Free Republic

Live and learn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 7, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com During the Terri Schiavo debate, there were some cynics, including her estranged husband, who proclaimed the brain-injured woman had no chance to recover or even improve her condition. It would take a miracle, they said. And they didn't believe in miracles. Now a university study of a man who recovered after spending 19 years in a minimally conscious state is suggesting such miracles do happen. In 1984, 19-year-old Terry Wallis was thrown from his pick-up truck near his Massachusetts home. He was not found until about...

Wyoming may soon get own conservation corps By Jennifer Frazer rep8@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - The Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s was famous for its use of the nation's youth to rejuvenate forests and public lands. Soon Wyoming may have a modern-day version of the corps, which would join corps in Utah, Montana and Colorado. The corps in all three of those states have worked in Wyoming in the past. The Wyoming Conservation Corps would provide youth 18-24 with an opportunity to learn skills and work with government agencies while improving Wyoming's public lands. The project...

Back in the saddle again The Pony Express returns to Wyoming By Becky Orr rep6@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle When Stanley Bean led Apache into a gallop, the pair came close to making the 21st century disappear. Cars and the semi-trailers that sped past them on U.S. Highway 26 near Torrington took a back seat to the rhythmic thud when Apache's hooves sank into the damp grass alongside the road. Bean, 59, has worked in ranching for 40 years. He lives in Riverton and was one of the riders in this year's Pony Express re-ride. On a hazy Tuesday...

Democrat Bell says governor's race between him, Perry FORT WORTH (AP) - Criticizing Republican Gov. Rick Perry for what he called failures in education and health care, Democratic opponent Chris Bell said Friday the four-way race is really a two-man match. At the state Democratic convention, Bell downplayed the threat of independent candidates Kinky Friedman, an author and humorist, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state comptroller who opted out of the Republican primary against Perry. So far in the campaign, the jabs have been traded between Perry and Strayhorn. But this week as the Democratic convention approached, Perry began criticizing...

We got Kerry anyway! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: June 9, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com When it appeared I would not and could not endorse President Bush for re-election in 2004, many of my friends – even my own wife – suggested to me that, if I refused to vote as I had in 2000, I would share some personal responsibility for John Kerry becoming our next commander in chief. I must say, it was a compelling argument. I found Kerry to be one of the most detestable human beings ever to walk planet Earth. He was a liar, he...

Federal judge Steger dies in Tyler 06/05/2006 Associated Press U.S. District Judge William Merritt Steger, who handled more than 15,000 cases in 35 years on the federal bench, died Sunday night in a Tyler hospital. Steger was 85. His failing health had kept him from the courtroom the past couple of months. Former law clerks and fellow judges praised Steger for his fairness and honesty. "When I took the job working for Judge Steger, I knew I was going to learn a lot about the law and how to be a good lawyer," Matt Flanery, the judge's law clerk, said...

Wyoming still struggling with AIDS 25 years later Two years ago, the state reported the largest number of newly diagnosed HIV and AIDS since 1997. By Jennifer Frazer rep8@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Twenty-five years ago, Pamela Reamer Williams was a reporter in Portland, Ore., when she first heard of a new and deadly disease. Her colleague, Lars Larson, now a conservative radio show host, had a penchant for reading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a short publication of the latest in the medical world. It was through Larson that...

Locking up the church Since nothing's too sacred for vandal Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle s, some doors are bolted - yet one pastor welcomed the man who stole his church's musical instruments. By Juliette Rule rep9@wyomingnews.com CHEYENNE - Area churches hit by vandals and burglars are doing what they can to their protect property, and that often means locking up their open-door policies. Since his church was burglarized last July, Miracle Valley Assembly of God's pastor, Ed Fugate, has installed alarms and cameras at the Walnut Drive church. Shortly after his church was hit by the same vandals, the...

Appraisals draw ire of residents BY JAMES GALLAGHER AVALANCHE-JOURNAL The value of Ken Cowling's home jumped more than 34 percent this year, and he is starting to wonder if it will ever stop going up. The home is now valued at more than $241,000, compared to about $180,000 last year. It's value has increased each year since 2003. Cowling said he'd sell his house, "if I could find someone who would pay for it." Several of Cowling's other properties also saw similar appraisal increases, including some duplexes. Cowling said he can't understand the increase since the duplex market in Lubbock...

Teen charged with trying to poison dad BY BETH AARON AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Lubbock police arrested and charged a 13-year-old girl with aggravated assault after she admitted trying to poison her father. Officers responded to a domestic disturbance in the 4800 block of 55th Street on Friday. The girl's father, 42, told police he had instructed his daughter to complete chores the night before. He said she refused and went to bed, Sgt. Scott Farmer said. The next morning, the father reported he woke his daughter up before he left for work and told her to complete the chores she had avoided...

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Picture perfect cowboy BY JOE GULICK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL A photograph taken of a Lubbock cowboy and his horse in front of a spectacular West Texas sunset has gained fame both inside and outside the Lubbock city limits and was honored in Austin last week by both houses of the Texas Legislature. Employees of Visit Lubbock, the city's convention and visitors bureau, titled the photograph "The Legend Lives On" and used it as the cover of its current Lubbock Visitor Guide. The picture also has been used in several advertisements for Lubbock, including ones in People Magazine, Texas Monthly and Continental Airlines....

Wyo. Dems rally for a victorious November election By Jennifer Frazer rep8@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Wyoming Democrats seem to be an endangered species at times, so it was with a palpable sense of excitement that they gathered for the Wyoming Democratic Convention at the IKON Center Saturday. But there was more than just a feeling of solidarity. There was the scent of opportunity - or blood - in the air. Whatever it was, the 259 delegates and seven alternates were in a jubilant mood, singing democratic songs, cheering their candidates and greeting old friends. "I believe...

Culture adds to suicide challenges The states with the highest rates of suicide are rural states, and almost all of them are in the Mountain West. By Jennifer Frazer rep8@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CASPER - Rural communities struggle with suicide, but they also possess some unique characteristics that may help them fight back. That was one of several messages shared by speakers at the second day of the Wyoming Suicide Prevention Conference, a gathering aimed at building connections that might help erase Wyoming's dubious distinction as the state with the number one rate of suicide in the nation....

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Wyoming is thriving, but who will fill jobs? By Jessica Lowell rep5@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - The state's economy is doing well, and with more energy development projects on the horizon, it could do even better. And as Wyoming's capital city, Cheyenne is poised for more economic success as well. That's the message that came from Friday's Economic Reports Luncheon, the final scheduled event for the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce's 2006 Small Business Week. The biggest threat to continuing economic growth in the county and the state, however, is lack of people to fill jobs. Both...

PBS ranch series receives some local advice Cowboy life BY RAY WESTBROOK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Cowboys riding hard after cattle in the heat of a Big Bend summer in 1867 could find relief from their work only by falling exhausted at night onto their crudely fashioned camp site. It was life hanging by a thread, with neighbors perhaps 25 miles away and no way to reduce the distance by speed. Today, the scene has been repeated south of Alpine, except a TV camera followed the cowboys wherever they rode. Producers of a reality show about 19th century ranching, which will air nationally...

Fans flock to Turkey to get in swing of things BY JIM CRAWFORD MORRIS NEWS SERVICE Bob Wills is still the king, at least he is in Turkey at this time of year. The 35th annual Bob Wills Day celebration took place this weekend and Western swing fans from near and far were on hand to mingle with old friends, listen to some great fiddlin' and hear the remaining members of Wills' Texas Playboys perform. And perform they did. The nine-member band rocked out Saturday afternoon to old Playboy standards and tunes made famous when the band members were decades...

Special elections returns from three Louisiana parishes Saturday: La Salle Parish: 2204 R 1230 D Winn Parish: 1163 R 1240 D Grant Parish: 806 R 2495 D Rapides (1 precinct) 61 R 69 D Totals: 4,234 R 5,034 D Owens (R) failed to take this seat held by Tommy Wright (D), who resigned in a sex scandal. The Louisiana Democratic Party worked for the successful party nominee, Billy Chandler.

State races could see DeLay effect BY D. LANCE LUNSFORD AVALANCHE-JOURNAL A Texas Tech professor said the resignation of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, will not pack the punch that it would closer to November, but fallout could eventually hit current Republican leadership hard on the state level. DeLay, who is under indictment on campaign finance charges, announced last week that he will resign from Congress sometime before mid-June. Craig Goodman, a Tech political science professor, said risk to House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and others is evident in races where DeLay associations are played up by campaigns seeking...