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1 week ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
How do low-income families ever afford a house? With mortgage interest rates around 7% (with good credit history) and a 20% down payment, it’s difficult for any first-time homeowner to buy. The cost of rent has skyrocketed in recent years, and renting does not provide the stability people get when they buy a house of their own. Habitat for Humanity believes that everyone should have an affordable place to call home.
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2 weeks ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
What do our kids do in the summers when they aren’t in school? If kids aren’t doing things that challenge their brains and their bodies, they might be way behind when they return to classes in August. This can be especially challenging for families in poverty or for low-income families. It’s too easy to park kids in front of a television or computer or gaming system.
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1 month ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
I’m a big fan of PBS and NPR – public television and public radio. Nebraska Public Media broadcasts from Lincoln and is sent to us via a tower near Angora. PBS and NPR reach 99% of America, and there is no charge. Families of any income level can enjoy their programming. When our children were little, we didn’t pay for cable, and there weren’t subscription stations then. Our antenna picked up two Scottsbluff television stations, and we got PBS.
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1 month ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
Social Security is facing attacks, primarily driven by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. Elon Musk has called the program a “Ponzi scheme”. These attacks on Social Security mean the federal government is talking about budget cuts, staffing reductions, and office closures, all of which threaten access to benefits and services for 69 million Americans. What is a Ponzi scheme?
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2 months ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
“He (Pope Francis) is very close to us,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli. “All the time he called us throughout this war – this horrible war – for more than a year and a half, he would call for peace and send his blessings to all of Gaza’s people.”Every day since the beginning of the war in Palestine 18 months ago, the Pope rang the Holy Family Church in Gaza City around 8 pm. Father Romanelli is the pastor of Gaza’s only Catholic parish.
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2 months ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
Last week Earl and I went to California, and we were mugged. By whales. Three humpbacks. “Mugged” is the official term, meaning we were held up. When whales swim close to a boat, we are required to shut down the engines and propellers and wait until the whales move on. The three humpbacks came right beside us and entertained us with their blows, flips, and dives for about thirty minutes.
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2 months ago | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”I remember memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution as a child, and I can still recite those words.
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Mar 5, 2025 | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
Many of you may have met Earl’s mother Delma during the year she lived with us. She could no longer remain living alone in her home because of dementia. After a year, her disease had progressed enough that we placed her in assisted living. Gradually we liquidated her assets to pay for her care. First, savings and CDs. Investments. Sell car. Cash out life insurance. Sell house and land. After a stroke she was partially paralyzed, and assisted living no longer provided enough care.
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Jan 29, 2025 | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
Brrrr – It’s cold outside! It’s been too cold for so many of our regular outdoor activities. But we have enjoyed the birds in our backyard. We have feeders with birdseed and with sunflower seeds. Suet feeders attract woodpeckers. All those pumpkins and squash we bought in October have been stored in our garage. Now we bring them out, one at a time, and cut a hole in the side to allow access to seeds and flesh. What kinds of birds hang around Alliance in the winter?
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones
Several years ago I was sitting at church fellowship with a friend who was about 25 years older than I was. I’ll call her Alice for this article. Alice pulled an envelope of cash out of her purse to buy something from a child in our church. I was surprised she carried that much cash, and she was surprised that I didn’t. A stay-at-home mom and housewife, Alice was given a certain amount of money every month from her husband. She had an envelope for groceries and an envelope for other expenses.
