Merced County Times Newspaper
The Power of Positive Press

Two inexperienced skippers encounter the high seas

When I was 12, I was in the Cub Scouts.  Wasn't able to advance to Boy Scouts, but I remember one of their mottos was "Always be prepared.” This advice would have come in handy when I set sail on the high seas the year of 1967.  I like to think I was  prepared when I  was working in my career, and when I still direct trips to Kenya.  Not so…

A bird house for the holidays — the perfect gift

Do you like craft fairs? I like them, especially near Christmas.  The problem is that when I see something I like at these fairs, I can't buy just one — I buy multiples!  This Saturday it was raining, so I bagged the tennis and saw that my local church in Merced was having a craft fair. I was feeling pretty good.  I just got a full tank…

Murder victim left clues to prosecute historic case

In 1972, Mary Jo Bennett, a Merced County resident, disappeared without a trace, never to be seen alive again. Her disappearance and the subsequent prosecution  of her husband, Timothy Bennett,  for murder resulted in the most famous  criminal case in Merced County history. The prosecution of Bennett  for first-degree murder was…