Anna La Mare: Ode to Columbus
All along this road, you pick up pieces of magic.
Note from the Publisher: Salter no longer to appear in Dispatch
On Wednesdays since 2021 we have published Sid Salter’s weekly column, which he syndicates to multiple papers statewide.
Possumhaw: Birds of a feather
The morning would start with a cup of coffee, maybe two delivered if it wasn’t a fishing day. That day was fisherman’s day. Coffee was ready with the push of a button. Starting toward the breakfast nook I heard sounds of crying.
Thom Caraccio: Where are the humans?
There’s a lot of chatter about AI (artificial intelligence) taking over our lives.
Ask Rufus: Columbus and the art of two impressionists
I enjoy art. I am not an artist but love paintings that capture the spirit and the feeling of places and people as viewed through another’s eyes.
Slimantics: Will we ever heed Eisenhower’s warning?
Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 presidential farewell speech to the nation is remembered almost exclusively for a phrase he coined, one that seemed to be contrary to his entire career.
Jiben Roy: Mob culture vs gun culture
Gun culture is a constitutional right in the U.S. The guns in the U.S. are supposed to be used for self-defense, hunting and recreational activities. However, in practice, they are many times used in killing humans. Every day there is a gun related murder in the U.S. Even sometimes a teenager uses gun to kill. In the past I have written many articles about this in The Dispatch.
Sid Salter: Texas stirs memories of flood dangers for Mississippians
Mississippians are generally a generous and empathetic people. We sincerely feel the pain of others struggling to deal with the suffering of natural disasters and communities that are ravaged by wind, water and unrelenting storms.
Ask Rufus: Revisiting ‘The Sound of Distant Thunder’
Two years ago, I wrote a column, “The Sound of Distant Thunder,” about the extinct passenger pigeon. Last week, Carolyn Kaye was searching in old newspapers for articles on Columbus history and hit paydirt.
Thom Caraccio: The dance is dead
Over the decades, a cultural institution in America has quietly faded away into nothingness. Once a staple of adolescence, allowing teenagers their first opportunity to dip their toes into the mating pool, the school dance has gone the way of the dinosaur and the clutch pedal.
Jiben Roy: The story of loneliness
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) finds that in 2024, 30% of adults say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week, while 10% say they are lonely every day. Is loneliness steadily increasing? Yes, indeed.
Sid Salter: State’s modest gas tax hike is only a good first step to modernize our roads and bridges
High on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a curious edifice, the Old State Capitol (formally, after the 1994 restoration, the Louisiana Museum of Political History) is a Gothic architectural wonder built to resemble a castle.
Possumhaw: Thrifty and Frugal
Pulling these two books off the bookshelf I took them with me to the porch to spend some time with coffee and Wilhemina.
Thom Caraccio: Uncle James and his 40 year old dog
As I jog down the road of Columbus memories, there are numerous people I can never forget.
Ask Rufus: The Strikin’ Snakes of the 50th FTS
In an Inactivation Ceremony at Columbus Air Force Base last Wednesday, Lt. Col. Nicole Janson commander of the 50th Flying Training Squadron, passed the squadron’s guidon to Col James Blech, the commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing.
Wyatt Emmerich: Amazon data center: Haste makes waste
The new Amazon data centers in Madison will consume 50 to 100 percent as much electricity as every other home, business and industry on the Entergy Mississippi grid combined.
Derrick Turner: Growing old
This morning, I was surprised to see that I have a gray eyelash.
Sid Salter: John Robert Arnold: Scouts honoring a legendary civic servant, singer, and man of God
Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven is lending her time to an event on July 2 in Starkville that’s a fundraiser for the Scouting program in northeast Mississippi. At that event, she will receive an award noting her service to the youth in the program.
Slimantics: We shouldn’t have to die for railroad safety equipment
When I sat down with John Lumsden and his family in the spring of 2015, it had been almost 40 years since his 14-year-old daughter, Laura, had been killed in a car/train collision at a railroad crossing on New Hope Road.
Bobby Harrison: Cindy Hyde-Smith hopes 2026 will be her first easy U.S. Senate campaign
The recent announcement that state Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson plans to run for governor has fueled speculation about who will be running for what office in a wide open 2027 Mississippi election cycle.
Four local soccer teams place at state and regional tournaments
June 25, 2025
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