Columnists

There’s always the same 24 hours in a day, but somehow when we hit spring, it can seem like we get some extra time. With more daylight and warmer weather, the days can just feel like they’re expanding. And with that shift can come a boost in our energy and motivation to tackle lingering projects…

It has been camp season for a couple of my children. I admittedly have not been involved with Scouts for very long, but over that relatively brief timespan I have certainly learned more than a few things about the organization. But the amount of things I have learned about myself, specifically through the campout experiences,…

After watching recent protests across our nation and even in our own town, despite the polarization surrounding all of these, I still believe that even for all that divides us, so much more unites us — and it’s not just political beliefs. It’s time to set aside some of these divisive issues and start talking…

Charlie Curran, the 88 year old Big Piney river-guide whom I wrote about recently, made a trip over to the Osceola area of Truman Lake with a friend, to fish for catfish. He took with him twenty jugs, each with his name, address and phone number on them as the law requires. Early that morning…

July 4th, 1776, represents many things for each of us today. But let us not forget a time in our heritage that we came together for the cry of freedom. Even though we find ourselves in the midst of much turmoil in our country today, this is a season, a time of year, that we…

I have recently shared with you several of my view pertaining to personal responsibility as the driving force for you and me to improve our world. I consider the notion of waiting for the government to fix our lives to be the single most dangerous doctrine that a typical member of any civilized country to…

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in awhile, you’ll miss it.” – Ferris Bueller I’ve been on this earth for 58-and-a-half years. I’ve experienced so many things! Happiness beyond anything I could have imagined, sorrow beyond anything I could have imagined and every emotion in-between. Looking back, there isn’t…

Charlie Curran was born close to the Big Piney River in 1938 and for 88 years he has stayed close to the Big Piney River. He lives near Duke, Missouri, on the lower third of the river where he fishes regularly for goggle-eyes and bass, sets trotlines for flathead catfish, and rides horses. There are…

You will occasionally hear a comment along these lines form John Q. Public: ‘The mark of a good journalist is whether that individual is asking the hard questions.’ I won’t disagree. But I have a reciprocal request of my own for ol’ John Q: Don’t forget to ask your self the hard questions, too. We…

I would like to invite each of you to join me in reliving some of your greatest moments of childhood elation. I want you to remember with me how it felt when the last day of school finally arrived. It’s a little like Christmas, except it felt like that last day for school came around…