Opinion & Editorial

Gavin

By Ronda Rich From the oven, I pulled out a peach cobbler that bubbled and popped beautifully. Outside, Spring had come calling to resurrect what Winter had lulled to sleep. The trees and shrubs were a lovely green and almost in full growth.

Lunch this week? Wait while I check my calendar

By Phil Hudgins Friends about my age always need to check their calendars when I ask about getting together for lunch. They have appointments. Not appointments for a new job. Heck, they’re all retired and happy. They have doctors’ appointments. That’s doctors with an s.

Big Dink could have written book on ‘affordability’

By Dink NeSmith   Affordability. A political buzzword. A reality. Growing up in the NeSmith household, I never—no, not once—heard my dad utter the word “affordability.” But he could have written a book on the subject.

Hog Heaven, Hay Balers and Hogwash

Like many of us, my pet pig, Cunningham, has reached that stage in life when he has to start thinking about body parts he’s never concerned himself with before. For men, this begins when the doctor clears his throat and says, “We probably oughta keep an eye on that.

Happy 50th birthday, Emily

By Dink NeSmith   “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe   March 2, 2026 Dear Emily: Yesterday, you were in pigtails. Today, you are 50 years old.

Our View: Talk to your representatives

White County voters will soon choose who they want to represent them at the local, state and federal level, first in the May 19 primary election and possibly later in the Nov. 3 general election. Qualifying ends at noon on Friday, March 6, at the Elections and Registration Office.

Our View: Hold clergy to a higher standard

Our State Legislators are on track to better protect from abuse those of us who attend religious institutions, participate in religious instruction or engage with pastoral counselors with the introduction of Georgia Senate Bill 542.

People with dreaded disease find comfort, love at retreat 

By Phil Hudgins The long hall at Great Wolf Lodge was lined on both sides with cheering people at dinnertime.

Roscoe was prophetic about two 2026 political issues

By Dink NeSmith A collection of memorabilia is on the walls and shelves of my office. Among the items is a yellow-faded campaign poster of Roscoe Emory Dean Jr., from when he ran for governor in 1980. The former state senator lost, but the issues listed on his poster were prophetic.

The Thief

By Ronda Rich The email, from my literary agent, popped up. He’s the wonderful man who first believed in me without reading one line I had written.