Opinion

By Travis Naughton Author’s note: I strongly recommend reading today’s column aloud, preferably in your very best Southern accent, if you please. Begging your pardon, kind lady (or gentleman), but would it be too great an imposition to ask you to indulge, for just a moment, this poor excuse for a writer from America’s heartland

By Bruce Wallace Just returned from a national conference of YMCA directors, managers and volunteers, Southern Boone YMCA Director Kip Batye was excited to get to work on Monday morning – and ready to implement a number of new programs at the Southern Boone YMCA. I sat down with Batye for a Q&A: Q: What

What is a friend? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a friend as: one attached to another by affection or esteem; an acquaintance; one that is not hostile; one that is of the same nation, party, or group. Dictionary.com adds that a friend is: a person who gives assistance; a person who is on good terms with

It is a bridge which should have been dumped in the river 30 years ago. A bridge so painfully narrow, you squeeze your shoulders together and hold your breath as you slowly inch your way over it. As with all road trip stories, this one starts at the beginning. You know the ending – I

by Travis Naughton Over eleven years ago, back when we still lived in our first house, a stray cat showed up at our back door one day and decided to have a litter of kittens. Alex was only four years-old at the time, and he loved playing with the tiny furballs whenever he went outside.

Having solemnized my fourth wedding of the season last weekend, I now have three full months to do as I please before facilitating the final two nuptials on my schedule this fall. I could have performed two more ceremonies between now and then, but I declined those requests so that I can focus more time

Coming right up is my favorite holiday, Independence Day, and just behind that, the anniversary of an event which reminds us of America’s greatness – then and now. This will be the 240th anniversary of the day which patriots banded together to sign Mr. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. In just a few weeks, it

We’ve all heard the same tired jokes: “Look out (insert name of locale here), (insert name of new driver here) just got his/her driver’s license!” Or, “I’ll be sure to avoid driving in your neighborhood for a while!” As the father of a 15 year-old boy with a brand new instructional driving permit, I now

Last Tuesday, June 14 was a normal deadline day. Which, if you’ve ever been in the communications field, you know is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as a “normal deadline day.” But Tuesday’s deadline, a Tuesday evening meeting at city hall and the subsequent story were all forgotten at 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday

I gave a homily about parachute pants at the wedding I officiated last weekend. Yes, you read that correctly. Parachute pants. At a wedding. In a church. I’m fairly certain that I am the first minister in the history of the world (or at least since the 1980s) to have pulled off such a feat,