EDITORIAL: Elections deserve close attention

Election year has officially arrived. The 2020 preparation process has begun and candidates will officially begin qualifying soon. More than ever before, voters must not turn their backs to the whole process, throw up their hands in disgust and say “what’s the use?

EDITORIAL: Giving spirit still reflects Mayberry

Fannin County and the Copper Basin have seen dramatic outward changes over the past 12 months. A tremendous amount of out with the old and in with the new has taken place. This continuing transformation has attracted both cheers and jeers.

EDITORIAL: Kemp a politician, not a statesman

Brian Kemp continues to raise the question, “What is this man doing in public office?” That’s because elected men and women are supposed to be about leadership and service, putting self aside. Not Brian Kemp.

EDITORIAL: Giving spirit alive in Shop with a Cop

The spirit of giving continues to be alive and well in Fannin County. Among those stepping up and meeting the growing needs of the less fortunate among us have been all the volunteers who took part in this year’s Shop with a Cop.

Winter creates mood for new workouts

Ever wish you could get snowed in? I admit I think it’d be pretty nice. Granted, of course, that there was food in the house and we were otherwise prepared for it.  Ah, to be “stuck” inside, warm, sipping on Constant Comment tea, looking over the snow covered yard ... (insert dreamy look here).

Some words have no place in style

Folks outside the newspaper industry don’t hear about it much, if they hear anything at all. It’s The Associated Press Stylebook. The version that sits near my computer contains 524 pages. Printed in 2015, it measures six inches wide by nine inches deep and is an inch and a half thick.

EDITORIAL: Popular poll question returns in print, online

The News Observer’s popular, weekly Quick Poll Opinion returns this week after an extended absence. It had disappeared because of recurring bugs in the online version.

EDITORIAL: Ken Rush leaves behind a legacy

The Ducktown Basin Museum was in its infancy when Ken Rush was hired as the first full time curator in 1989. Now, 30 years later, the museum is a community icon, standing tall to record the area’s history – its people, places, tragedies and triumphs. Rush steered the creation of this icon.

We can talk to God like anyone else

Do you pray? What benefits do you experience?  Sometimes people don’t know how to pray or may think they get into a rut of sorts. A prayer can quickly turn into a laundry list of needs or desires, but prayer is so much more than that.  At its most simple, prayer is a conversation with God.

Christmas spirit builds on foundation

It’s easy to see the holiday spirit is in the air. Every good, fun and exciting thing people have come to expect with Thanksgiving and Christmas has taken over thoughts and minds.