Possumhaw: Ladybug fly away home
Tis the season for ladybugs swarming about by the thousands. They crawl inside the upstairs room where the sun heats the little critter, allowing them to warm up as the morning turned cold. They can be found on the porches, outdoor walls, the garage, the boat shed and sometimes on your shoulder or your sleeve.
Ask Rufus: Mr. Hooper’s Choctaw Dinner in 1822
Seven years ago, I wrote a column about a missionary from Mayhew having dinner with Moshulitubbee, a Choctaw chief, at his house northeast of present-day Brooksville.
Thom Caraccio: Seeing double
Another look behind the scenes at the film and TV business.
Kabir Karriem: Council’s decision to end lobbying contract is the right move
I want to commend the Columbus City Council for making the wise and responsible decision to end its contract with Worth Thomas Consultants.
Raymond Barranco: Abridged education
In four previous op-eds, I have drawn on my 18 years of experience teaching at the college level to explain why politics should not dictate what is taught in the classroom. In this piece, I invite readers to imagine the following scenario: You’re reading a book.
Mike Tagert: A legacy of stewardship
With the sale of the Oktibbeha County Hospital, our community has been entrusted with a rare opportunity.
Possumhaw: Building blocks of reading
My college roommate and I were both readers, and we came from families who taught us to love books and read their stories for enjoyment.
Stop fighting! Nobody has to lose anything
This year thoughts of Veterans Day reminded me of my father, brother, uncle, both grandfathers, and our son. Of course, I’ve thought of other friends, too, who are veterans and thank them for their service. But somehow family makes the thoughts and thanks a little more personal.
Ask Rufus: John Murphy, a veteran of the revolution
Today’s column continues the stories of veterans of the American Revolution who resided in Lowndes County.
Slimantics: Reeves’ SNAP proposal targets the poor, not poor nutrition
The federal government shutdown has focused considerable attention on the federal SNAP program, which provides federal funds to alleviate hunger and improve nutritional quality for low-income households.
Raymond Barranco: Slippery slope
In my last op-ed, I drew on my 18 years of teaching experience to emphasize the importance of educators resisting the pressure to shape their courses around current political trends. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we are being asked to do when it comes to topics like race, gender, and sexuality.
Possumhaw: The testimony of John Tate
My name is John Tate. I am an inmate at Oktibbeha County Jail. If you close your eyes just a minute I can tell you how I got there and the action that I did and how it affected the people that I love, my wife, my kids, my mother, my father who was dying of cancer, my wife who was on chemo.
Thom Caraccio: Watching the clocks: my neurosis
Whether you believe it or not, every one of us has their own quirks, neurosis or even occasional out and out madness.
Ask Rufus: Lowndes County oil boom, oops bust of 1920
It’s been called everything from black gold to Texas tea, and since the mid-1800s oil oozing from the ground has meant an economic bonanza.
Raymond Barranco: Political winds
In a previous op-ed, I argued that the primary purpose of higher education is to introduce students to new ideas and equip them with the tools to evaluate those ideas critically.
Possumhaw: For the love of pansies
The hot summer sun finally left us. For several months a drought caused deep cracks in the ground while the grass, flowers, and trees lost their usual growing time.
Slimantics: SNAP crisis should stir us to action
Those in the grocery store business will tell you their busiest day is the first day of each month, which is when some 40 million Americans have access to the funds they are provided through SNAP (previously known as food stamps).
Ask Rufus: Ghosts and apparitions along the Tombigbee
It is the season for ghosts and haunted houses, but not all area ghosts are found on land.
Thom Caraccio: America is going to the dogs
Growing up, I had a number of dogs. They usually lived and slept in a doghouse in the back yard rain or shine, ate whatever leftovers we had for dinner and only had names because we kids named them.
Possumhaw: Time of the season, his and hers
For weeks now Sam has been blowing the falling leaves back into the woods where they belong. It’s a time of “abscission” described as the natural detachment of parts of a plant and ripe fruit, though typically dead leaves.
Slimantics: Robotaxis beware: NYC eats hesitation for breakfast
June 24, 2025
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