How to contact me: beth.dalbey@patch.com.
I'm a longtime community journalist and started with Patch.com in 2011.
My career has been solely focused in journalism, except for a brief detour in 2007 when I joined the communications department of a scientific research institute studying the evolution of language in bonobos and other great apes.
I left journalism for that brief 3-year period because I knew it would be an adventure – it was! – and worked as a freelance writer and consultant after that position was eliminated in 2010.
Beliefs
Politics: I’m a registered independent. I will vote every time, regardless of party affiliation, for the individual with the best ideas to make our communities more livable.
Religion: I grew up attending the United Methodist Church in my small hometown. It was a great foundation that taught me most of what I believe is right and wrong. I believe in a supreme being. I respect others’ right to believe what they believe, as long as they’re not proselytizing on the taxpayer’s dime, and I think this whole business of seeing everyone who does good works as an angel or every marvelous outcome as a miracle cheapens both.
Should green bean casserole, candied yams, cranberry sauce and stuffing stay on the Thanksgiving dinner table, or should they be banished?
![Thanksgiving Side Dishes: What Should Stay, What Should Go? [Survey]](https://test.patch.com/img/cdn20/users/21975861/20241114/122021/styles/patch_image/public/patch-stock-thanksgiving-meal-bayard-4___14121919913.jpg)
Risking fines and prison, the former owners of these historic homes for sale now helped enslaved African Americans reach freedom in Canada.
Thirteen states are in the path of totality for the April 8, 2024, event — the party of a lifetime for eclipse chasers.
Batman-themed Amber Alert was a test, Missouri state patrol says. Some have sport, others say the mistake erodes confidence in alert system.
Brown marmorated stink bugs aren’t the only insects you have to worry about moving into your house for the winter.
You may grab a fork and paper napkin at mealtime, but knowing how to navigate a formal dinner setting is an essential adulting skill.
You don’t have to hire an attorney to write a legally binding living will that puts you in control of heroic measures to prolong your life.
At a minimum, invest in good sets of screwdrivers, pliers and wrenches — large ones, but also small ones to get into tight spaces.
Here's your 5-minute read to start the day: Making the world smile; Confederate statues coming down in Charlottesville; more stories.
A Kansas City, Missouri, teen advanced to Invention Convention world competition with The Baby Saver, which monitors kids in the back seat.
The Delta Aquariid and Perseid meteor showers intersect for summer skywatching pleasure. Here are viewing tips, how to tell the difference.
The smell of an unscheduled sightseeing tour; Christmas in July; hobby "blows up"; America's longest married first couple marks 75 years.
The storm that killed one in Florida and spun a tornado that injured 10 in Georgia has spawned warnings as far north as Chesapeake Bay.
Here’s your 5-minute read to start the day: “Full search-and-rescue mode” at Flordia condo site; teens missing in national forest.
A McDonald’s worker gets an unforgettable birthday party; “teacher of the year” gets a new car; why a cat bellowed and a dog wagged her tail
On Zoom, Silverton town trustees agreeing with Mayor Shane Fuhrman on nixing the Pledge turned off their cameras. Now it’s a major dust-up.
Multibillionaire Jeff Bezos wants to go to space on one of his Blue Origin rockets. Here are some reasons some folks want him to stay there.
Quickly, your 5-minute read for a smart start to the day: The Navy fired on its own ship, causing an earthquake; fireworks: what's legal?
The Navy detonated a 40,000-pound bomb to test the battle readiness of the USS Gerald Ford, causing a small earthquake near a Florida beach.
