Opinion

This column was originally published on July 6, 2021. I’m a year older now, but my opinion hasn’t changed.

Once a year, usually, I get to use this space to brag just a little about our newspaper. And now it’s that time again.

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.

Arkansas’ education system greatly depends on our ability to attract and retain teachers. We need to make sure the pay reflects the importance of their job and our respect for their role in shaping the lives of the next generation of leaders. When the pandemic impacted the world, our schools were heavily burdened. Education could not waver even during a time when things felt so uncertain. Arkansas was one of the few states that kept schools open thanks to the amazing teachers in our state. In fact, Arkansas ranked No. 2 in the nation for days of in-classroom instruction during the pandemic. That puts us in front of Texas and Florida. And so, we must be able to provide for those who are willing to go on the front lines for our children’s future.

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.

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.

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.

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.