Column

Kyle Troutman: What’s the point?
Last Tuesday, I was one of 67 million people who watched the presidential debate between Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. I don’t know about you, but I was left disappointed.

Donnie Spears: Depression and doubt
Depression — I never thought very much about it or how real it is; how it affects so many people today. Depression is real, and it can hit you when life is going bad, when life is just rolling along, and even when life is going great. The Mayo Clinic describes Depression as a mood disorder that causes sadness and loss of interest.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — The Struggle of the Ages
It was a time of fear, suspicion, and uncertainty. It was, in a sense, like any other time in history, and yet it was unlike any other time in history.

Kyle Troutman: The Tuesday that defined a populace
It was another Tuesday. I got up, had breakfast, got ready, took the bus to school and played my morning pickup games of basketball with my friends at Dunbar Middle School in Little Rock, Ark.

Murray Bishoff: Giants in our midst
An extraordinary thing happened at the Purdy City Council meeting in August. Bob Moser, a retired Monett police dispatcher, has been serving on the Purdy City Council on and off since 2005, after he spent one term as mayor, resigning after being elected to a second term.

Kyle Troutman: Labor Day adventures
Unwittingly, the Troutman family has started a new tradition. For the second Labor Day weekend in a row, we went camping.

Jeremiah Buntin: History’s sticks and stones
A great place to comb through early Missouri history is the Missouri Judicial Records Historical Database on the Missouri Digital Heritage website. This database offers many pre-1900 court cases with images available for online viewing in many instances.

Sheila Harris: Walking on Swiss cheese
In Cassville and surrounding areas, there’s a mystery underfoot. It’s a mystery I’ve only been half aware of until I picked up a copy of a Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) publication at Kids’ Fishing Day last weekend.

Jon Horner: Flying with faith into uncharted territory
School has started for so many kiddos and school staff in our communities. This brings excitement and also unchartered waters for many as they are about to open a new door in their life, whether it’s kids or school staff.

Kyle Troutman: First-day differences
Having done news photography for going on 15 years now — and spending the last five years as the father of a school-aged child — not many mornings school. Through the chaos of parents and kids trying to get to their classes or lockers, the gamut of emotions is bottomless.