Opinion & Editorial

The accidental fishing guide

By Bill Hager On Friday night, I discovered that the plans I had for Saturday morning were not going to work out, so I decided to go fishing instead.

On the hunt for a culinary adventure

By Denise Etheridge “I don't feel like cooking tonight. Do you want to go out for a  bite?”“Sure.”“What do you want to eat?”“I don't know. What are you in the mood for? Mexican? Asian? Italian?”This is how a weekend conversation often goes at my house.

PAR for the course—Cunningham’s Revolutionary War roots

By Emory Jones My pet pig, Cunningham, loves the Fourth of July, although all the barbecuing does keep his nerves frayed. He gets jumpy at Easter, too, especially when they start running those TV ads for ham.

Oldtimer in newspaper work offers a few generalizations

By Phil Hudgins         People are interesting, and every one of them has a story.         That’s the first thing I learned as a young newspaper reporter several decades ago. I enjoyed my first interview—with a guy who won a national soap box derby contest—when I was just shy of 16 years old.

Happy Birthday to this Great Land

By Ronda Rich         Across the rippling creek and over the bridge with its rusty rails, I followed Mama, who was carrying a warm chocolate cake. As any four-year-old would do, I stopped at the center of the bridge, admiring the lazy water bubbling toward the Chattahoochee.

Happy 250th birthday, America!

By Dink NeSmith         Sometimes we remember. Other times, we need to be reminded.        That’s why a rusted MI917 Brodie helmet is perched on the top of the piano by our back door. You can’t come in or out without seeing George Washington Shirah Jr.’s World War I helmet.

OUR VIEW: Nation, White County set to celebrate 250th 

 The U.S., and White County, are celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary this year by going bigger on July 4th for Independence Day.

God’s hand in the founding and preservation of our freedoms

 On June 28, 1787, there had been little progress made during four  or 5 five weeks of “close attendance and continual reasoning with each other” among the delegates at the Constitutional Convention.

Fly Fishing in Downtown Helen

By Bill Hager Here’s a true confession: I actually like fishing on the Chattahoochee River in downtown Helen.  Why not?  It’s not that far from where I live, they stock the river every week during the summer with lots of trout, and it’s entertaining in its own unique way.

Surprise at Starlight

By Ivy Rutzky On an early Thursday morning, Jimmie Tinius looked out her kitchen window. A hot-air balloon was sitting on the lawn. She lives at Starlight in the Nacoochee Valley. Jimmie walked out onto her front porch and waved hello.