I recently had the good fortune to attend my 40th high school reunion. I say good fortune because my high school graduation class (Taylor County High School class of 1978) was a…
Category: Editorials
Plan before shopping for back to school
It seems like summer just started a couple of weeks ago, but August is here and it’s time to gear up for a new school year. This year, the tax-free holiday begins…
Emerald’s Gem Box: Integrity
Integrity, according to Dictionary.com means, “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” What is integrity? It is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. It…
National Security: MIA
Last week, the North Koreans turned over to the United States the remains of 55 servicemen lost and missing during the Korean War more than six decades ago. The military will transfer…
From the sunny side… Computer productivity?
I was just on Facebook a few minutes ago, doing something completely work-related (just in case the boss is reading this) and I was greeted with one of those “Do you remember…
Passing Parade: Defending God-given rights
Nelson A. Pryor: Guest Columnist The Christian legal team, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), founded in the 1990s, is riding a streak of Supreme Court victories and is poised to become stronger….
Emerald’s Gem Box: Do politics bring out the worst in people or do politics bring out the “real” in people?
Political Season… Most of us can’t wait to see it end! Even those who are running for office seem to anticipate the end of it. There seems to be stress and tension…
National Security: Mick
As a boy in the late 1950s, I loved to watch baseball during the lazy days of summer. I watched the Game-of-the-Week (on CBS I think) announced by Dizzy Dean and Peewee…
From the sunny side… One percent
I have been told on more than one occasion that I have a rather warped or twisted sense of humor. Not in the sense that I take great pleasure in “dead cat”…
Achieving home ownership is possible
Funding for the State Housing Initiative Program, better known as SHIP, is available for Madison County residents; funds help with down payment and closing costs on the purchase of a home. Prospective…
Christian Concepts: A Reasonable Faith
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte seems to be unhappy with the Catholic Church and has said he would resign if anyone can prove God exists. Just last month he said God was stupid….
From the sunny side… Superstitions
Funny, I was just looking at the calendar and realized that Friday the 13th is actually on a Friday this month. The last time that happened was April of this year and…
Stock your food pantry for hurricane season
Hurricane season is here and will be with us through November. We’ve already had a close call with a tropical storm over Memorial Day weekend that brushed the panhandle area and currently,…
National Security: Janus
Recently, the Supreme Court made a narrow 5-4 decision in an organized labor case. The question was whether or not the plaintiff Mark Janus would be required to have union dues automatically…
From the sunny side… Angels and new beginnings
Recently, I was visiting with one of my co-workers who was looking through old newspapers in order to find something for the “Way Back When” section of our weekly History page. One…
Passing Parade: After Forgotten War, Left With Memories
Nelson A. Pryor: Guest Columnist The families of thousands of Americans still missing from the Korean conflict received a jolt of hope when President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim…
Christian Concepts: Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement
When Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement at the end of this coming July, news media, politicians and pundits immediately began to debate the pros and cons that will swirl…
National Security: Independence
On Wednesday we celebrate our nation’s birthday, commonly known as the Fourth of July. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted by individual state in favor of a revised resolution declaring…
From the sunny side… Freedom, too expensive to cheapen
In preparation for next week’s Fourth of July, I’ve been asking some folks around town just what “freedom” means to them. “Freedom” is a word that gets thrown about quite a lot…