Opinion

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” That it what we read in James 1:27 in the New Testament. This text is a great reminder to us of an important biblical truth: healthy faith results in actions that reflect the character of God.

Autumn is falling away as fast as the leaves on our trees, and with the change in weather will come a change in sports seasons. I’ve been covering high school and collegiate football for 15 seasons now, starting in 2009 stringing for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to this Friday, and hopefully more this year, now as publisher of the Cassville Democrat.

I have never personally been affected by a breast cancer diagnosis; not my mother, grandmothers, or my aunts. Something I had always heard was that breast cancer is genetic, but according to the National Breast Cancer Society, only about 10 percent of breast cancer diagnosis come with a family history.

Prep sports teams have an ebb and flow, and dynasties are exceedingly rare — unless you live in Lamar. Each sports season, schools typically see varying degrees of success.

Hunting season was open on Friday against the Cubs of Monett, and the Cassville High School student section was taking no prisoners at Friday’s Barry County Brawl. From start to finish, these rabid fans sang, danced, cheered and chanted. They broke out all the classic chants, like “You can’t do that” and “Na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” A new one has snuck in this year about playing good “D” — makes me chuckle but is absolutely borderline out of line. I think we need a fishthemed chant for the playoffs; something like, “We will, we will, flop you!” That may need some work. Can someone get Danny Roper on the job?

As the holidays are approaching, we go from the spooky fun of “what will I be?” To the fast movement to the Christmas spirit of, “I wonder what will be under the Christmas tree?” What happened to Thanksgiving, a thankful heart, a faithful heart? Today’s society has us fueling our trains on our feelings or false facts, leaving out what truly fuels the train and that is faith. Without my faith through all the obstacles I have faced, I wouldn’t have a thankful heart.

Journalism in a small community frequently flies from one event to another, each with their own emotions and presenting their own challenges for coverage. Such was the case over the last few days, shifting coverage from Saturday’s somber memorial of Eric Hahn, the diver who died while working in the Roaring River Spring, to Monday’s elation of winning the first ever district softball championship.

The first author I ever met was David L. Harrison, the author of “Wake Up, Sun.” I was mesmerized with the idea of meeting an author and was instantly starstruck.

What is in a name? Throughout the 180-year life of Cassville and the 200-plus year life of Barry County, there have been many names, many people, many families that have contributed to the growth and history of this city and county. Although Lewis Cass, a former United States Senator and Secretary of War and William Barry, a U.S.