Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO… A bill in the Texas legislature approved and filed by the governor included the measure fixing the maximum speed of motor vehicles on country highways at 35 miles per hour against the present 25 miles per hour limit. The bill will become effective June 12.

New VSOs and more in Milam County

This week Milam County welcomed our new Veterans Service Officers. Last year, during the county budgeting process, the Veterans Service Office (VSO) was cut from the budget. The reason for this cut was due to the low usage rate of the service.

Gambling in Texas?

Could gambling come to Texas? It’s a long shot in this term Will the Legislature allow Texas voters to decide on casino gambling and sports betting? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds the important cards. Patrick is president of the Texas Senate and the most powerful legislative force in the state.

How dare you insult my dog like that

FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE Had kind of a shock at the doctor on Friday that I didn’t see coming. I have diabetes. After receiving the diagnosis and then thinking about it for a few days I am now not at all surprised. Since I moved back to Rockdale my diet has not been a healthy one.

Make Milam County stronger — shop local

Many of you know that my wife and I make a huge deal of shopping local. Each Christmas shopping period we make the annual pledge to buy our Christmas presents local. Sure, we bend that rule some for our daughter who lives in London, otherwise it’s Christmas straight from Milam County.

Looking back...

10-20-40-100 100 YEARS AGO… The regular directors meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was rain, necessitating the postponement of election of officers for the ensuing year. The following directors were elected to serve the Chamber during the upcoming year: Fred H. Graves, E.A. Camp, John E. Cooke, H.

Challenges

Higher prices, slower delivery times define publishers’ major challenge We’ve written about this before, but the United States Postal Service is a huge challenge for local news publishers.

‘He has Van Gogh’s ear for music’

FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE Here are some funny insults that come to me from Hal Reagan, who is a good supplier of funny things by email. These insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. Insults then, had some class.

No-fly list

Mask mandates are gone but too many flyers are still acting violently There are places where violence can be particularly destructive. Inside a fuselage jammed with people flying at 600 mph at 30,000 feet is certainly one of them.

I invented the cordless extension cord

About the same time I was coming of age in the 1980s, comedian Steven Wright was just getting his start. His act was so different that he became popular very quickly and landed his own HBO special which rapidly gave him a cult-like following, including yours truly.