Marked Tree, Arkansas ~ Monday, October 13, 2008

The endless tale of two cities(10/09/08)
When you are a newspaper editor, complaints are just part of the job. I have learned over the years to graciously and humbly admit when I make mistakes and try my best to make up for those mistakes whenever possible...

A place for reflection and healing (10/02/08)

Too much testosterone for me (08/29/08)
Up until last March, our sports writer Dan was the only full-time male employee of our paper, and we only had one other man who worked part time once a week. On Tuesdays poor Dan felt especially outnumbered as it was me, Desha and Carin in our Marked Tree office working on putting together the Tri-City Tribune and the Trumann Democrat...

Remembering first day of school jitters (08/22/08)
There are a lot of things about being an adult that aren't that much fun. For instance, we have to pay bills and we don't get out for summer vacation. One thing I don't miss about being a kid, though, is the first day of school...

Can I have some ketchup please? (08/14/08)
The world is a changing place. I suppose I'm officially "getting older" when I begin to use phrases like "I remember when it used be like such and such." Well, this is one of those moments. Our society has become increasingly self-centered, focusing not on service but rather on the bottom line, a line that often points right to ourselves...

Reader comments are welcome (08/07/08)
One of the most read sections of our newspaper each week is the "Letters to the Editor" section. Personally, it is one of my favorites as well.

The way we do the things we do (07/31/08)
After returning from a newspaper conference hosted by the Arkansas Press Association earlier this month, I'm taking one editor's advice and writing a series of columns for you, our readers, about how things work here at the newspaper...

Nothing is ever really free (07/24/08)
One of the big debates of the upcoming election is socialized medicine, or "free health care for all." On the surface, this sounds like an amazing and wonderful thing. No more expensive medicine to buy at the pharmacy? No more worrying about how you will pay that $2,500 deductible if you do happen to get a major illness, if you're even lucky enough to have insurance...

Key elements of a journalist (07/16/08)
I've been thinking lately about what it takes to be a good journalist, newspaper editor and manager. It seems easy to spout off the usual like a passion for writing and a natural curiosity. Of course, the same can be said of any ambitious kindergartner first learning the alphabet and given a box of crayons...

Mosquitoes the size of birds (07/03/08)
I've heard some talk around town lately about the lack of mosquitoes so far this year. There seem to be lots of theories behind this phenomenon ranging the fact we've not had much rain to chemicals being used in the rice field. Someone also suggested that more corn fields vs. rice fields this year may also be a contributing factor...

You might be a redneck if… (06/25/08)
You know the old saying that you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. Well, I'm living proof. My husband Josh and I recently went to a fundraising dinner. This was a very fancy and expensive event, so from the very beginning I knew I should be on my most sophisticated, best behavior...

Pregnancy center fulfills great need (06/04/08)
I want to salute a group of volunteers in Trumann who have worked to open a pregnancy care center. I think this is one of the best things to happen in our area in a long time. Shannon Bruner has worked for three years to see her dream become a reality, and now women of all ages have a place to turn to when they found themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy...

Celebrating five years of marriage (05/28/08)
This Saturday will mark a special milestone for me and my husband Josh. On May 31 we will officially be married five years. It seems like just yesterday that I walked down the aisle to the Wedding March and we were joined as husband and wife...

Gas pains have me down (05/20/08)
I know everyone's been bellyaching and complaining a lot lately about gas prices, and up to this point I've pretty much kept pretty quiet about the whole thing. It's probably a bad attitude, but I've kind of thought it's just one of those things that everyone hates but no one can really do anything about...

Senioritis plagues area teens (05/15/08)
It's graduation time. It's a thrilling time for a lot of 18 year olds in our coverage area, as well as their parents. Dress pants are being ironed, shoes and being polished and the finishing touches are being put on speeches...

Cyrus photos cause media firestorm (05/02/08)
If you've turned on the television, picked up a newspaper or opened the internet in the last couple of days you've probably heard about the uproar over racy pictures of teen idol Miley Cyrus published in Vanity Fair...