Opinion

You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf — now get ready for.........Trout on the route! We picked our spot on Route C on Saturday for the final Christmas parade of the year in Purdy. This year’s parades have been phenomenal, and we only have a few suggestions for next year.

It is just a few days until Christmas day. This is a time when a special atmosphere fills the air, bringing people together in a shared sense of joy and unity.

’Twas a week before Christmas, and at The Cassville Democrat, Busy hand were a’typing requests for iPads and cats. Each year we ask second- graders their wishes from Santa, And while most requests are common, some make us say, my lanta! There are 300-plus letters printed for Kringle this year, And we hope they bring parents and Santa Claus cheer.

As we are in the midst of the Christmas season, many thoughts and memories of prior holidays come rushing to mind this time of year. I’ve always loved this time of year.

As we approach the final days of 2023, I don’t think I have ever been as busy as I have the last few weeks. Our first year as owners of a small weekly newspaper has been nothing short of fantastic.

With 2023 coming to a close, I am excited to officially announce a new project that has been in the works for the past year. “Through the Years: The Magazine,” is a new publication created by yours truly.

My poor fins got worn to nubs on Saturday trying to get all the angles of the Cassville Christmas Parade on Saturday.

Amidst the lawsuits, citizen groups and heightened community interest, there has been a change in the state’s tune in the last week on how it is handling Denali Water Solution’s land applications of processed waste in Missouri.

It began with a newspaper article about a woman who had started an Imagination Library affiliate in our county. I had learned that, due to the Purdy community’s lack of access to books, we qualified as a book desert, which greatly bothered me.