Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

It’s difficult to watch a newscast without feeling depressed. Hardly a day goes by when you don’t hear of someone being murdered, someone getting killed in a terrible accident, or someone losing their home in a fire. I could go on and on about the bad news that is thrown at us by the media. The truth is that bad …

A good way to remain sane, might be to meet with a therapist on a regular basis. You know, someone that you can unload your troubles on, or just vent to. Sometimes you might receive some pretty good advice, and sometimes the advice is not worth giving a second thought. I see one of my therapists about every three weeks …

Last Tuesday, we all had the opportunity to vote on some propositions and several political candidates. To those candidates who won the Primary, congratulations. Remember that in November, we have the privilege of voting on a split ticket. St. Joseph County is primarily a Conservative county, but you’ll never know how many “closet Liberals” there really are. Whether you are …

Today, August 5th, is Election Day. This is the day we’ve all been waiting for because of two reasons. Number one is that we have the right to go to the polls and cast our vote on a couple of propositions, plus we are able to vote for that person we’d like to have represent us in government. Secondly, we …

A week from today is Election Day. On the ballot will be several propositions, and you may vote yes or no as to whether you’d like to see these enacted. You will also vote on the person that you’d like to have represent you in Lansing as your State Representative from the 59th District. All of the candidates on the …

I thought that I was about as good as one can be when it comes to staying current on what’s happening around Three Rivers. I discovered on Friday, July 11, that this was Dan Tomlinson’s final day as Fire Chief. I had a tribute to him ready for this column to be published on Tuesday, July 29. I was under …

When I think of getting Out and About, my ideas usually center on St. Joe County, Portage, Kalamazoo, and parts of northern Indiana. Traveling out of country is taking it a bit far, but every so often it’s a good idea to go someplace where a passport is needed. In doing this, your appreciation of the good old USA is …

This is the season, and this is probably the month, when high school class reunions take place. The first reunion that normally happens is the “Ten-Year Reunion”. This is probably the one when the classmates try to impress each other with the accomplishments they’ve made in the ten years since graduation. College is in the history books, and those that …

Last week I wrote about having lunch with an old friend of mine who was visiting from Idaho. The time we spent having lunch was great, and it made me wish we had more time to do more lunches, but those will have to wait until his next visit. The week after Water Festival, I was having breakfast at one …

The 58th Annual Water Festival is now in the history books, and a few pages have been turned since the last firework was shot into the night skies. After a couple of cool days, the weather cooperated and everyone was able to fully enjoy this yearly event. During the week of Water Festival, I had the opportunity to visit with …