Larry W. Stout has worn lots of hats over the years; a decorated military veteran, ordained pastor, university professor in Europe, and missionary to the former Soviet Union. He has authored textbooks on human resource management and leadership that have been translated into six languages as well as had published two novels. He currently invests his energies as a foster parent and board member for eight different community organizations. He is a native of Montgomery, graduating from Montgomery Area High School in 1970, who married his high school sweetheart Debbie, and together they have raised two sons and two daughters, one of which is adopted, but they cannot remember which one.
Having lived in the former Soviet Union for sixteen years provides me with an appreciation for many of the institutions we have in our country. For example, voting in the USSR was mandatory (you would be fined if you did not vote), but voting was essentially meaningless and everyone knew it because all the candidates
After the past Lycoming County Commissioner Meetings in July, I was tempted to ask Jim Webb Jr. for hazardous duty pay. The temperature of the meeting room has certainly been steadily rising, and not just due to the weather. Since we now live in a time that forgets how to practice simple civility, I wish
Those of us in the senior citizen age range remember well the “Lone Ranger” television show. An ultra-nice itinerant defender of the law with his faithful Indian (Native American) sidekick Tonto, he wore a mask for reasons that, quite frankly, were never exactly clear. Everyone knew it was the Lone Ranger the moment they saw
There is an axiom in journalism that says, “if it bleeds, it leads.” I complained about this to one of my English professors in college, and he rebutted that covering a plane crash is news, one that lands safely is not. But given the amount of turmoil over the past four to five months, I
This year is the 50th anniversary of what stands out as one of the more bizarre events in American history. It is best described as the “Exploding Whale” story. In November of 1970, a 45-foot, eight-ton whale washed up on a beach off the coastal city of Florence, Oregon. For this community of 9,000 or
On July 10th, Lycoming County Government will be losing yet another one its exceptional department heads. The county commissioners should be commended for their ability to find excellent replacements for these departing chiefs, but they will need to find someone with really big shoes to fill those of retiring Juvenile Probation Department Director Ed Robbins.
