Opinion

A Day for Mother

Mother’s Day is the one day a year when Mother gets to put her feet up and is waited on hand and foot by her minion. Father brings her an iced coffee, just the way she likes it. The children deliver the remote control, blankets, and a snack. Uninterrupted, Mother watches an entire episode of BBC-produced British period piece on PBS. It is pure bliss.
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The faces of Democracy . . .

Last week the Courier and some of our sister newspapers owned by CherryRoad Media in Arkansas had a visit from the new Vice President of Growth and Development, Lee Bachlet. I proudly discussed the Courier and our community. I explained that we strive to cover local news, and our people, all while fulfilling our role of watchdog for the community. It’s a delicate balance. The newspaper must have the backs of residents and support the school, local governments and businesses. I like to think of the newspaper as a vehicle to help people in the community. The role of the newspaper should be about doing what you can to help solve problems in the town and county where it resides. It’s about supporting the community by shining a light on what is right and what needs to be fixed. It’s challenging work, especially if an entity tries to throw up a roadblock to transparency that is a right given to the public.
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Interesting things about the Blue Jay

Blue Jays are a beautiful bird, they are a large, crested songbird with broad, rounded tail. Blue Jays are smaller than crows, larger than robins. The Blue Jay Color pattern is white or light gray underneath, various shades of blue, black, and white above. The size of the male and female Blue Jay range in this range; Length: 9.8-11.8 in, Weight: 2.5-3.5 oz, and Wingspan: 13.4-16.9 in.
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Shawneetown

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the area now known as Marion County, Arkansas, became a part of the United States. In 1810 Marion County was a part of the New Madrid district of Louisiana Territory and in 1812 was a part of Missouri Territory. Arkansas Territory was created in 1819. In 1820 a small portion of Marion County was in Lawrence County, while most of it was within the Cherokee Indian Tract. It wasn’t until November 1835 that Arkansas was recognized as a state. During this transitional period, the first white settlers came - some to trade with the Indians, some to find a new way of life. Mostly these people were hunters, trappers, and fishermen; none were farmers.
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How Low Can They Go?

You have no idea how it hurts an old-time outdoorsman like me to roam the Ozarks and witness what is happening to the wild turkey. What hurts most is to know it is likely to be this way for years and years, maybe for good, like what happened to the bobwhite quail. The reasons for the decline of the wild turkey are many, but the situation we create with too much hunting is a big part of it. They have begun, over the decades to breed later and later in the spring, and the harvest of gobblers before they ever mate, is significant. Many southern states have begun to recognize that problem… too many toms being killed too early in the spring, by a great increase in hunters. And those states, at least eight of them, are trying to ease the hunting pressure and the harvest of spring gobblers.
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Petit Jean State Park

Petit Jean State Park is an Arkansas classic, a natural and historic treasure that has welcomed travelers for decades. The natural beauty and ancient geology of the legendary Petit Jean Mountain inspired the creation of Arkansas’s first state park and with it our state park system. The park mirrors the mountain’s rugged beauty with its rustic-style, native log and stone facilities constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) beginning in 1933. The CCC built trails, roads, bridges, cabins, and the focal point of the park, historic Mather Lodge, a 24-room lodge overlooking Cedar Creek Canyon with a restaurant, meeting rooms, and gift shop.
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Looking back while looking ahead

It’s been a few years and memories fuzz and fade, but I recall a history professor who seemed to think part of his calling was to get his students to prepare for “the cosmic cocktail party.” That’s not a euphemism for drugs or a four-figure weekend retreat of enlightenment at a spa. What he meant was, what if you found yourself at the ultimate cocktail party, surrounded by the smartest and most creative and successful people you could think of? Could you hold your own? This is not the time to drop the pig-with-the-wooden-leg joke.
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