One of your important sources of retirement income will likely be Social Security — but when should you start taking it? You can start collecting Social Security benefits at 62, but your checks will b...

Joann Hott, Henryetta Library Director American author of children’s books, Doreen Cronin celebrates her birth date on March 28th, 1966 in Queens, New York. She grew up on Long Island, her dad was a p...

DEAR ABBY: We recently moved to a new neighborhood. My 8-year-old son, "Joey," has become best friends with a classmate, "Paul," who lives on our street. We know from research we did when we bought ou...

Part 2: Who Is It? February 1922: In the frosty air of early February, a letter landed on the desk of Constable Fred Garrison bearing unexpected news. “Fred Smith showed up this morning about seven o’...

DEAR ABBY: I’m an older woman. My husband and I have been married eight years but were together 15 years prior to our marriage. He is a wonderful, caring man in most ways. But from time to time, he sn...

The Orpheum showed “World War Z” and “Lone Ranger.” The library reading program hosted Magician Bradini to entertain the kids. Okmulgee County Commissioners opened three bids during their weekly meeti...

“If God wanted me to be a morning person, he would cause the sun to rise later in the day.” A good sampling of humanity may share the sentiment. And, while the amusing line can strike an empathetic ch...

My wife inherited a youth choir. It was started by a member of our church, but when his job took him to another city, the choir needed a new leader. My wife was asked to take it over and she agreed to...

My engineering friend at Tulsa U approached research like an Alaskan sled driver tackling the Iditarod Run. Body and soul, mind’s eye trained on a distant finish line, tenacious all the way. Once he d...

It is God who is at work in you, causing you to want to do his will and enabling you to do his will?* (writer paraphrase) Young Benjamin Solomon Carson heard his mother’s admonitions repeated often. C...

She was a lovely blonde from Cincinnati. I will call her Laura (not her real name). She had gotten involved with some people who were leading her into difficulty with the law. Her father had made arra...

Not all of us have been fortunate enough to grow up in good families. Sometimes our compassion runs a little low when we encounter those who have grown up and lived through tough situations because we...

The left footprint on display in the fresh-turned soil of the farm acreage carried no resemblance to its counterpart, the right foot. Both imprints had been made over and over as I had leapt forward, ...

“Take my life and let it be ever, only, all for Thee,” pleads the old hymn writer to his Lord. The plea expresses yearning, hungering. He hungers to be fully owned by One who is more wise and more cap...

Builders, linguists, nurses, bush pilots, evangelists. The list marks a fraction of vocations forming the Christian mission enterprise. They are common individuals who for the most part pursue a close...

Vocabulary.com says, “Someone with a tendency to save everything, accumulating more and more, is a hoarder. It can be very difficult for a hoarder to throw anything away.” I’m not sure I fit into this...

January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day! I told you last week, chocolate is my first love so, of course, I HAD to make chocolate cake this week! Did you know chocolate was considered an aphrodisiac ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge (NWR/refuge) Orphaned Well Program Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for public review a...

DEAR ABBY: I’m a woman in my early 50s who has been through two divorces. This may make me sound like a bad person, but I’m really nice and quite conservative. I just make poor choices when it comes t...

Every time there is a City Council election, the Okmulgee Area Development Corp. invites the candidates into our conference room for a briefing on who we are, what our mission is and what the status i...