Opinions

Paul Rhodes | Publisher & Editor Okay, this could be a fun exercise. Let's take a map of Wichita, draw a 30-mile circumference around it, and see if we can find a single 20-minute stretch of major highway that you can drive without running into construction work.

When the annual Walnut Valley Festival rolls around each year I'm always working to put together a good crew of reporters and photographers to help us with coverage. This is such a big and important event in our area.

Covering football last Friday night was a bit yucky, as rain impacted all of our games to varying degrees. I was on the sideline in Clearwater, and the rain – although light – lasted longer than I expected it to.

Dear Savvy Senior, Because of chronic arthritis, I have a very difficult time going up and down stairs anymore and am interested in purchasing a stair lift for my two-story house. Can you recommend some good companies? Arthritic Andy Dear Andy, Yes, of course! A good home stair lift is a great mobility solution for anyone who is unable, or has a difficult time climbing stairs.

Too often, we hear comments made in public about kids and what is wrong with them these days. We who have the privilege to work alongside them on a daily basis generally respond with an emphatic, “nothing!” Kids today do deal with many more temptations and have access to so many things both good and bad.

Paul Rhodes | Publisher & Editor Many of you know that this is the time of year when I'm a regular at the Walnut Valley Festival over in Winfield. After years at the festival – almost five decades to be exact – you would think that my opportunities to learn something new had blown away on the Kansas wind.

Paul Rhodes | Publisher & Editor It has begun. Kim and I have started the annual pilgrimage that we simply call “Bluegrass.” This past weekend, after a long, hard week at work, we both mustered up the energy Saturday morning to pack up our camper and head to Winfield, Kan., the site of the legendary Walnut Valley Festival.

Savvy Senior Dear Savvy Senior, I take several medications for multiple health conditions and the prices keep going up, even with my Medicare prescription drug insurance. Can you recommend any tips that can help cut my costs? Tapped Out Tina Dear Tina, The high cost of prescription drugs is an ongoing problem that stings everyone, but it usually affects seniors more because they have a greater need for medications and because Medicare doesn’t cover all their drug costs.

Insight For the first time in a long time, I won’t have to spend a Saturday defrosting an upright freezer in anticipation of the local meat processer calling to say our half steer is ready for pick up. Ideally this would have happened last fall, but I was really trading one hand-me-down freezer for another.

Paul Rhodes | Publisher & Editor When you live in a well-established neighborhood, you form all kinds of bonds. You learn that the couple who lives behind you will give you a hand with your garden when needed.