Opinion

Between the inked pages of any local newspaper and beyond news stories, there are stories of wins and losses, businesses and social doings, deaths and births and entertainment. There are advertisements and legals and in our paper there are prayer requests. Our newspaper, and others, are more important to a community than some might suspect. My five-year anniversary as editor of the Clay County Courier is coming up in a week at the end of June. I have to say I have learned so much about a great many things in that time. It’s what makes this job so interesting.

I went to McDonald’s for dinner the other day. I I know, I know — “We have food at home” — but I was hungry and tired.

The other day I read a quote that made me stop and take pause. It read, “Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.” T Now at first glance, it makes perfect sense.

I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Israel Innovation Authority this week, and today I’d like to talk about what this means to Arkansas. On Tuesday, my economic development team gathered with Dr.

Editor’s Note: This column was originally published in 2020. I share it this week for three reasons: I’m on vacation, Father’s Day is June 19 and I remain immensely proud of my sons and my grandsons.

I’d get the occasional card or phone call, but I only met him twice, the last time when I was 14. I’m 50 now, and he’s long dead — something I didn’t know about until years after it happened.

Hundreds of high school students explored the halls of the capitol last week during the annual exercise in government known as Girls State and Boys State. The week-long programs, which are sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary, offer rising seniors the chance to form a government, run for office, and write and vote on legislation.

I’m a homebody at heart. I’m perfectly content to relax in my recliner with a ballgame or movie on TV whenever I get the chance.

This year, Monday, June 6, marked the 78th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied Forces in World War II launched a massive invasion of Europe. My grandfather, like many men of his generation, was drafted into the Army right out of high school.

As our nation mourns the death of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, the national conversation has turned again to the need to make our schools more secure. In Arkansas, educators and legislators have long recognized the need for vigilance to keep our children safe.