Opinion

Some unsung heroes in our community Dear citizens of Ponca City: I should like to put in front of you some ladies and gentlemen of your community that six days a week, formerly seven days a week, give of their time and love what they do. These citizens of your community give two to four hours for some wonderful tours at the Marland Mansion Monday through Saturday.

The Analysis Found That Wearing Masks in Public ‘Probably Makes Little or No Difference’ After questioning the value of general mask wearing early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided the practice was so demonstrably effective that it should be legally mandated even for 2-yearolds. A new review of the evidence suggests the CDC had it right the first time.

Dear Annie: Each Valentine’s Day, I am filled with incredible sadness. Two years ago, my husband and I were expecting our first baby girl. Her due date was Valentine’s Day, and we were so thrilled with love and excitement at the arrival of our baby girl. Her name was going to be Valentine.

We try not to sit with our pain for too long. We want to fix what hurts.

WASHINGTON -- I have long held to the belief that the most conformist institutions in America are its universities. More recently, I have come to the conclusion that high schools are joining the ranks of universities in regimenting thought among their students. Now, more alarmingly, I have come to the conclusion that grammar schools are turning out goose-stepping student bodies, and even kindergarteners are getting into the act.

For a president who proclaimed proudly in his annual speech that his policies have made the state of the union good, Joe Biden betrayed a certain insecurity when, just two days before, he caused the Democratic National Committee to change its presidential primary schedule for 2024.

Police reform is hard. Not that there’s any shortage of smart proposals. In the wake of the shameful beating death of Tyre Nichols, we’ve seen a number of promising reform ideas, including dramatically increasing training and disempowering police unions, both of which I support. But, the world being what it is, resources are finite, special interests are powerful, and inertia always stands in the path of reform like an enormous boulder in the road.

Dear Annie: I married a man who earned less than me seven years ago and now collects disability. He paid for cable and electricity way back when while I covered everything else. Over the past three years, I have received a few lump sums of money, one in the form of an auto accident payout and the other was an inheritance my father left me this past summer.

Dear Annie: I have three children, a son and two daughters. My son resides in the same city as I do. I am a widow. We have always been a close family. However, my youngest daughter is not coming to visit as she once did. She is divorced; her former husband had an affair. She is seeing someone and spends most of her free time with him. She has four children and is a grandmother. My grandchildren are grown, but they have not come to see me in three years. I have helped my daughter financially, paid for children’s clothes, school activities and many other things. I recently paid for a root canal for her.