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School violence can happen anywhere
Columns Comments Updated: Dec 17, 2012 3:09pmOn March 24, 1998, a mild spring day, I was off for two days and preparing to mow my yard in Jonesboro for the first time that year. Before I could start the mower I receive an urgent page to call...
Seward’s Folly, Alaska and Redfield
Columns Comments Updated: Dec 17, 2012 1:38pmThe most valuable asset the White Hall School District has is good schools with athletic facilities that many colleges cannot offer. Where did most of this wealth for these facilities come from:...
Christmas shopping may be hectic on Dec. 22
Columns Comments Updated: Dec 10, 2012 9:30amFive men were drinking coffee together in White Hall on a recent morning and the conversation turned to Christmas shopping, not the most common subject for men.
One is a CPA, another a...
Bigger house inspires sappy tree purchase
Columns Comments Updated: Dec 12, 2012 1:48pmWhen my boys were preschoolers, we used to trim a real tree. We procured our live boughs from both tree lots and tree farms during those years. But as the boys grew and circumstances changed, a...
Tracking down a pest with leathery armor
Columns Comments Updated: Dec 03, 2012 10:55amSeveral weeks ago I noticed numerous shallow holes and bare spots in my front and side yards. At first glance it appeared that a golfer had been practicing chip shots in...
Grab a pencil and help preserve penmanship
Columns Comments Updated: Nov 26, 2012 1:15pmMy daughter is an elementary school teacher and a very good teacher, I am told. This week’s column gives me an opportunity to tell her what I want for Christmas: A dozen Blackwing pencils that...
Keeping track of Thanksgiving memories
Columns Comments Updated: Nov 19, 2012 2:50pmMost of my good memories of Thanksgiving follow my marriage. When I was single and milking cows, that day was like any other – head to the barn before 5 a.m. and hope to finish the work day by 8 p...
Change is coming to America on a fast track
Columns Comments Updated: Nov 12, 2012 8:15amAs a certified news junkie, I read a number of daily newspapers, half a dozen weeklies, news magazines, and even listen to radio and television news.
That basically means I hear, see and...
Scapegoats can come in handy at times
Columns Comments Updated: Nov 05, 2012 9:44amVoting for president in Arkansas and other states painted in reds and blues seem like you are playing a lottery. It’s like watching your daughter compete in a dance recital. You know what the...
Taking a real bite out of crime statistics
Columns Comments Updated: Oct 29, 2012 12:09pmPine Bluff Commercial columnist Matthew Pate took note recently that Aldermen George Stepps proposed a municipal ordinance to require owners of fast food restaurants, filling stations and...