Local hero gets warm welcome from Minooka
Sgt. 1st Class Lane Lucado of Minooka has spent a good part of the past 26 years going off to other places in defense of our country. He has had five deployments in just the past eight years, the most recent a year in Afghanistan from where he just returned in September.

Girl's dedication to fighting cancer inspiring
As you may know, I lost my best friend Jackie Mahmoud to breast cancer this summer. Jackie fought a valiant battle for nearly five years before it took her.

Never too early to bring kids Christmas cheer
It's barely Halloween and I can't believe I'm already writing a Christmas-related column. But it's never too soon to start thinking about those who will be struggling this holiday season, especially in light of our economy.