The Christmas that taught me the most about the first Christmas

VINTON TODAY
December 24, 2011 4:16 am

       When I look back on my own personal history of  Christmas, I can think of several years when the holiday had special meaning for me.

Christmas synonyms: Playing with words and your favorite songs

VINTON TODAY
December 24, 2011 4:09 am

       The good news about this holiday season is that right now, I have nothing better to write about than Christmas. Please keep it that way.

Pastor's Blog - CHRISTMAS JOURNEYS

PASTOR LANETTE S. VAN
December 23, 2011 11:08 am

  In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria.

Letter to the Editor - Tax Holiday or Payroll Tax?

VINTON TODAY
December 21, 2011 7:42 pm

If the average wage in Iowa is $45,500 a 21/2% reduction in payroll tax (Social Security Payment) equals $1,125 per year, or $21.63 per week.  This will buy our subject depending on how well he/she shops a 24 can/bottle case of Budweiser and maybe some change.

Letter to the Editor: Who is the real conservative?

VINTON TODAY
December 21, 2011 11:24 am

When looking at the pool of potential presidential nominees on the Republican side, I am stunned to see that according to some polls, the front runners in the race include Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, both of whom have a record of maintaining more liberal standards and beliefs as opposed to conservative.

What I've learned while sitting next to Santa

VINTON TODAY
December 20, 2011 11:55 pm

  I was only in this business a year or so when I realized that the philosophy of journalism was changing -- for the worst. I saw a quiz that some so-called professor had given his students.

“Food for the Soul”

ZACH ZAJICEK
December 15, 2011 8:30 pm

  So, what’s your favorite part of the Christmas season?  Let me guess- gifts and presents, or family and friends, or snow and decorative lighting, or the manger and the Christmas story, or food and fellowship?   Most likely, you have a combination of favorites like myself.

New restaurant: A reason to smile

VINTON TODAY
December 14, 2011 6:13 pm

  Jon Tafa looks up from the grill, where steaks are sizzling over an open fire, and smiles. He's been cooking -- and smiling -- in a restaurant kitchen in Vinton since the summer of 2005.

Harold Nelson remembered

ROSEMARY SCHWARTZ
December 14, 2011 1:52 pm

  Last Friday, Vinton lost a truly unique person when Harold Nelson passed away. I knew Harold had a serious medical condition but the last time I saw him at the Benton County Democratic Central Committee in November, I thought he was looking better and told him so.

How 'schizophrenic' Iowans should respond to Atlantic Monthly article

VINTON TODAY
December 13, 2011 10:42 pm

  Iowans are yelling, and we should, about an article by a University of Iowa professor that says some not-so-nice things about our state. The article, recently published in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, was written by Professor Stephen Bloom, who calls Iowa (among other things), a "schizophrenic, economically-depressed, and some say, culturally-challenged state.