Larry Hicks


	HICKS: Rooting for Thackston Charter's success I have expressed many times over the years my reluctance to jump on the charter school bandwagon even though I recognize the shortcomings of public schools and the possibility the only cure for those shortcomings might be free-market competition. Full Story HICKS: Stellar spring for Kennard-Dale girls Anyone who follows high school sports will understand when I say there are just some things that are a given. Full Story HICKS: Recognition for lives turned around I look around, and I see all sorts of things to like about York County, community organizations that do good things, programs that seem to work. Full Story HICKS: Bomb-sniffing K-9 still not housebroken? I would not consider myself a dog expert. But I have had a few. And I've trained them to do the things dogs should be expected to do. Full Story HICKS: More on missing campaign signs O ne thing I've learned, after having written somewhere around 5,000 columns, many of them having to do with politics, politicians or something having to do with elections or government, is it's usually a good thing when I don't hear from politicians. Full Story HICKS: West York High grad shows true grit It's not your typical "recruited-to-play-Division I-something" story. It is, however, a story about perseverance, about persistence, about backbone, about grit, about stick-to-itiveness. Full Story HICKS: Complete blank on 'guaranteed annual income' legislation of 1970 C onsider this a history lesson of sorts. And I'll do the same. Because even though I was an adult living in America in 1970, I don't recall a single word of discussion about something called "guaranteed annual income. Full Story HICKS: Signs of the political times I f there's one thing guaranteed to put me off about an election, it's the political game-playing that too often rears its ugly head. Full Story HICKS: Granting transgender teen's request harms no one I ssak Wolfe is an impressive young man. The courage he's displayed as a transgender student seeking fairness from the Red Lion Area School District as he completes his senior year in high school has been dignified and persistent. Full Story HICKS: Defining the term sports 'fanatic' Idon't know what defines a sports "fanatic," but I'm pretty sure it's not the person who only watches one football game a year -- the Super Bowl -- or one baseball series a season -- the World Series. Full Story HICKS: One stop shopping for sin and redemption I t is more than just a little amusing, I think, that we could end up with a church sitting next door to a strip joint in southern York County. Full Story HICKS: Sales taxes -- the great equalizer S ay what you want about the different forms of taxation we're all subjected to because we're citizens of this country, this state, this county, this school district and this municipality, but the fairest of all -- in my mind -- is the state sales tax. Full Story HICKS: Hoke House: The difference between old and historically significant A bout a month ago, I went on at length about how I thought it was silly to save, for historic reasons, the Avalong Dairy Farm barn in east York. Full Story HICKS: It's hard to watch Halladay struggle It's a sad thing to watch a professional athlete go from very good to very bad, and not be able to fix it. Full Story HICKS: Teplitz all wrong on Pennsylvania's 'death tax' bill S tate Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-York and Dauphin, has it seriously backwards when it comes to the elimination of the state inheritance tax, otherwise known as the "death tax. Full Story HICKS: Disappointing results of York City gun give-back I had hoped for better. Much better. And maybe there's still plenty of time for York City residents to make up their minds that it's in everyone's best interest to get guns, especially illegal guns, off the streets as soon as possible. Full Story HICKS: West York band parents -- don't sweat the small stuff I t seems like only yesterday, but in truth it was more than 20 years ago that my daughter, Stacy, was a flutist in the West York High School marching band and orchestra. Full Story HICKS: Woman turns baseballs into fashion Iguess it just takes a more creative mind than my own. I was busy reading Wednesday's York Dispatch, when I came upon a story on Page B5 about Molly Baldwin's entrepreneurial efforts at sports fashion. Full Story HICKS: Flags to half-staff -- who makes the call? T he notice in The York Dispatch a week or so ago, was short and sweet. Three paragraphs to be precise. Full Story HICKS: Collaring dog license scofflaws I 'm not sure how many dogs live in York County, but if you want to use York County Treasurer Barb Bair's math, there are about 60,000. Full Story