Opinion

Lisa Roark: The medicine of love
On a distant porch swing a million years ago, I met the man of my dreams. Okay, it wasn’t distant, it was right here in Cassville and it was a little less than a million years ago.
Kimberly Healey: A show of love on Valentine’s Day
On this day every year, millions of people go out of their way to show the ones in their lives how much they love them. They spend their hardearned money on flowers, chocolate, candy, and teddy bears.

Donnie Spears: ‘Our Daily Walk’
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2.

Kyle Troutman: Power in homegrown professionals
In small-town America, the opportunity to dive into a new career can be limited. Resources can be scant and post-secondary education, though now offered extensively online, can be difficult to obtain.

Jeremiah Buntin: Intoxicating history
The recent trend of “Dry January,” forgoing alcohol for the month, brings to mind some of the past attempts in Barry County to wet one’s whistle. Attitudes toward liquor in Barry County seemed fairly divisive throughout local history.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights: The backway forward
On April 4, 1954, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the pulpit within the humble walls of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., and delivered a sermon.

Bill Hodgson: The ‘Messianic Secret’
The “Messianic Secret” is a theme that scholars began to discuss at the beginning of the 20th century. Though indicators are present in all four Gospels, attention was especially focused on St. Mark’s Gospel.

Trout Tales, Jan. 31
I tagged along with Publisher Kyle Troutman on Friday to the annual Career Day at the Southwest school district. He manned one of 26 tables filled with a myriad of local professionals who love their jobs enough to spend 90 minutes sharing the ins and outs of their industries.

Rich Cummings: ‘Do you do well to be angry?’
This devotional and directory is made possible by these businesses who encourage all to attend worship services. There is a line from God that may fit our present climate in the U.S.

Kyle Troutman: Moving the APR ball
In recent years, state evaluation of public education has been a challenge for schools. With the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) standards continually evolving, it seems as soon as districts get close to adapting to a formula, the ball is punched out of their hands like the Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed stealing a touchdown from the Ravens’ Zay Flowers in Sunday’s AFC Championship.




