Berryville boys basketball coach Brent Compton wants his team’s full focus on its next opponent, whoever that might be. That’s not a cliche. It’s a fact of life for any successful coach. Overlooking an opponent can get you beat. As an interested observer, however, I can look ahead a little bit. And when I look ahead, I see this Berryville team making a big postseason push...

I’m grateful for everyone who reads this column each week, but over the years one reader has been a special one. Of course, Mary Ann Bell was more than just a reader. When I came to Berryville in 2014, Mary Ann’s husband, David, was one of the first people to go out of his way to make me feel welcome...

A s I write this column, on Thursday, Dec. 30, it’s a bittersweet day for me professionally and personally. Earlier today, Samantha Jones left our office in Berryville for the final time. Sam is leaving for an exciting opportunity, and I’m happy for her, but I feel a little lost already...

As 2021’s final days wind down, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s happened over the past year and to look forward to 2022. It’s no secret that 2021 has been a difficult year in many respects. The specter of COVID-19 that arrived in early 2020 is still around, as are the same tired political arguments over the virus and how best to fight it. ...

Dear readers, It’s become a Christmas tradition for me to reprint the piece I’d like to share with you today. Although it was written more than 120 years ago, its message is timeless and perhaps even more important today than it has ever been. If you aren’t familiar with the story, it began in 1897 when 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of the Sun newspaper in New York. Virginia’s letter read:...

Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I’m a fierce advocate for the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. And anyone who pays attention to the Eureka Springs city government knows that the FOIA — a state law — seems to be viewed more as an annoying suggestion among city officials...

It’s been a busy past week in the Loftis household and things aren’t likely to settle down much over the next few weeks. But I’m not complaining. Those of you who read the most recent ramblings in this space know that I planned to marry my sweetheart, Lisa, sometime last week. ...

I moved into a new home a little more than a year ago, thinking at the time that it was much more space than I really needed. I had planned on buying a smaller house, but I fell in love with this one the first time I saw it and a low interest rate made it affordable...

In some ways, I’m still a relative newcomer to Berryville and Carroll County. Although I’ve been here seven years now, the new hasn’t really worn off. Having lived in some not-so-prosperous and not-so-beautiful parts of Arkansas, I still appreciate the opportunity to live and work in such a beautiful place that has a real spirit of community...

O ver the course of 32 years in the newspaper business, I’ve worked with and for a lot of people. I’ve had great bosses and I’ve had horrible bosses. I’ve never had a better boss than Bob Moore. That’s why it’s going to be a bittersweet week around here as Bob counts down the last few days until his retirement at the end of the day Friday...

Over the past few years, I’ve become notorious for my early bedtime. I tend to head toward my bedroom around 7 p.m., if not earlier, with two or three bottles of water in hand and a couple of fairly large dogs in tow. Now, that doesn’t mean I go to sleep at 7 p.m. ...

Mondays are busy days in the Carroll County Newspapers newsroom, and today is no exception. A lot goes into producing a newspaper on deadline, especially one with a full-time staff of three people. But in between writing stories and toning photos and proofreading pages today, I’m also trying to take a little time to enjoy my birthday and count my blessings...

I was reminded earlier this week about something that happened during my tenure as managing editor of the daily newspaper in Pine Bluff. I happened to run into that city’s mayor at a convenience store, and he did not speak to me. That wasn’t really surprising; he hadn’t been taking my phone calls for several months at that point, after I called him to discuss his habit of trying to embarrass the talented and hardworking, but young and sometimes meek, reporter I had assigned to cover City Hall. ...

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to meet and visit with several employees of our county’s largest employer, Tyson Foods. The employees I met included one young woman, Jessie Maybee, who has worked in the company’s Berryville plant for 59 years. When she started her career, 10 days after her high school graduation, the plant was still owned and operated by Ocoma Foods...

As the battle against COVID-19 continues, so does the Arkansas Legislature’s stubborn resistance to anything that scientists tell us might help turn the tide or even ease the burden on those affected by the pandemic. Masks? Nope. You can’t tell us what to do...

I’ve been battling sinus issues for two weeks now. I’ll spare you the details that I’m sure you can imagine except to say that one of my symptoms is a productive cough. I’ve been able to handle the situation with over-the-counter medication, but one of the side effects of that is that I’ve felt extra tired and lazy — so much so that I took the day off last Wednesday. ...

Once a year or so, I like to devote this space to doing a little boasting. And it’s that time of year again. Last Friday, the Carroll County News editorial team won the general excellence award as the top medium-circulation weekly newspaper in the state of Arkansas for the fourth time in the past five years...

My youngest grandson, Liam, will celebrate his sixth birthday in December. When he was born, I jokingly told his parents that he could come and stay with me as soon as he was potty-trained. That milestone has long since passed, but it wasn’t until the July 4 weekend that Liam actually got to spend a weekend at Pops’ house by himself...

Mondays are by far the busiest day of the week in the CCN newsroom, as we hustle to meet our weekly deadline. I typically perform best under deadline pressure, probably because I spent more than 20 years working for daily newspapers where that pressure was unrelenting. That’s the good news...

My social media presence consists almost entirely of Facebook, and one of the things I enjoy is seeing memories from previous years. It’s fun to see how my family has grown and changed over the years. A memory that popped up over the weekend gave me an especially good chuckle. ...

“There will always be value in what we do.” A newspaper industry veteran who has been around the business even longer than my 30-plus years made that statement during a recent conversation about the future of the industry, and it’s absolutely true. A newspaper — even a weekly one — is a tremendous asset to a community, especially if it’s done right...

Editor’s Note: This column was originally published on May 30, 2017. It is one of my favorites, and its message is more important than ever. A s I write this column, it’s Memorial Day. Across Carroll County — and across the country — ceremonies are being held to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service...

The Green Forest Tigers’ victory over Harding Academy in the championship game of the Class 3A boys state soccer tournament was a huge accomplishment for the team’s players and coaches, and for the community. It was also a big accomplishment for public schools...

Having spent more than 30 years in the newspaper business, I sometimes marvel at the way technology has changed the way we work. When I got my start, there were no digital cameras. Photographers actually used film and then developed it in a dark room...

Regular readers of this column may remember that I adopted a dog and cat, Ivy and Mago, a few months ago. Mago was a stray cat in the neighborhood where I bought a home last October. I took him in, in fact, before I even moved in myself. I named him after my favorite baseball player, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier “El Mago” Baez...

Sunday is Mother’s Day. For some of you readers, it will be a day to celebrate and honor your mothers by spending some time with them. There will be flowers, special meals and time spent together.

Credibility is everything for any news organization. Our customers, the people who read this newspaper, depend on us to provide information that is accurate and objective. That’s always our goal, but we’re human. Sometimes we make mistakes. Those mistakes often make me furious — at myself, most of the time — in the moment. After some time has passed, however, even I can sometimes see the humor...

If there’s anything I love more than baseball, it’s my family. And when I get a chance to enjoy my family and baseball at the same time, that’s pretty much a perfect day. That’s the best way for me to describe last Saturday, which I spent at the ballpark in Sherwood watching my grandsons play...

I got caught in a weak moment. It was two weeks ago Tuesday and I was dropping off my faithful, reliable 2016 Toyota Corolla for an oil change. A salesman approached and asked if I was ready to trade her in. No, not really. She’d never given me a second of trouble except for needing a new battery just a couple weeks before. ...

When I was a boy, one of the most effective punishments my mom used— when it was necessary, as it frequently was — was grounding me from watching University of Arkansas basketball games. That was in the early 1980s, after the “Triplets” days of Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph. My parents weren’t sports fans and so I became a fan a little later than some of my peers. But once I discovered the Razorbacks in the days of Darrell Walker and Scott Hastings, I was hooked...

Saturday marked the official first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and although it snowed briefly in Berryville less than a week ago, the signs of spring are everywhere. The daffodils are blooming, pastures are green again, the branches on the willow tree in my front yard are no longer bare and the birds have discovered the new feeder on my back deck...

It’s a hectic time of year to be a sports editor, and I’m more thankful for that than I could have ever imagined a little more than a year ago. The biggest local sports news right now is the two state championships brought home over the weekend by the Berryville High School wrestling team. ...

One of the smartest managers I know sums up his management style this way: Hire good people, and get out of their way. The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission seems to have a different mindset: Come onto a public governing body, see some hard-working longtime employees and do everything you can to meddle, interfere, bully, intimidate, threaten and try to run them off...

O ne of my most prized possessions sits on a desk in my office. It’s a large book, measuring 8.5 by 11.5 inches and running for more than 500 pages. The title is “Loftis and the Descendants of Laban Loftis,” and the book traces my paternal family history back for eight generations. Laban Loftis is my great-great-great-great-great grandfather, the son of one of three Loftis brothers who came to America from England in the early 18th Century...

I’m writing this column on Friday, in anticipation of Monday being a little different than it is most weeks. Monday is our “production day” here at the Carroll County News — the day we actually put the newspaper together and send the pages to the press in Harrison. ...

Sometimes, as a sports fan and even as a sportswriter, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and forget some basic truths about the games we’re watching. One of those truths is this: the quarterback gets all the glory, but it’s those big ugly guys up front who often mean the difference between winning and losing...

I don’t have a lot of hobbies. I like to watch baseball, I like to fish with a cane pole and I enjoy watching a good movie — although I’m consistently amazed at the number of bad movies that get made. But the “hobby” I seem to spend the most time at, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, is cooking...

I’m taking a break from discussing politics this week and I’m going to devote this space to something really important: pro football. I love baseball, but I need to have a rooting interest to watch it on TV. I probably watch 100 or more Chicago Cubs games every season, but I have no interest in a random Rangers-Mariners game on a Tuesday night...

L ast week’s column in this space generated a fair amount of response, mostly on social media and mostly critical. For the record, I don’t mind. The purpose of an opinion column isn’t to please someone. In fact, writing an opinion piece with the goal of making someone happy is a fool’s errand. Express an opinion in public, or do anything to attract public attention, and you will be criticized, especially these days. It’s a fact of life and an occupational reality that I’ve long since accepted...

The Arkansas Legislature will convene Jan. 11 in Little Rock and our own state Sen. Bob Ballinger is likely to be among the more high-profile legislators. A couple of things about that statement — first, I say “our own” because the District 5 seat owned by the citizens of the district and currently occupied by Ballinger represents a large portion of Carroll County, although Ballinger is no longer a resident of the county. ...

I’m disappointed, but not terribly surprised, that skepticism about the deadly effects of COVID-19 continues to rage, both locally and nationwide. In March, I wrote about the potentially devastating numbers associated with the pandemic: If 10 percent of Americans contract the COVID-19 virus and 1 percent of those people die, that equals 330,000 American deaths. That’s substantially more than the 291,000 American combat deaths in World War II, for a frame of reference...

Dear readers, Perhaps nothing that has ever been published in any newspaper is as well-known as the piece I’d like to share with you today. Although it was written more than 120 years ago, its message is timeless and perhaps even more important today than it has ever been...

There’s an old saying that very much applied to my dad: If he can’t fix it, it ain’t broke. Dad made his living fixing things that didn’t work. He spent more than 25 years as a service technician for Sears Roebuck and Company, long before the company ran into financial trouble and declared bankruptcy. He drove a service van all over central and south Arkansas, sometimes even into northern Louisiana...

It’s been a few years since I had a pet. At least, it had been a few years up until about six weeks ago. Now it seems as if I’m starting a menagerie. After several years of living in an apartment, I recently bought a house in Berryville. And before I even moved in, I adopted a stray cat from the neighborhood. ...

More than 137,000 Arkansas residents have tested positive for coronavirus. Another 19,000-plus are classified as “probable cases” based on antigen testing. Nearly 2,500 people have died from the virus in Arkansas and more than 1,000 were hospitalized as of Monday morning...

I’m facing a bit of a dilemma as I start this column. I need to write, again, about Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s inept response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I gave the governor a pass last week when I instead wrote about the improvement of the University of Arkansas football team...

If I needed any more convincing about the improvement in the University of Arkansas football program, I saw all I needed to see Saturday night. Wait a minute, you’re probably saying to yourself right about now: The Razorbacks were beaten by four touchdowns, losing to the Florida 63-35...

An open letter to Eureka Springs mayor Butch Berry: Dear Mayor Berry, I hope this letter finds you well. I know it’s been a trying year for you, as it has for all of us. While we’re all living in a pandemic that affects our daily lives, I know it also has had an impact on your city. And you’ve had other things to worry about, too, such as making some unfortunate remarks that were published in a local newspaper...

I believe very strongly that government should be transparent, at every level. Citizens have a right to know what is going on with their government, and public business should be conducted in public view. That’s not just my personal feeling. In Arkansas, it’s the law. ...

Regular readers of this column know that I’m a huge Chicago Cubs fan. Earlier this year, first-year Cubs manager David Ross was asked if he thought a 60-game season would hold less meaning than a normal 162-game schedule. I loved Ross’ response: “If they’re handing out a trophy, I want it.”...

I’m saddened. And I’m angry. I’m saddened because a friend lost his father over the weekend to complications from COVID-19, while another friend’s mother fights for life on a ventilator in a Missouri hospital. The friend who lost his dad Saturday night is a former reporter at the Pine Bluff newspaper, a law school graduate who spent some time working in the Middle East and pays close attention to international affairs. ...

The dust hasn’t quite settled yet, and there are still some questions left to be answered, but it looks as if Carroll County property owners are off the hook for an $18 annual fee connected to a defunct landfill in Baxter County. The case is extremely complicated in one sense, I can say after having read most of the case file. ...

I’m skeptical about a lot of things as high school and college teams prepare to kick off the 2020 football season. I’m skeptical about the chances for a complete season at either level. Don’t misconstrue that: I hope that both the high school and college seasons go off without a hitch, but I believe the odds are strongly against that...

Growing old, as they say, isn’t for the faint of heart. Now, I realize that I’m still relatively young, but I haven’t gone unscathed by Father Time. My hair is a whole lot grayer now than it was 10 years ago, and I’ve got an expanding bald spot on the top of my head. Not to mention arthritis in both knees...

It’s early August — typically the dog days of summer in Arkansas. The forecast calls for temperatures in the low to mid-90s next weekend, which seems about right. This past weekend, however, was a different story. The weather was much cooler and absolutely beautiful, and I took full advantage...

I’ve been spending some time in the office on Sunday afternoons lately, partly because it gives me a chance to get a head start on the week and partly because it gets me out of the house. I’ve been doing my best to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, which means that I spend a lot of time at home. ...

Since I became managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers six years ago, I’ve made coverage of education a priority. I believe schools are an important part of the community — a source of pride and a vital element in building our future. For the past two years or so, I’ve also been responsible for high school sports coverage. ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in Carroll County, I believe it’s safe to say — if not directly, at least indirectly. I should note at the outset that five Carroll County residents have died from the virus, and those deaths are not something to take lightly. My heart goes out to those five people, and to the families and friends they left behind...

Asa Hutchinson’s almost-daily updates on COVID-19, aired live via YouTube, have become required viewing since the pandemic began in March. I’ve been generally pleased, for what it’s worth, with Hutchinson’s performance as governor. As a conservative Republican, he has managed to find enough common ground with Democratic legislators to function fairly successfully as the state’s chief executive. ...

This column is being written on Friday morning, which is an anomaly. Typically, it’s more like Monday morning. I’m a procrastinator by nature — something I’ve learned to guard against since I work in a deadline-based business. Sometimes, it’s difficult deciding on a topic. Sometimes I write about politics. Sometimes I write about sports. Sometimes I write about what’s most important to me, and that’s my family. This is one of those times...

I was shocked and horrified by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and I stand by my opinion that racism is still a scourge in America that won’t go away without honest introspection, open dialogue and a greater effort toward mutual understanding...

For a while, it seemed as if Carroll County might go unscathed in the COVID-19 pandemic. The first local case of the virus wasn’t reported until April 1, and as recently as May 18 there were no active cases reported in the county. This, of course, served as fuel for some folks to argue that the entire pandemic was nothing more than an exaggeration at best or a hoax at worst...

It’s human nature, I suppose, to form opinions and make judgments based upon our own life experiences and circumstances without considering the experiences and circumstances of others. For white Americans who have never had a frightening experience with police, it might be difficult to understand why black Americans react so strongly to instances of police brutality. It might be difficult to empathize with their emotions, simply because we’ve never been in their position...

As I write this column, it’s Memorial Day. Across Carroll County — and across the country — ceremonies are being held to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service.

How, exactly, was an Arkansas prison parolee carrying the COVID-19 virus released from state custody? It depends on whom you ask, and that inconsistency may be the most disturbing aspect of a very disturbing scenario. So many facts are in question regarding parolee Jad Perkins. We know he was released from the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ Cummins Unit in Lincoln County on April 20. We know that he came to Carroll County and that he tested positive for COVID-19 after his arrival here...

My oldest son is a college dropout. And soon he’ll be a college graduate. Ronnie hasn’t exactly followed the traditional path toward his degree. He was awarded a prestigious scholarship to Arkansas State University during his senior year in high school. But he enlisted in the Marine Corps instead...

May 4 isn’t a significant date for most folks — unless you’re a Star Wars fan, of course. But every year, May 4 brings me a reminder to believe in myself and to be grateful for the good things in my life. Eleven years ago Monday, I got a phone call that changed my life. For the better, as it turns out...

All of us, I suppose, are making some sacrifices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For some of us, those sacrifices are major and potentially life-changing: jobs are lost, businesses are closed, essential workers risk potential exposure to the virus...

While the novel coronavirus claims thousands of lives across the United States, Arkansas officials including Gov. Asa Hutchinson say the number of cases here remains below projections. The governor attributes that to social distancing. From an anecdotal perspective, I’m not sure I believe that. It seems there are quite a few folks, both across the state and right here in Carroll County, who continue to ignore the situation and refuse to heed the experts’ advice...

Social distancing is easier for some folks than others. I’ve lived alone for much of the past 12 years or so, and I’ve come to appreciate the solitude most of the time. I enjoy the peace and quiet, doing what I want when I want and not having to debate over mundane things like what’s for dinner. Yes, I’m happily divorced...

There are folks, including a few right here in Carroll County, who continue to insist that there is no real reason to be concerned about COVID-19, aka the novel coronavirus. They’ll tell you that COVID-19 has killed far fewer people than the flu, that the media is making a mountain out of a molehill, that there is no real reason to do anything differently than we’ve always done it...

I’m not writing about COVID-19 (aka the novel coronavirus) today. That’s not because I don’t believe it’s important, but because a great deal of this newspaper is already related to that topic, and frankly I don’t feel as if I have any special wisdom to impart. The best I can say is, follow the advice of medical professionals and do not take this situation lightly...

Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson’s ruling last week that an $18 annual charge being billed to Carroll County property owners is improper won’t be the final word on the issue, but it was a good first step toward undoing a massive injustice...

By the time most of you read this column, it will be too late to vote in Tuesday’s election. If you did take the time to cast a ballot, thank you. If you didn’t, I urge you to do so in the general election in November. The right to vote is something many of us seem to take lightly in the United States, but it’s not something that came without great cost...

If you read this column regularly, you know that I’m a huge sports fan. I started my career as a sportswriter, and I’m fortunate to be in a job now where I get to write about sports in addition to my duties as managing editor. This time of year is especially busy for high school sports, with local teams competing in postseason basketball tournaments and the state wrestling championships being held this past weekend...

A recent visitor to my office wanted to talk about the drug problem in Carroll County and how it impacts almost every facet of life here. I knew that drugs are an issue here. Sadly, it seems they are an issue almost everywhere these days — even in a beautiful county like ours where things seem quiet and peaceful most of the time. Still, I had never really thought about all the ways that drug abuse affects all of us, every day...

An inevitable part of getting older, I suppose, is paying more attention to my health. I’m not a health nut by any stretch of the imagination. I live on coffee and red meat, and 30 years working as a journalist certainly hasn’t benefited my resting heart rate...

For a long while Sunday night, it seemed as if the biggest Super Bowl highlight — for me, anyway — was my crockpot chili. The chili has become a tradition, as has the newsroom Super Bowl party at my place. I tweaked the recipe a bit this year, and the result was delicious. If I do say so myself...

My oldest son is 27 years old now, a grown man with a family of his own. But it wasn’t that long ago — to me at least — that he was a 10-year-old boy who was absolutely consumed by the game of basketball. My son’s favorite athlete at the time was Kobe Bryant, just as mine had been Magic Johnson...

It’s fair to say that January is not my favorite month. It’s been well-documented that I am not a fan of cold weather, and it’s not unusual for me to take ill this time of year. That hasn’t happened the past couple of winters, though, and I wonder if it’s because I’ve become proactive about getting a flu shot every fall...

I watch a lot of football. I mean, I watch a LOT of football. Before Sunday, the most amazing thing I had ever witnessed on a football field was a 1994 NAIA playoff game between the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Western Montana. Western Montana led 46-45 and had the ball with a little more than a minute remaining. ...

Global politics is a very, very, very, very complicated thing. I left out about a dozen verys for the sake of brevity. As we attempt to understand what is happening right now between the United States and Iran, we would all do well to remember that when world diplomacy is the topic, things are never, ever simple...

Time really does fly. As I thought about what I would write in this space today, I remembered a column I wrote at this time last year, outlining some resolutions for 2019. I thought I would go back to that column and see how I did. As it turns out, that column was actually published TWO years ago, in December 2017. I don’t know how I actually fared with those resolutions in 2018, but I knocked a few of them out of the park in 2019...

It’s no secret that times are tough for newspapers across the United States. I’ve seen some folks celebrate that fact, but the truth is that the decline of newspapers is going to have an effect on our society, and it won’t be positive. A New York Times story published over the weekend reported that one in five papers in the United States has closed down over the past 15 years. ...

I hate shopping. It’s not that I’m especially frugal or that I don’t like buying things — for myself or others — but the actual act of shopping is pure torture. Part of that is because of my rapidly-advancing age and the fact that I have painful arthritis in both knees. Spending two hours browsing a department store is about the last thing you’ll find on my list of fun activities...

At one point or another, both of my sons have served as sheriff’s deputies on patrol. Although neither of them are road deputies now, they both still work jobs that present enough risk that they are required to be armed. Candidly, I’m not terribly excited about the idea of my sons potentially being in harm’s way, but they are both grown men capable of making their own decisions. My job is to support those decisions as much as I can...

Producing a column to fill this space each week is sometimes, though not always, challenging. Today is one of those times. I’ve started and stopped a half-dozen times, unsure of a suitable topic. That happens sometimes, but the show must go on and the space must be filled...

If you’ve logged into social media anytime in the last month, you’ve likely seen a meme involving a blonde-haired lady arguing with a cat. There are countless versions of the meme, but they almost all show the blonde-haired lady saying something ridiculous and then being corrected by the cat...

The University of Arkansas rightfully called an end to Chad Morris’ Reign of Error on Sunday, less than 24 hours after — just when you thought Razorback football couldn’t possibly get any worse — the Hogs were blown off the field by a Western Kentucky team that couldn’t beat Central Arkansas this season...

A couple of weeks ago, I answered two telephone calls within a day or two of each other. The first was a woman calling from out of state, obviously distraught. She wanted to have her mother’s obituary published and she wasn’t sure exactly how to accomplish that. ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about University of Arkansas football coach Chad Morris, and my belief that it’s time for the university to let Morris go and move in a new direction. College football is a business, in many ways much more than it is a game. Morris is paid millions of dollars for one primary mission: to win football games...

My youngest son married his high-school sweetheart on Sunday. It was, of course, a happy occasion, but it left me feeling a little melancholy. My life hasn’t exactly read like a happily-ever-after movie script. I’ve been divorced three times. I’ve buried both my parents. I’ve been laid off. I’ve lived on the outskirts of poverty at times as a single dad paying a big chunk of my income in child support...

Some days are busier than others here at Carroll County Newspapers. Mondays can be pretty hectic, then the pace slows down for the rest of the week. Wednesday afternoons are typically fairly quiet, so when my friend David Bell (he’s also a pretty fair photographer) asked me if I’d like to tag along with him and another gentleman for a catfish lunch in Harrison last Wednesday, it didn’t take me long to think it over...

One hundred and 14 to zero. That’s the combined score of Shiloh Christian School’s last two high school football games. The Saints won 56-0 at Berryville on Sept. 27 and then posted a 58-0 home victory last Friday against Green Forest. Both Berryville coach Doug Shott and Green Forest coach Bobby Bishop say this year’s Shiloh Christian team is exceptional even by Shiloh’s high standards. That’s saying a lot for a program that boasts seven state championships in football...

One of the challenges — and one of the perks — of being in the news business is that you never know what a particular day will bring. I like to say that I’ve covered everything from elementary school spelling bees to executions at the state prison over the course of 30 years as a journalist. ...

Four weeks ago, I wrote that it was too early to accurately assess Chad Morris’ performance as head football coach at the University of Arkansas. The proper time to evaluate Morris, I wrote, would be two or three years in the future. I was wrong. Now is a perfectly appropriate time to judge Morris’ performance, and it’s time to make a change...

According to the fine folks at Google, the first day of fall is now less than a week away. The autumnal equinox — that is, according to the equally fine folk at Wikipedia, one of two days each year when the plane of Earth’s equator passes directly through the sun, thus resulting in approximately equal durations of daytime and nighttime across the planet — will occur on Monday, Sept. 23...

Regular readers of this column know that I’m a devoted baseball fan. More accurately, I’m a devoted Chicago Cubs fan. This year, that means baseball season for me will likely be finished sooner than it has been for the past four years. This Cubs team isn’t making the playoffs and if it somehow does get in, it won’t be for long...

It’s birthday season in the Loftis family. My youngest son, Ryan, turned 22 on Thursday, Aug. 29. My daughter-in-law, Christi, is celebrating a birthday today, on Labor Day. My older son, Ronnie, will be 27 on Sunday, Sept. 8. And five days after that, the old man will be 50...

A little less than a year ago, I wrote in this space that it was premature to judge Chad Morris’ performance as the University of Arkansas’ head football coach after an ugly road loss at Colorado State. As it turned out, Colorado State was just an omen of things to come for the Razorbacks in 2018. ...

As I write this, on Monday, it’s my dad’s 72nd birthday. Or, more accurately, it would have been. Dad died more than seven years ago, in July 2012, after surgery to remove a portion of his lung where doctors had discovered cancer. Dad was a smoker for most of his life, and likely was exposed to harmful asbestos both during his service in the U.S. Navy (he was a Vietnam veteran) and his long career as a service technician with Sears Roebuck and Company...

Carroll County students will be heading back to school this weekend, and while some of them may not be happy about it, I sure am. Covering our local schools is a priority for both of our newspapers — the Carroll County News and the Lovely County Citizen. We’ve made it a priority because we believe it’s important, and because we know folks want to read about their children’s accomplishments...

A co-worker told me earlier today that I should write about the mass shootings that occurred over the weekend in Texas and Ohio. I agree. I should. The problem with that is, I don’t know what I can say that I haven’t already said. I don’t know what I can say that will be productive. I don’t know what I can say that will change one mind. I don’t know what I can say that will change a single thing. I don’t know what I can say that will make any difference...

Some people think politics has no place in everyday conversation, that it shouldn’t be discussed on social media or even on the Opinion pages of this newspaper. I’m not one of those people. I believe it’s important that everyone who lives in this country pay attention to what’s going on around them — whether that be at the local, state or federal level. ...

Hopefully, by the time this column is published I’ll be disconnected from the rest of the world, cruising around the Caribbean on a large boat. I say hopefully because the weather has thrown a prospective monkey wrench into my travel plans. As I write this, on a Friday, New Orleans is bracing for the impact of Tropical Storm Barry, which is expected to hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday...

I’m not afraid of flying, but I’d be just fine if I never do it again. I especially wouldn’t be broken-hearted if I never fly in a small airplane again. My apprehension about small planes is rooted in the one time I’ve actually flown in one. I was a college sophomore at the University of Central Arkansas when a friend who had gotten his pilot’s license offered to take a small group of us for a flight around the area...

I’ll celebrate my 50th birthday in September. I suppose for some people that’s not necessarily a pleasant milestone, but I’m not fretting about it. I don’t feel (nearly) 50 most of the time, arthritis notwithstanding. I still listen to that infernal rock and roll music — although these days they call it “classic rock” — and I’m still a big kid at heart. I still like to laugh and joke and I almost always roll out of bed excited about the day — or at least excited about the first cup of coffee...

Sunday was a dreary sort of day in Carroll County, but it was also a milestone day for me. It was the five-year anniversary of my first day here at Carroll County Newspapers. The time has passed quickly, but I’ve enjoyed almost every day of it. Before I came here, I was managing editor of the daily newspaper in Pine Bluff. ...

Welcome to my world, Arkansas Razorbacks fans.

Last week, this newspaper published a story about a Eureka Springs man who has been arrested on multiple charges including rape and kidnapping. Our decision to publish that story (that’s actually misleading, as there was never any consideration of not publishing it) sparked a strong reaction from the accused’s friends and family. For the record, I wrote the story and I stand behind it...

I came to Carroll County five years ago after spending several years working in Pine Bluff. That was actually my third stint at the paper in Pine Bluff: I served as sports editor there in the mid-1990s, then was a night editor and city hall reporter from 2001-2004 before serving as managing editor from 2010-2014...

Editor’s Note: This column was originally published on May 30, 2017. It is one of my favorites, and its message is more important than ever. As I write this column, it’s Memorial Day. Across Carroll County — and across the country — ceremonies are being held to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service...

There are two things I believe every American should experience at least once in their lifetimes: attend a military basic training graduation, preferably for the United States Marine Corps, and spend a day in court watching our justice system at work...

It’s not uncommon, when I meet someone for the first time and what I do for a living comes up in conversation, for them to ask: “Is there ever anything to write about in Berryville?” I just chuckle and say something along the lines of “there’s something to write about anywhere if you pay attention.”...

Nearly every day is a beautiful day in the Ozarks, it seems, but this past weekend was exceptional even by those standards. I took full advantage of the gorgeous spring weather and indulged in some of my favorite activities: delicious food, baseball, more delicious food, coffee, more delicious food and bream fishing. Add in a Game of Thrones watch party with dessert on Sunday night, and the weekend gets a rating of 10-plus...

I bought a new (to me) car a little over a year ago. It’s a sensible car, a 2016 Toyota Corolla. I bought it because of the Corolla’s outstanding reputation for durability, because of its great gas mileage, and because I got a great deal right here in Berryville...

I missed a phone call from my daughter-in-law, Christi, last Friday night. Or at least I thought it was Christi who had called. When I called back, my oldest grandson, Hayden, answered. “Thanks for the new bat, Pops,” he said. “You’re welcome,” I responded, happy to hear that the Amazon elves had delivered the 29-inch, 19-ounce Easton-model instrument of baseball destruction on time...

“There is no cheering in the press box.” That’s a long-standing rule for sportswriters, and it’s one I repeatedly broke over the weekend at the Class 4A state basketball tournament in Magnolia. I tried not to. I really did. But what the Berryville Lady Bobcats accomplished in three games was too worthy of celebrating to worry about some silly old rule...

The state of Arkansas has 269 school districts. Some of those districts are large and some are small. Some are financially stable and some are not. Some have students who fare well on standardized testing and some do not. Those last two sentences often go hand in hand. ...

There’s never much of a slow time for high school sports — at least during the school year. But this is an especially busy, and important, time of the year for Carroll County teams. Three Carroll County teams will be competing in regional basketball tournaments this week, and the Berryville High School wrestling team will try to bring home a state championship this weekend in Little Rock...

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, as promised, on Monday revealed the details of a $300 million highway plan that would be funded through a variety of tax increases. The governor’s plan calls for permanently extending the state’s half-cent sales tax, increasing fuel taxes by three cents a gallon for gasoline and six cents a gallon on diesel, increasing registration fees on hybrid and electric vehicles and dedicating casino tax revenue to highways...

“Why’s everyone so down on the Super Bowl?” our associate editor Samantha Jones asked me on Monday. “Was it bad?” Well, no, it wasn’t bad. It’s the Super Bowl. It can’t be bad. But it wasn’t great. In case you missed it, the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Ram 13-3 in the big game on Sunday. ...

Last November, Arkansas voters decided that our state’s lowest-paid workers deserve a raise. By a vote of more than two to one, voters approved an initiated act that would gradually increase the state’s minimum wage from $8.50 to $11 an hour by 2021...

As the Arkansas State Legislature continues its 92nd General Assembly in Little Rock, it’s a good idea for the state’s residents to pay attention. The 135 state legislators — 35 in the Senate and 100 in the House of Representatives — have been chosen by the people of Arkansas to represent their best interests in leading our state. Whether that actually happens is a matter of opinion, and of course the best opinion is always an informed one...

I am not a fan of cold weather, but I am a fan of professional football. That meant last weekend was a glorious time to spend an hour, or 12, in my recliner with a cup of coffee in my hand and a warm blanket on my feet, watching football until my eyes glazed over...

Like a lot of journalists, I began my career as a sportswriter. And I became a sportswriter because I couldn’t become a professional athlete. Like a lot of young boys then and today, I grew up dreaming about playing pro baseball or football. As the realization slowly dawned on me in my high school years that I wasn’t going to accomplish that dream, I moved in a new direction...

An open letter to Bob Ballinger: Dear Bob, I hope this letter finds you well. I’ve been a little concerned about you lately, especially after learning that you weren’t able to pay your state income tax for 2017, which led the state Department of Finance and Administration to issue a lien against you. Of course, when we talked last week, you said there wasn’t supposed to be a lien at all because you were making payments on your tax debt...

While most people in Carroll County spent last weekend waiting for a snowstorm that never arrived, I was nearly 200 miles south, enjoying a weekend with family that combined an early Christmas celebration with a belated third birthday party for my youngest grandson...

An elected official is caught on a recording using a homophobic slur to describe another elected official. It’s the kind of thing that might lead to a resignation or a firing. In Carroll County, it led to both, but the man whose actions caused the entire episode wasn’t the one who resigned or lost his job...

Last week, I received an email from a gentleman in Green Forest. He explains that he is canceling his subscription to the Carroll County News because he believes it “has lost its focus on real news for the county and its readers.” He goes on to refer to our recent coverage of an incident involving Carroll County Sheriff Randy Mayfield and District 3 Justice of the Peace Lamont Richie. ...

I am the father of two sons. They are 21 and 26 years old, and I worry about them every single day. That’s part of my job as a parent. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to lose one of my sons. I can’t imagine how painful that must be. Unfortunately, at least two families of adolescent boys in Carroll County don’t have to imagine that pain. They feel it every day...

It’s almost time to flip the calendar to October, and that means the 2018 election is just around the corner. It’s an important one, both nationally and, perhaps more importantly for the people of Carroll County, on the local front. We’ll be electing a new sheriff, for sure. There are also contested races for county judge, county clerk, the mayor’s seats in both Green Forest and Eureka Springs, just to name a few...

Arkansas Razorbacks fans who were hoping for a quick turnaround under first-year coach Chad Morris got a bit of a reality check Saturday night, as the Razorbacks blew an 18-point lead in a quarter and a half against a previously winless Colorado State team...

I became a Chicago Cubs fan 36 years ago, during the summer of 1982. Like a lot of 12-year-old boys, then and now, I was in love with the game of baseball. And that summer I fell in love with the Cubs for the simplest of reasons: Day baseball. The Cubs played their home games — just as they still do today — at Wrigley Field. ...

Rob Hiaasen. Gerald Fischman. John McNamara. Rebecca Smith. Wendi Winters. Those five names might not mean anything to most of you reading this column, but they mean a great deal to me. Those five individuals were the people who were senselessly murdered last week at the office of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md. ...

By the time most of you read this column, I hope to be away from the office with not a single thought of work in my head as I enjoy some quality time with my oldest son. Ronnie and his family live in North Little Rock, and we don’t get to spend as much time together as I would like. But he’s due in Berryville later today and I am looking forward to his arrival...

Last week’s column in this space generated a great deal of reaction, including a quick response from state Rep. Bob Ballinger. Ballinger phoned our office in Berryville almost before the ink was dry, it seems, to complain about the column and ask for space to write a rebuttal. He also wondered why I didn’t call him before I wrote it...

Bob Ballinger will tell you — and anyone else who will listen without taking the time to do a little homework and check his facts — that the “liberal media” is ganging up to pick on him. Well, I’m a member of the media and I’m a liberal on an awful lot of issues — like not hating my neighbor because of whom he chooses to love and not treating poor people like subhumans because they have committed the sin of being poor. ...

It’s been a mild winter in Carroll County, most folks would agree. But it’s still winter, and I still hate it. I hate winter for a lot of reasons, not the least of which are the cold and dark. As a matter of fact, the darkness is probably my number one complaint about this time of year. People need sunlight, and there just isn’t enough of it this time of year. Of course, the days are already getting longer, but I won’t be happy until we spring forward in a few weeks...

Professional football is my favorite sport, and the Super Bowl is my favorite sporting event (except, of course, for the 2016 World Series). I’ve seen every game since 1980, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams for their fourth Super Bowl title. But I’ve never seen a Super Bowl like the one I witnessed on Sunday...

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s a time to reflect on the last 365 days. It’s also a chance to look forward to 2018 and think about some of the things we’d like to accomplish in the next 365 days. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of my New Year’s Resolutions, in no particular order. Some of them are more serious than others, but I’ll leave that for you to judge...

Dear readers, Indulge me if you will, as a journalist who is passionate about the history of newspapers and as the grandfather of a curly-haired 8-year-old boy who is currently wrestling with the very question that vexed 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon 120 years ago...

Some of you readers, I’m sure, have seen the new HBO documentary “Meth Storm.” I watched the film over the weekend and found it to be a dark, depressing examination of a segment of our society that is becoming all too common and all too close. The film follows a family of meth addicts in Van Buren County over the course of two years and explains that while law enforcement has been largely successful in eliminating domestic meth labs, the result has been an influx of an even more potent version of the drug from Mexico.. ...

A recent issue of the Lovely County Citizen included a lively Forum section, with several readers writing to voice their opinions. Several wrote about the paper’s recent coverage of a county election commissioner who was arrested after a bizarre incident involving an alleged false accident report that police say led to a car chase and a physical altercation...

It’s the middle of October. It’s one of my favorite times of year — although the weather this year hasn’t exactly been typical for October. Most years, October is the time when temperatures begin to drop and we get those beautiful days and nights where the air is brisk and refreshing without being downright cold...

The long wait is almost over. Football season is just days away. For Arkansas Razorbacks fans, the season actually starts a couple of days earlier than it usually would, with the Razorbacks opening on Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock...

My high school class held its 30th reunion on Saturday. While I didn’t attend, it has been fun catching up with my old classmates via Facebook in the weeks leading up to the event. It has been interesting, too, seeing how some classmates’ appearance has changed dramatically while others don’t seem to have aged at all. ...

If you read this column regularly, you probably know that I am a long-suffering, incurable fan of the Chicago Cubs. Of course, it seems as if 35 percent of the American population is a Cubs fan these days, but many of them haven’t earned that title. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon when a team is winning, not so much when you follow a team for more than 30 years without a World Series appearance...

One of my favorite musical artists is a gentleman named Robert James Ritchie. You might know him better as Kid Rock. I’m sure that revelation is a little surprising to you. Kid Rock likely isn’t the kind of music you would expect a middle-aged newspaper editor to listen to, but I’ve always appreciated rock music and Kid Rock is a talented musician...

July 21 will mark the five-year anniversary of my father’s death. It’s been on my mind lately. My dad and I were never close; I’m not sure if that’s because we were so different, or if it’s because we were so much alike. Certainly, there were a lot of things we didn’t agree on. ...

As a general rule, I don’t write columns about local news stories. The reason is that I might have to cover a story that I’ve written about, or at the very least be involved in supervising coverage of that story. I don’t want anyone to think that our reporting of any particular story is anything less than 100 percent objective...

As I write this column, it’s Memorial Day. Across Carroll County — and across the country — ceremonies are being held to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service. One of those ceremonies took place this morning in Green Forest, where longtime Green Forest High School teacher and coach Jim Goins was among the speakers. ...

Sunday is Mother’s Day. For some of you readers, it will be a day to celebrate and honor your mothers by spending some time with them. There will be flowers, special meals and time spent together. For others, and for me, it will be a day to remember the mothers that we can’t spend the day with — we’ll celebrate and honor our moms, too, but we’ll have to do it more quietly, in our hearts...

“Well, it’s cancer.” That’s the message I received a few weeks ago from a dear friend. She had feared as much, and I had tried to reassure her that everything would be OK. In the wake of the diagnosis, I asked if there was anything I could do to help. ...

I grew up as a die-hard Arkansas Razorbacks fan — especially when it came to Arkansas basketball. My parents weren’t sports fans, so I didn’t get introduced to sports as early as a lot of my peers. I had to discover them for myself, which happened around the time I was 10 years old...

Show me a newspaper reporter who’s been in this business for a few years, and I’ll show you a cynical, skeptical individual who thinks they’ve seen it all. It takes a bit of toughness to cover some stories, and not everyone is cut out for it. I would like to think that I’m tough enough to cover any story that’s put in front of me. ...

I’ve made my living as a journalist for nearly 28 years now, starting as a 19-year-old sports editor at the Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home. Over the course of my career, I’ve covered everything from an elementary school spelling bee to an execution at a state prison...

Last week in this space, we published a guest column written by Tom Larimer, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association. The column originally was published as part of the APA’s weekly electronic newsletter. I liked it so much, and it was so well-written, that I called Tom and asked for his permission to publish it in the Carroll County News. He graciously agreed, and I hope our readers found it as informative and engaging as I did...

Super Bowl Sunday is always a bittersweet day for me. Yes, it’s the most important day of the professional football season, but it’s also the last one. Pro football is my favorite sport, and as soon as one season ends I’ll start counting the days until another begins...

I'm pretty sure I'm a rarity among fans of professional football. I absolutely love NFL football, especially this time of year. But I don't have a favorite team. That makes the playoffs much less stressful for me, as I can enjoy the games without living and dying with every play like many of my friends...

Mondays are the busiest day of the week for the news department here at the Carroll County News. That's because Monday is when we work on our Midweek edition, which is due at the press on Monday night. Sometimes, Monday stretches past midnight as we try to make sure that we give our readers the latest local news...

End of the year columns can go in a lot of different directions. I could look back on 2016 and some of the important stories that happened in Carroll County -- like Tyson Foods' announcement of major expansion plans in Green Forest, or the re-election of County Judge Sam Barr and Sheriff Randy Mayfield...

My dad earned his living as an appliance repairman. I earn mine putting words on paper. It's odd how some talents get passed from generation to generation and some don't. My dad personified the old saying "if he can't fix it, it ain't broke." Everyone in our family -- heck, everyone in the little town where we lived -- knew that if their washer, dryer, refrigerator, air conditioner or any other home appliance suddenly stopped working, Ronnie Loftis was the man to call. ...

A popular joke that I've seen over the past several months goes something like this: I possess a device, small enough to hold in one hand, that gives me access to all the knowledge of human history. I use it to watch cat videos and argue with strangers on the Internet...

Thanksgiving is the one day each year that we set aside specifically to count our blessings. This year, I had a little extra counting to do. My grandson, Liam, celebrated his first Thanksgiving this year -- eight days before his first birthday. And while he might not have completely understood or enjoyed the experience (he was definitely NOT a fan of his Thanksgiving-themed hat), his Pops definitely did...

I was wrong about the 2016 election. I first wrote about Donald Trump's candidacy in August 2015, describing him as a "self-important windbag who should never receive a single vote to become president of the United States." A year later, I wrote about Trump again. This time I described him as "a puffed-up, steroidal version of a stereotypical used-car salesman (with sincere apologies to used-car salesmen)."...

Regular readers of this column know, sometimes to their great chagrin, that I tend to be fairly liberal in my political leanings. What most of them probably don't know is that on some issues I'm actually quite conservative. The dichotomy of abortion and the death penalty in America is perhaps the strongest example...

I celebrated my 47th birthday last week, in enemy territory. No, not Donald Trump's campaign headquarters. I can tolerate a lot, but not that. I'm talking about Busch Stadium in St. Louis, home of those lousy, good-for-nothing St. Louis Cardinals. That's right: Not only am I a Democrat, but I'm also a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. ...

My most recent column in this space focused on a certain presidential candidate, and it drew a significant amount of criticism on social media. That doesn't bother me one bit, but I thought this week it might be a good idea to get away from politics and focus on something really important...

Two weeks ago today, the presidential candidate representing one of America's two major political parties made a not-so-subtle suggestion that supporters of the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment could potentially assassinate his opponent. The suggestion was met by his audience not with shock, not with boos, but with a smattering of laughter and applause. ...

Many years ago, I coached a fifth- and sixth-grade boys basketball team in Pine Bluff. The team was made up entirely of African-American boys, ranging in age from 10 to 12. And it was a very good team. The only games we lost during my first season as coach were in a tournament where we competed against older players...

It's a presidential election year, and this particular presidential election is perhaps the most divisive, vitriolic, just plain nasty campaign in my lifetime -- if not ever. For that reason alone, there is certain to be an enormous voter turnout on Nov. 8, both across the United States and right here in Carroll County. Voters on both sides of the aisle are fired up about the national race and eager to have their say in the outcome...

Regular readers of this column know that last December, I was blessed with my first grandchild. William Edward "Liam" Loftis was born on Dec. 2, 2015. There's nothing I wouldn't do for little Liam, I said at the time, except for one thing: I'm not changing any diapers. I've paid my dues, I told myself, and I can relax and let somebody else handle the diaper duties from now on. Liam is welcome to come and stay a few days with me in Berryville, I said. As soon as he's potty-trained...

I didn't get a Father's Day phone call from either of my sons on Sunday, but I'm not angry at them about it. Some of you readers may recall that both of my sons are members of the Marine Corps Reserves. Their unit, based at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, is currently on summer drill in Twentynine Palms, Calif. ...

When I became managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers two years ago, one of my biggest priorities was coverage of education. Samantha Jones, who has since become our associate editor, joined our staff about a month after I did. Although Sam covered a lot of beats during her time as a reporter in Berryville, the most important was education...

Each Friday morning, I share breakfast with a group of gentlemen at a local restaurant. The cast of characters isn't always the same; there might be as few as three of us present or as many as seven or eight, depending on the week. But the conversation is always entertaining and, although the food is always welcome, the meal is more about the fellowship...

Journalism isn't a thankless profession, but sometimes it can feel that way. I'm blessed to be here in Carroll County, and I never lose sight of that. Still, even here there are people who criticize journalists in general and this newspaper in particular. Sometimes that criticism is warranted. We aren't perfect, although perfection is our goal. Legitimate criticism can be very helpful and instructive, and I try to accept it as such...

Last week in this space, I wrote about the battle over expanding the federal Medicaid program in Arkansas. I'm in favor of doing so, and I'm well aware that many of you readers disagree with that position. This week, I want to discuss something of a far more serious nature, and I know that many of you disagree with me there as well...

Each week, this page features a column written by state Sen. Bryan King of Green Forest. Almost always, Sen. King's column focuses on some aspect of state government, and we appreciate his perspective. Although Sen. King and I don't speak frequently, we do have occasional contact and I've always found him to be a gentleman and very sincere in his beliefs...

Last week a colleague and former co-worker of mine who now works for a respected weekly business publication in central Arkansas contacted me and asked if I would be willing to discuss the state of the newspaper industry -- and particularly morale among journalists -- for a story in that publication...

There's an old adage that says: Father Time is undefeated. Mostly I hear it used in the context of athletic endeavors. Sooner or later, even the best and most talented athletes face the end of their careers, and we've all been witness to the sad occasions when those athletes don't recognize that it's time to retire...

A couple of weeks ago, my son and I traveled to central Arkansas to attend my uncle's funeral. My Uncle Sammie died on Feb. 6, five days after his 74th birthday. His health had been declining for several years and he had suffered a light stroke not long before his death...

As Americans head to the polls to cast their votes on Super Tuesday, I am deeply concerned about the future of our country. America's system of democracy is based on the idea that all people are entitled to certain freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness...

Several years ago, I worked for a newspaper in Pine Bluff. We published a daily newspaper in that city as well as a weekly paper in White Hall, a small town a few miles away. At that time, I covered city government for the daily paper. It was -- and still is -- a busy beat. ...

Eleven years ago Tuesday, my world changed forever. On that cold January day back in 2005, my mother drew her final breath. It seems like a century ago, and it seems like just last week. To some people, my mother might have seemed like just an ordinary woman. To those who knew her even a little, it was clear that she was extraordinary. To me, she was my hero from the day I was born, although it took many years for me to realize just how brave she truly was...

It's time again for my annual declaration: I hate winter. OK, so lately it's more like a daily declaration, especially with last weekend's cold temperatures. As I write this, I'm actually mostly warm and comfortable in my office, except that my feet are freezing. And they've been freezing for approximately six weeks...

I never knew either of my grandmothers. Both of them died young, years before I was even born. I've seen one photograph of my paternal grandmother (more on that in a bit) and until this weekend I had seen one grainy photo of my maternal grandmother...

Last week in this space, I wrote about the impending birth of my first grandchild. This week, I can proudly report that William Edward "Liam" Loftis came screaming into the world at 4:02 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock...

It seems like just yesterday that I became a father. But the reality is, tomorrow I will become a grandfather. William Edward "Liam" Loftis is scheduled to make his grand entrance into the world sometime Wednesday -- assuming that he doesn't surprise us all and arrive a little ahead of schedule...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about guns. That column generated a few comments from readers, most of whom disagreed with my point and some of whom didn't seem to completely understand it. I'll make an attempt to clarify it here. I believe that if we are to reverse or even significantly slow the tide of gun violence in America, we are going to have to take a long, meaningful, honest look at our culture and our laws. ...

"Back to the Future II" got it wrong, and so did I. The 1989 Michael Fox film about a time-traveling teenager includes a scene dated Oct. 21, 2015. On that day, the character Marty McFly sees a hologram news feed that congratulates the Chicago Cubs on winning the World Series. The news is confirmed in the next day's edition of "USA Today."...

SAN DIEGO -- Honor. Courage. Commitment. These are the core values of the United States Marine Corps, and they are embodied by the young men who undergo basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Forty-two times a year, the depot hosts graduation ceremonies for young men who have volunteered to serve our country in a time of war and turmoil, who have volunteered to be challenged mentally and physically, who have volunteered to risk their very lives to protect all of ours...

Years ago, I was a frequent flyer. My job as editor of a national newspaper that covered the for-hire trucking industry took me all over the country: Charleston, Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, Milwaukee, Louisville and many other cities. It seemed as if I was getting on a plane every other week. But that was all before Sept. 11, 2001...

Fifty-four hours. Forty-eight miles. Forty-five pounds of gear. Twenty-nine problem-solving exercises. Six to eight hours of sleep. Three MREs. Add all of those things up, and the sum is The Crucible. It's the final step that recruits take to become United States Marines at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. It culminates with a 10-mile march up a large, steep hill that has become known in Marine Corps lore as "The Reaper."...

All of us have our guilty pleasures, and I'm no exception. Mine is music, and some of you readers might be surprised at some of my favorites. At the top of my list is the greatest band in the history of sound -- AC/DC. No one else even comes close to the Thunder From Down Under. I've had the good fortune to see them in concert twice, and although they are nearing the end of their 40-year run, I hope I get the chance to see them again...

What's going on with the Arkansas Razorbacks? Is this team about to suffer a season-long collapse and finish 3-8? Or will Bret Bielema turn things around quickly after Saturday's stunning loss to Toledo and guide the Hogs to an SEC West championship?...

Pick up a newspaper anywhere in Arkansas, and odds are decent that you will see part of the legacy of Dean Duncan. Pick up this newspaper, and I can guarantee it. Dean, a longtime journalism professor at the University of Central Arkansas, died Saturday. He was 90...

I didn't watch last week's GOP presidential debates, but I didn't need to watch them to tell you that Donald Trump is a self-important windbag who should never receive a single vote to become president of the United States. Unfortunately, Trump still is the leader in an NBC News Online poll conducted over the weekend after the debates...

Dear readers, I hope you'll forgive me this week for doting on a couple of important people in my life. First is my youngest son, Ryan, who at this exact moment is probably being screamed at by a man in a broad-brimmed hat and a very bad mood. Ryan is in his third week of boot camp at U.S. ...

OK ... so I know that back when we were freezing in February, I wished for 100-degree days. And while I don't think we've actually hit the century mark here in Carroll County yet this summer, I can now officially say I've had my fill of the heat. Yes, I'm the guy who's never satisfied with the weather. It's too cold or it's too hot, approximately 10 months out of the year...