Once upon a time payroll was pretty simple. Figure each employee's gross pay, subtract federal, state, local taxes and a couple of other deductions and write a check for the difference. Nothing stays simple for long though -- pretty soon along came direct deposit, 401(k) plans, cafeteria plans, vehicle allowances, the Affordable Care Act, garnishments, third party sick pay, paycards, and a raft of other complications. For many small companies payroll went from taking an hour or so each pay period to a process that can consume a whole day or more. And that's just to produce the paychecks --...

Even ten years ago there weren't many places dog owners could go locally to get training in dog sports such as rally, agility, herding, conformation, obedience and field trials. That has changed considerably in recent years - now more and more people are going to canine training facilities and exploring activities that they and their dogs can do together. It's easy to get started and you and your dog (or dogs) don't have to be expert at yoursport to be able to enjoy taking part in local competitions. There are generally different levels you can compete in, with the ability to move up as you...

First of all, I don't do either Cowboy Action Shooting or Cowboy Fast Draw - yet. However, I am old enough to have grown up with the radio, TV and movie cowboys that used to dominate the airwaves and the silver screen. The values that I learned growing up were heavily influenced by those western heroes - Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, and many others. Like other kids my age I dreamed about riding the range with a six gun at my side. Times have changed but I still watch old westerns and I still get a kick out of watching the good guys defeat the bad guys. So when I read an article...