Columns
In my line of work, second chances are almost nonexistent. No matter how much care and effort I pour into my work, I can never lift the ink from the page. In the three years since I have written the majority of this newspaper, I have made mistakes big and small. For most of them, there’s no going...
As many of my readers know, local government is my passion. I have used this column more than once to exhort you to vote in local elections and to learn more about the candidates seeking office. In pursuit of this passion, on Thursday, Oct. 20, Howell County News will host a public debate between...
In a society of clicks and likes with cameras everywhere, it was only a matter of time before mainstream drama came to town. On Sept. 7, a small group of outsiders began filming randomly around the Howell County courthouse. This caught the attention of Toni Chritton Johnson, a local who was...
Flowers are magic. They can be a powerful tool of expression. For Sasha Truett, they much more. They saved her.
Sasha grew up a country girl with her roots running deep in and around Howell County. She started waiting tables at the young age of 15. Her career in service advanced quickly, but...
Homesteading was a popular way of life. People could apply for free land to homestead on, then the cancellation of the Homestead Act in 1976 left the movement to those who already were homesteading.
Fast forward to today, and it's just as popular as ever especially here in Missouri and Howell...
I'm the sort of person who attends Superbowl parties for the snacks. Sports have never been my thing, and I sat under Friday night lights for the very first time at Willow's homecoming game in 2019. Last Friday night, I had the particular pleasure of taking some friends, who are transplants like...
Howdy friends and neighbors! My ancestor Sgt. George Abney served under General Andrew Pickens in the Revolutionary War. I can’t even begin to imagine all the hardships he must have faced. He was an original patriot. I have often wondered about him, and if I would have the same gumption and...
Your first thought took you to the movie, didn't it? While that was a great movie, West Plains has an equally great program for all ages, and I found one young man who has changed his life forever because of karate. Timothy Mill, a local freshman has been involved with Family Karate in West...
He was born Ira Lee Briscoe on a summer day in June twenty-seven years ago, to a down-to-earth, country couple who lived a simple life. He was their only son. This is this story of one Mother's painful quest of finding her missing boy.
I recently sat down with Marilyn Briscoe to hear her side...
"Standing only 5'6", my father was a giant among men."
My uncle spoke these words during his eulogy for his dad, my grandfather. I found them surprising, and ultimately chalked it up to a mistake. "That's not right,' I thought to myself. "He was surely taller than that."
My...