Opinion

This devotional and directory is made possible by these businesses who encourage all to attend worship services. Recently, two of us drove around an area in Shell Knob to pray in the community.

Some people put a stamp on your memory the first time you meet them. As editor of the paper, I had read Lori Videmschek’s name about 1,000 times while editing the copy of our former sports editor.

I heard a theory the other day in reference to better support for parents today. One part of it was that once a child is born, the parent should receive “extra” sick days.

It’s an ordinary New Year’s resolution to work harder or take up a side gig to make a little more money, but a few area individuals are taking that sentiment too far. In the early morning of Jan.

It’s Monday morning, the first of 2023 and the first Monday of my life as a newspaper owner. I’m at the Cassville Democrat office with my wife and two girls.

As my children are moving from elementary school into middle and high school, I’m learning so many new things, like that “gucci’” is a good thing and has nothing to do with the clothing brand, deodorant is a hot commodity, and I can manipulate them into just about any chore by threatening to take away their cell phones.

Ready or not, in just a few more days we’ll drop into 2023 and begin another year, come what may! There are many unknowns that will fall before us during the next 12 months. Hopefully there are some that occurred during the previous year that won’t be happening again.

One by one, a generation of Barry County leaders has been exiting from courthouse offices over the last few years, punctuated last week again with the retirement of Presiding Commissioner Gary Youngblood.

For those interested in history and genealogy, Missouri Digital Heritage is a great resource. Located on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website, Missouri Digital Heritage contains access to collections from institutions across the state.

Over the past month, I have watched game after game of men my age or (mostly) younger playing their hearts out in pursuit of the planet’s most coveted sports trophy, the World Cup. On Sunday, 35-yearold Lionel Messi cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players of all time by leading his mixedage Argentina squad to a 4-3 victory in a shootout against France, led by its 24-year-old phenom Kylian Mbappe, who won his first World Cup in 2018.