Success garnered by ‘just showing up’
2022-04-23
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer I have often heard it said that most of success is showing up. Well, I have shown up to Southeastern for 27 years now and still have a few years left in me. The Faculty Senate recognized my career with a Life Time Achievement Award. My success,Continue Reading
Our Town Jefferson
2022-04-15
Shoutout Perhaps because the memory of the tornadoes of NW Marion County are still fresh on the minds, or what I would like to think more of, are Marion County folks, of all persuasions just being neighborly. It’s heartwarming to see everyone leveraging the power of technology, be it phone,Continue Reading
Melancon omits fact key in op-ed
2022-04-15
Glenn Melancon’s recent op-ed entitled, “Conservatives seek to limit your personal liberties”, seeks to paint Republicans as trying to take away the personal liberties of Americans. Most notably, he takes the tired old path of trying to portray Republicans as racists. However, Melancon fails to even mention the overarching problemContinue Reading
Christian leadership
2022-04-15
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Reading the Gospel of John on Easter provides a great insight into “Christian Leadership” and “Christian Citizenship.” John expresses in clear, unequivocal language the call to service and self-sacrifice. The mystery of Easter starts in John 13. Jesus is sitting down with his disciples for his “LastContinue Reading
Conservatives seek to limit your personal liberties
2022-04-09
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has fought her way past big government conservatives. She is on her way to confirmation to sit on the highest court in America. Her story is a story of America. As conservative Senators questioned her, both inside and outside theContinue Reading
Christian accountability
2022-04-01
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Accountability is one of those words politicians love to throw around. Voters and politicians alike apply it to their opponents but rarely use it look in the mirror. Accountability means taking responsibility for one’s actions. Accountability requires weighing cause and effect. Did a certain word or actionContinue Reading
My spiritual energy
2022-04-01
Leroy Richardson/Contributing writer A good battery on a car maintains its charge. Why is that so when simultaneously operating the radio, headlights, air conditioner, dashboard lights, USB ports, and the electric windows and seats? It’s the alternator. Once started, the alternator generates power to run the accessories on the vehicleContinue Reading
Support public education
2022-03-25
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Our Texas founding fathers knew we needed to guarantee public education if our State was to continue to be successful. They wrote: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of theContinue Reading
Oil Markets
2022-03-17
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. The first oil shock happened in 1973. Energy prices are set by “the market. The global energy market keeps failing us. We have known the market is failing us for 49 years. We knowContinue Reading
Winston was an early leader at UT
2022-03-17
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer The University of Texas has been in operation for nearly 140 years. Since that time, tens of thousands of UT graduates have enjoyed careers in all fields that have shaped both the state and the world alike. In its early years, it struggled as it had difficultyContinue Reading
This too shall pass
2022-03-10
From the editor, Based upon current inflation, gas prices have yet to spike as high as they did in 2008. I remember that year well. We logged countless miles, at $4 per gallon, back and forth to the hospital in Dallas. We had a sick preemie who came close toContinue Reading
Free market snake oil
2022-03-10
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer In 1776, Adam Smith published a ground breaking book, The Wealth of Nations. Smith introduced the French phrase laissez-faire to the English speaking world. The phrase best translates as “free market.” Smith criticized European monarchs for subsidizing domestic production and granting monopolies for foreign trade. He arguedContinue Reading
It starts with us
2022-03-05
Austin Lewter/Jefferson Jimplceute Charles Baum was a friend of mine. He was born in 1917. He was the grandfather of a childhood friend and a lifelong public servant. Charlie was in the Philippines when Bataan fell. Subsequently, he was captured and spent the majority of World War II as a prisonerContinue Reading
Escalators are Like Life
2022-03-05
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer Escalators are a modern marvel. The English word is derived from the word, escalade, meaning to climb. An escalator actually takes the effort out of climbing. They are a welcome sight in a mall or a subway station. Unfortunately, there are times in life when an escalatorContinue Reading
Memories of Berlin
2022-02-25
Glenn Melancon/Contributing writer I will never forget my childhood trip to Berlin. My dad was stationed in Bamberg, Germany, and my parents wanted their children to see as much as possible. The trip to Berlin was different than others. The trip started with a night train. On most trips, weContinue Reading
Garrett looms large in Old West History
2022-02-25
Ken Bridges/Contributing writer Pat Garrett is another of the legendary figures of the Old West. He always had a taste for adventure and had a career as a distinguished law officer in a time when little law and order was to be found. Wherever Garrett went, trouble always seemed toContinue Reading