Opinion

The following is an open letter sent to President Barack Obama on the morning of Jan. 17 from Johnson County Sheriff Chuck Heiss in regard to the Obama Administration's recent  gun control proposal.

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2012 brought about the end of Hostess and the beloved Twinkie. I can remember many sporting events where the reward for a good game or what brought your spirits up afterwards was a Twinkie. Even my wife introduced me to the idea of cutting a Twinkie in half and putting strawberries over it to make a Strawberry Shortcake.  I admit, Twinkies were not my favorite dessert, but I have been craving them lately.

However, I believe I have found the replacement for the Twinkie, and it lies in Bing's in Sedalia.  It is called Mrs. Freshley's Dreamies Creme-Filled Cakes. I saw a display box for them and thought to give them a try.

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It’s been a different kind of week leading up to the holiday.  As many of you know, I don’t bite my tongue.  The events that unfolded last week at Sandy Hook make me sick and confused.  Whether you say it or not, you feel for the parents, children and their community.

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It is impossible to put into words the sorrow I feel about the heinous act committed in Newtown, Conn.  If there's one place we want to feel our children are safe, it is in school.  Couple that with the fact that this was an elementary school and it is next to impossible to wrap my mind around it.  26 people lost their lives and nobody will ever be able to make sense of it.

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How do you explain the unexplainable to children? Today, parents across the country, including myself, were faced with this  -- fumbling over words while explaining the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown - located only 20 miles away from my own daughter's elementary school.

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I have spent several days putting up my outside Christmas lights, and I have become what my grandmother referred to as "flumixed" which is a more polite way of saying how I felt earlier today.

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We are less than 20 days away from Christmas, and the retail industry is still abuzz over much improved sales over 2011. This week I visited several stores to get my Christmas shopping started.  All of the store employees I talked to all said business was staying brisk this year. It got me to thinking; when you go holiday shopping, what city do you like to go shopping in?

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Every year, we are bombarded with Christmas music. It is everywhere and takes many forms.  Music in elevators, in stores, on television and yes, on the radio.

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My wife and I are just moved to Sedalia this last summer, and we'll be spending our first Christmas in Sedalia this year. We're having family visiting for the holiday, and we're looking forward to spending time with them, but I was hoping we could take them out on Christmas Day and actually do something, rather than just bum around the house all day.

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Everyone is aware of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, but Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for you to donate to a charity or volunteer for one.

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