate social media. Liberals worry that it’s stealing their privacy. The El Paso mass murderer used it to spread lies he had read online about an “invasion” at our southern border. Older folks say they’re baffled … (read more)

It’s said that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time to plant a tree? Today. So it is with climate change. If our society had decided 20 years ago to do something substantial about climate change, we would be much safer now. … (read more)

There’s a new parlor game among progressives these days, a question we often ask each other: Do you have a favorite candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination? Let’s call it “Worried Liberals Frantically Search for a Credible Candidate Who Won’t … (read more)

Regarding the article “A late bid for the presidency” by Gregory Dennis, published June 27: Thank you! Thank You, Mr. Dennis and the Addison Independent, which facilitated this via publication. Since the tragic and sorrowful incident and picture of a youn … (read more)