“Many a time freedom has been rolled back—and always for the same sorry reason: fear.” ~Molly Ivins. I don’t care what mainstream media corporate overlord or so-called online “news” pig trough you’re feeding from, it’s time for all of us to step back and try to remember who we are[Read More…]
Columns
Editor’s Column: Don’t be a sheeple
Two weeks ago I had the privilege of participating in a live radio broadcast on KDNK, Carbondale’s public radio station. Did you know CNCC had its own radio station once upon a time? And Meeker had its own radio station not too long ago? A group of journalists from print[Read More…]
The club no one wants to join {Editor’s Column}
We received word Tuesday afternoon that our oldest son, Ethan, was killed in a single-vehicle accident near Glenwood late Monday night. He would have been 26 later this month. There’s a lot of things I could say, but I’m saving them for his obituary, which I will write later this[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Last time I checked …
In fourth grade I coveted a pair of white leather Nike sneakers with the red “swoosh.” They cost $40, which my parents insisted was a ridiculous price for a pair of children’s shoes. Desperate to “fit in,” I sent $2 in cash to my aunt in Louisville, Ky., and asked[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: One page at a time
It’s been exactly two years this week since we took ownership of the HT. That’s 104 issues, one every week, produced on deadline, plus special sections and magazines. I’ve had a number of folks say things like, “You signed up for slave labor!” Others have asked, “Why did you voluntarily[Read More…]
You can’t open someone’s eyes with a baseball bat {Editor’s Column}
It’s human nature to want people to agree with us. We all want to be right, and encountering people who don’t see things the same way we do triggers an almost primal need to correct and convince them they are wrong and we are right. We all do it, whether[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: School’s back in session, but is the four-day week hurting us?
When a topic randomly pops up in conversation twice in the space of a few days, it makes me wonder if there’s more to think about. This week it’s the concept of the four-day school week. I remember the discussion and debate the last time our districts decided to go[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Leading without malice
The museum display at the White River Museum that includes James Lyttle’s original printing press also includes a plaque naming and honoring Richard Lyttle. The first line reads: “Many years he spoke for us.” The second line reads, “Leading without malice.”
Water is precious. Don’t waste it. {Editor’s Column}
If drought teaches us anything at all it should teach us the critical value of water. Apparently Meeker residents aren’t learning the lesson. We’ve used more water in the last six weeks than ever before in the recorded history of Meeker water usage. When conditions are as dry and drastic[Read More…]
Newsprint tariff has painful consequences {Editor’s Column}
A few months ago we mentioned the 32 percent tariff placed on Canadian newsprint (where almost all uncoated paper in the U.S. comes from) thanks to a single complaint from a paper mill owned by a New York hedge fund, and the potential threat that tariff poses to the newspaper[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Thank you to the fire crews
As I’m writing this on Tuesday evening, we’ve had a welcome—albeit brief—rainstorm pass through. The relief is tangible after weeks of hot, dry conditions and several days when it seemed our county was spontaneously combusting around us. Lord willing, any accompanying lightning hasn’t sparked more fires. After two days of[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Do we give a **** about our reputation?
Channeling a little Joan Jett there, but it’s a question to consider. Twenty-plus years ago one of my Glenwood friends was in an airplane on her way home from a church convention in Oklahoma. She struck up a conversation with her seat mate. Somehow the conversation came around to the[Read More…]