The congressman defended new federal rules requiring states to keep error rates under 5% for SNAP food benefits and requiring most adults to work, volunteer or study 20 hours a week to qualify. He told Mike Ballinger constituents should press state Sen. Daniel Bonham to ease paperwork burdens. “Call him and say, ‘Bentz said to yell at you, Daniel,’” he said.

Along with working to get her body back to normal, Peggy works on getting our earth back to normal. In the Gorge, we live in farm country. The use of pesticides is prolific.

On Toby’s twenty-first birthday, his surgeon removed his diseased colon and pulled his upper intestine down to form what was called a “W” pouch, a make-do replacement for the colon. From the hospital bed, Toby, with his rye sense of humor, cracked, “Shouldn’t I be out cruising the bars?”