Columns
For once, I am a member of the media responding to a letter from a public official, and not vice versa. I read Mountain View-Birch Superintendent Lanna Tharp’s letter to the community, and immediately asked her to meet with me. Her letter is reprinted on this page for easy reference.
As I...
I’m enjoying a rare fit of optimism. Since I’m somewhat melancholy by nature, my work in newspapers has not much improved my positive outlook. In fact, I consider it to be a rare treat when there is good news to put on the front page. Most weeks, I must pack down the details of the stories I...
There are two letters on this page urging voters to vote no on Amendment 3. On the ballot via initiative petition, this amendment to Missouri’s Constitution would prevent lawmakers from outlawing abortion.
Since these letters arrived in the news office, two orders from Cole County Courts have...
I’ll admit it. I was wrong about Bill Eigel. He didn’t split the vote. He surprised me and lost to Kehoe by only seven points, and I bet Missouri Republicans have not heard the last of him. His command of a crowd was impressive, even if I don’t like his politics.
Though I didn’t publish it...
Perhaps the most regrettable shortcoming of a Wednesday weekly is that we have to wait a week before we can bring you election results in print. The issue in your hands was on the press before the polls opened on Tuesday.
Results of voting in Howell County will be in the August 14 issue....
Bill Eigel would need a miracle to win the August Primary. There are going to be nine Republicans on the ballot for governor, and based on the way the three front-runners are spending and campaigning in July, no one is that concerned about November.
Unless something drastic changes, the...
“Together, we’re like Sharknado in a trailer park. We can do anything.”
My husband Ron said those words to me as we folded toddler laundry and discussed a crazy, out-of-the blue opportunity. Five years ago, we had a chance to buy a local newspaper, this local newspaper. Ron’s words--...
Primary election day is in twenty days. What’s your plan to get to the polls?
Did you know only about half of Howell County residents are registered voters? I’m too late to help you with that – the last day to register to vote in the primary was July 10.
But did you know that a...
“Anyone with any get-up-and-go has got up and went,” said my friend recently over a cup of coffee. Brain drain from the Ozarks, or any rural area, is nothing new. It’s not mysterious. The best and brightest native sons and daughters look around, see limited opportunities, and almost all of them...
Last week, my personal and professional Facebook pages were hacked and deleted. Eighteen years of memories and over 7,000 followers on the newspaper’s page were gone. Despite my desperate pleas to Meta and law enforcement, it appears they are unrecoverable.
A couple weeks ago, a community...