Opinion

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...

I don’t get writer’s block.  For me, writing is like talking, and if you’ve ever met me, you’ll know I’m hardly ever at a loss for words. I can’t guarantee those words will always have substance, but I don’t usually have trouble finding something to say, even if it isn’t especially profound...

O n Wednesday, Jan. 6, President Donald Trump spoke to his supporters at a rally near the White House while Congress met at Capitol Hill to certify Electoral College votes that would make Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States. Trump again reiterated the false claim that the election was stolen from him and encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building...

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. ...

From the looks of it, we were all excited to leave 2020 behind us last week.

I’m not a good mover. I hate it.

I was on my way to the dentist and realized my eyeglasses were very loose. I stopped by Berryville Eyecare Clinic to get them tightened. The person who did the tightening broke a part on my glasses. Since I wasn’t allowed to go inside because of the pandemic, she came out and apologized and said she would order the part at no cost to me. I did not buy my glasses there but that wasn’t a problem. It took about 10 days but I had an old pair of glasses so all was well...

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...

In his collection of Lake Woebegone stories, Leaving Home, Garrison Keillor shared an impression about the holiday season, one that has stuck with me through the years.  “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” ...

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...

With Christmas coming up so soon, many of us are spending this week wrapping presents, writing grocery lists and decking the halls with holiday decorations. These are normal activities in the days leading up to Christmas, but this holiday season has been anything but normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic...

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...

Growing up in Texas, I didn’t have very many snow days. My school dismissed us if there was even a small chance of flurries — that’s how woefully unprepared we were for winter storms. When I moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2014, I was elated at the prospect of an actual snowfall...

It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been a strange year. Many of us have spent months in isolation, and some still are. Gideon and I worked from home together for about three months this year, a stark contrast from past years when I worked days and he worked nights...

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...

This past weekend, I received the sad news that Randy Rust passed away. Many of you will recognize his name, but those of you who don’t will recognize his work. Randy was a talented artist and an integral part of the Berryville mural restoration project. That’s actually how I met him five years ago...

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...

This past weekend, Gideon and I made some tough decisions. We canceled our Thanksgiving plans with friends, opting to celebrate the holiday just the two of us. Then during a talk with my mom, I decided to cancel Christmas, too. To put it eloquently, this sucks...

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...

Every morning on the way to work, I listen to the radio for the news and weather reports. This morning’s broadcast was particularly interesting to me. According to our regional radio stations, the CDC has announced that wearing a face mask doesn’t just protect everyone around you from contracting COVID-19 — it protects you, too!...

Every year, the people of the Eureka Springs area open up and show their generosity to the needy of those around us by helping the scouts bring in the food and filling up the shelves of our local food bank, the Flint Street Fellowship. This year was no exception — this year was like no other that many of us have ever seen before!  I have been a part of the “scouting for food” drive for 32 years now, and this year I realized that I had not seen it all, even though I thought I had. We are in the middle of a pandemic for goodness sakes, and then the day the scouts were to bring in the food, it’s raining — it’s pouring down rain really, really hard! I thought to myself, “oh my,” but then the miracle happened! I do believe that more food was collected this year than ever before. ...

I would once again like to take this opportunity to thank two special Green Forest police officers for their help on the night of Nov. 10. After fighting the leaf fire my yard man started that afternoon and he left thinking it was out; the wind started blowing and the fire erupted again at 9:30 p.m. ...

This past Saturday, we learned the results of possibly the most divisive presidential election in United States history. Joe Biden was named president-elect and Kamala Harris was named vice president-elect in an extraordinarily close race. Two days later, President Donald Trump has failed to concede the election. ...

In previous columns, I have addressed voter fraud myths and reality.

“Oh, I can’t do that.” We hear people say it all the time. Whether it’s a new skill or a big change, people are very good at putting themselves in a box and deciding there’s no way out. Some will say it’s entirely too optimistic to believe you can do anything you set your mind to, and that’s partially true. Everyone has limits, but there’s only one way to discover what those limits are...

I have had the blessing of serving as Suzie Bell’s pastor for the last five years. She is an individual of great faith, courage and strength. She has led church mission trips to disaster sites around this state and nation to bring help to our neighbors in need. She, along with her husband, Dan, created the ECHO Clinic to provide free healthcare to our most vulnerable members of our community and recently started building ECHO Village to provide low-income housing...

A small group of people in Holiday Island are once again trying to get the planned community incorporated. Only this time it’s different. It is on the Nov. 3 ballot. They boast promises of “free money,”code enforcement, animal control, etc., all with NO new taxes. ...

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...

In our house, chores aren’t divided so evenly. Gideon does all the cooking, pet care, vacuuming and sweeping. I help clean the kitchen once or twice a week, but my main duties are grocery shopping, budgeting and laundry. I’ll mop the floor if it gets really nasty — that’s a big if...

What one disgruntled individual has shown in his attempt to abolish the Historic District Commission in Eureka Springs is a grave misunderstanding of how it actually “works” and what its parameters actually are.  As has been explained many times over already, the National Register for Historic Places is strictly honorary and carries little weight. ...

To the Editor: I recently received a flyer from Harlan Breaux, incumbent candidate for Arkansas House (District 97). He claimed that he was “making healthcare accessible and affordable.” He also said he was “creating job opportunities” and “lowering taxes.” Like the flyer he mailed in 2016, none of this had the ring of truth...

We received a beautiful German Shepherd at the police department the latter part of September. The dog seemed very vicious towards everyone. I worked to calm the animal down to no avail, but continued trying, even several dispatchers tried also. Knowing what I would have to do if I didn’t succeed, we kept trying. ...

I grew up in downtown Eureka goofing around in old buildings. In the 1980s, my parents restored historic properties including three buildings on N. Main. So most days, I got off the school bus and played on job sites. It’s hard to overstate the effect this upbringing had on me. ...

In a word, the past few months have been chaotic. Gideon and I bought our first home in August and moved in early that month. One of our friends suggested that we hire a moving company, but we were already spending thousands of dollars just to get into the home. I couldn’t imagine spending anything extra. In hindsight, we should have hired the movers...

My husband Frank and I purchased a house on Armstrong Street in Eureka Springs about a year ago, having fallen in love with it over two decades ago. We look forward to becoming permanent residents there in 2021. We are coming from McKinney, Texas, where we have lived in its historic and cultural district for 18 years...

The Carroll County Home Demonstration Clubs was organized Oct. 17, 1923. As we approach their centennial it is an appropriate time to reflect on the many contributions EHC groups have made in our county. Through extension services many farmers and farm wives have learned skills to improve their crops, herds and quality of life for their families and communities. ...