Roses and Thorns: 6-13-26
A rose to the Mississippi State baseball team, whose season ended Sunday with a loss to Georgia in super regional play. While the Bulldogs fell
Marc Dion: Self-reliance
I don’t fix things.
I’m a man. I don’t fix things.
I pay people to fix things, is what I do.
Ask Rufus: The first railroad west of the Appalachian Mountains
One of the most significant items in the Billups Garth Archives at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library is the court papers from an early 1840s lawsuit involving the “Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Rail Road Company.”
Our View: A good project; a bad process
During Wednesday’s city council work session, council members learned Mayor Stephen Jones had signed a $37,500 contract with CS Digital Productions for an Alva Temple documentary without council approval or a complete legal review. The issue emerged while the council debated meal funding for filmmakers traveling to Denver to interview 102-year-old Tuskegee Airman James Harvey.
Mona Charen: Why I don’t plan to stop drinking alcohol
Is a glass of wine with dinner going to increase your chance of getting cancer or another serious illness? For the past few years, we’ve been deluged with studies and news accounts suggesting that the answer is yes. This week, the USDA reinstated a caution in its dietary guidelines about limiting alcohol.
Other Editors: The John Bolton plea deal
President Trump may hate being the target of lawfare, but he sure knows how to wield it against anyone who crosses him. That’s the story of John Bolton, his former national security adviser, who is agreeing to a plea deal essentially for the sin of writing a critical book about his time advising Mr. Trump.
Froma Harrop: Platner wants redemption. Others want a refund
Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna conceded at a rally for the Maine senatorial candidate that Graham Platner’s actions have not been sterling. Voters considering Platner don’t like his “shameful” actions against women, the Californian said, but “they are willing to extend him grace and redemption.”
Our View: Betting scandal throws sports integrity for a loss
For more than a century, there has been just one unforgivable sin in pro and college sports. Over that long span, those sports have forgiven all sorts of felons, scoundrels and lowlifes and allowed them to return to the game.
Daniel McCarthy: Pope Leo courts the global left
No pope can afford to be completely apolitical, but Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, is proving to be more political than most — and he’s siding with the left.
Our View: In the beginning, there was Weyerhaeuser
When the history of economic development in Lowndes County is discussed, the story usually begins with the arrival of Severstal/Steel Dynamics and PACCAR in the western part of the county. The steel mill began operations in 2007 while PACCAR opened in 2010.
Froma Harrop: Loneliness: People do need people
Ashley, North Dakota, is a small farming town where the local diet leans hard on sausage, deep-fried chicken and strudel. It has something of a medical center, but the nearest trauma hospital able to handle the most serious injuries is almost four hours away in Fargo.
Bobby Harrison: Charter School Authorizer Board is not in Mississippi Constitution but is overseeing public schools
The immense power of the seven-member Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board is being displayed as it contemplates closing a Canton school – SR1 College Preparatory and STEM Academy – for alleged money woes.
David McRae: Building access, not barriers
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It’s not an insignificant sum of money. It can pay off a home – cover the purchase of a new car (and years’ worth of gas) – pay for college – deliver financial security. Now, imagine losing it.
Possumhaw: Smaller than a sparrow
The wind blew, the tops of the trees swayed back and forth. One leafy limb fell while a light rain covered the lake. The whole time the sun shone over the fields.
Letter: Suggestions for the city
Kudos to the mayor and council for voting to approve the purchase of additional cameras to aid our police department in their various criminal investigations.
Roses and Thorns: 6-6-26
A rose to Golden Triangle libraries, whose diverse range of reading programs help our children continue to develop reading and comprehension skills while out of
Marc Dion: The right thing costs you
“If you’re trying to decide what to do, and you only have two choices, do the thing that’s hardest,” my pop used to tell me. “The right thing is always the hardest thing.”
Thom Caraccio: Just another day working at the strip club
More adventures in the film industry.
Ask Rufus: Memories of the gullies at Allison’s Wells
Schools are beginning to get out, and summer is just around the corner.
Our View: From fossil finds to kayak rides
Throughout history, access to waterways is one of the single most powerful drivers of a city’s development, economy, and culture. There is a reason almost every major ancient and modern metropolis — from New York and New Orleans to London, Istanbul and Tokyo — is situated next to a river, lake, or ocean.
Four local soccer teams place at state and regional tournaments
June 25, 2025
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