Opinion

Family is weird. It doesn’t matter what size. Big, small, blended, chosen — no matter how they’re put together, being part of a family can put you through the wringer, make you stronger, break you down or lift you up. Often at the same time. I come from a small family. Growing up, it was just my mom, her parents and myself. We were four people in a two-bedroom house...

It happened on Sunday. Gideon was working in his classroom so I cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors. Sweeping near the sliding glass doors, I saw a small black dot on the run. It was smaller than my smallest fingerprint, but that didn’t matter. It was a spider...

Netflix is ruining my sleep schedule. It’s getting a fair bit of help from Disney+, HBO Max, Prime and all the other streaming services. As I’ve written before, I watch a lot of television. A lot. My mother would say too much. Heck, your mother would likely say the same if she knew how much TV I watch...

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. ...

Last week, I received a quarterly lifestyle subscription box. This box has blessed me with high-end skincare products, nice jewelry and loads of hair care in the past. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so blessed this time around. Pretty much everything in the box was useless or obviously cheap, like a cup in the shape of a cactus that Gideon inexplicably loves...

I have many opinions. I’m not afraid to share them. I try to make sure my opinions are formed by facts, but like everyone else, sometimes I get it wrong. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m also not scared to point out the fallacies in someone else’s opinion, especially if that opinion is counter to my own...

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...

Editor’s Note: Chris Claybaker is the economic development director for the city of Berryville. Dear Community and Business Leaders: The pandemic has caused such havoc in all our lives. We’ve seen friends and neighbors get sick, and some have died. Some of us have seen friends lose their jobs, and others struggle to keep their heads above water. ...

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...

When you have a pet you love, it’s hard to accept that they’ll never live as long as you will. That’s a tough fact Gideon and I had to face last week when we put our sweet kitty BJ to sleep. I’m writing this on a Sunday — four days after we said goodbye — and tears keep falling down my cheeks...

Looking back on my youth, I remember going with my mother to the grocery store. As we walked the aisles, she’d stop and talk with nearly everyone she saw, from employees to customers. This process, understandably, took quite some time, and for 5-year-old me, was nearly unbearable...

During my junior year of college, I signed up for a photography course. The course was required for my journalism concentration, and I was not looking forward to it. Writing papers came easy. Studying for exams wasn’t too bad. But mastering the art of photography? You might as well have asked me to chew off my own hand...

Last month, I wrote about an upcoming dentist appointment to repair some damage to my teeth. That appointment turned into another appointment, which was postponed because of the crazy winter storm mid-February. Finally, I found myself sitting in the dentist chair last Wednesday...

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...

I’ve always been fascinated by animals and their antics. Furred, feathered, finned or scaled — it doesn’t matter. If they’re doing something funny, unexpected or even just interesting, I’m watching. I’ve been this way since I was little kid, parked in front of the television, watching the adventures of Marlin Perkins and co-host Jim Fowler on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom — “While Jim wrestles the deadly crocodile, let’s talk about life insurance.”...

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...

Last Friday, I called my boss about a project that would have been due at the end of this week. We came to a conclusion I’m sure many of you have come to understand since that big winter storm hit two weeks ago. We were behind, but so was everybody else...

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. ...

I read an interesting piece not too long ago regarding a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center. An article written by Jeffrey Gottfried and Elizabeth Grieco analyzed the information collected by the study, which indicated that young people had an easier time telling the difference between factual statements and opinion...

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...

Last Thursday, my boss told me to expect an arctic blast this week. I grew up in Texas, so I didn’t know what that was at first. As I write on Monday morning from my home office, I’ve come to understand that an arctic blast brings freezing temperatures, slippery roads and the urge to stock up on milk and bread as soon as possible...

I spent an inordinate amount of time napping last weekend. It started Friday afternoon when I got home from the office. I was tired and a little worn out, so I decided to lay down for a bit. Four hours later, I woke up. A few hours later, it was bedtime...

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Kevin Wright. We graduated together 40 years ago and while we were different personalities, we were good friends. I’d like this to be a brief tribute, and a nostalgic one.  Kevin was already working at the Star Progress when he recommended me for the same job: full-fledged reporter. ...

I’m writing this column a day early, because I’ve got a date with the dentist on Monday morning. He’ll do some X-rays and tell me what’s wrong, but I’m pretty sure I have cavities — a lot of them. That’s what I’ve been focusing on, at least. It’s much better than anticipating a root canal...

I ’ve never owned a “cool” car. Not for lack of wanting one. It’s just never been in the cards — or the wallet. Before I go too far down this road, be warned — I’m not a gearhead. All my opinions are based on appearance. I don’t feel too bad about that, because most folks don’t know a lot about engine size, cylinders, torque and the like...

I n a previous column, I promised to share some of my stories, and after last week’s more serious bent, I figured this week might be a good time to start. Have you ever had a visitor that dropped in unexpectedly, sowing chaos and disruption before disappearing, never to be seen again?...

My nana grew up with 13 brothers and sisters, so I had a bushel of great aunts and uncles. We’re not supposed to have a favorite, but I loved Aunt Susanna the most. She was funny, personable and inclusive. Anybody that grew up with a big extended family knows someone always gets left out. ...

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 saw a meme once on the internet, and, like many of the best ones, while funny, it also had a note of truth to it. “Never in the history of calming down has anyone actually calmed down after being told to calm down.” Based on my personal experience with several excitable types — including my late wife — I can attest to the general truth of this statement. However, I feel compelled to give it one more shot...

On New Year’s Eve, Gideon and I celebrated making it through 2020 without contracting COVID-19. Perhaps we celebrated too soon. Last week, we both tested positive for the virus and have been on lockdown ever since. I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem ashamed of contracting the virus. ...

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...