Opinion

As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the state and the nation, we must work to maintain that all-important virtue: hope. We have every reason to believe we will survive this short-term challenge and be stronger both personally and as a nation when the threat is defeated...

Trying to stay safe and healthy during the COVID-19 outbreak may help us realize what health care workers go through every day. These health care workers, a unique group of people, leave their homes and families daily, trained to expect the unexpected...

After multiple days of negotiations, Congress and President Trump have approved a relief package that holds promise for those of us who live and work in rural America. While certainly not perfect (no legislation truly is), the bill addresses many areas of concern that have been highlighted as we continue to navigate the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19...

A recent report by Chris Stewart has shed new light on some of the educational problems faced by black youth. The report is titled "The Secret Shame: How America's Most Progressive Cities Betray Their Commitment to Educational Opportunity for All." Stewart is a self-described liberal and CEO of Brightbeam, a nonprofit network of education activists who want to hold progressive political leaders accountable...

Over the past week, the severity of risk posed to our country by the coronavirus outbreak came into sharp focus. President Trump has held daily briefings from the White House with Vice President Pence and a slew of leading experts from around the federal government to keep the American people constantly informed...

It’s been just over 10 years since a historic ice storm disrupted life across a wide swath of Southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas. It left some area residents without power for up to a month. Displaced residents couldn’t find a hotel room, because they were all booked within hours of the storm that brought so much destruction...

Everyone I know is talking about the coronavirus because it is affecting all of us. I am using data from https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus in this column. Here are the current statistics as of the time I write this on March 17. There are currently 167,502 confirmed cases worldwide. Nearly half (81,077) are in China, but only 29 new cases were confirmed there yesterday...

This week’s biggest topic of conversation was the COVID-19 virus, also known as the Corona Virus.

As you are most likely aware, the world is reeling from a new disease. As the virus reaches closer to us, the best thing we can do is pull together as a community and protect ourselves by following the recommended precautions, and checking on our families, friends and neighbors.

Most students with Three Rivers College received a three week spring break this year due to a far more threatening incident: ransomeware.

I hate to admit it, but I frequently get busy and focus on what I am doing while forgetting life is much bigger than what is happening to me. It is very easy to overlook what is important when running at top speed to get through our daily “to do lists.”...

Sen. Bernie Sanders said: "I believe that health care is a right of all people." He's not alone in that contention. That claim comes from Democrats and Republicans and liberals and conservatives. It is not just a health care right that people claim. There are "rights" to decent housing, decent food, a decent job and prescription drugs. In a free and moral society, do people have these rights? Let's begin by asking ourselves: What is a right?...

The Democratic presidential field is down to two old, white males, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Though they are said to represent two polar-opposite wings of the party, on one issue, they are in complete agreement. They both have solemnly pledged to destroy millions of blue-collar jobs across Middle America's oil patch...

"Fortress Europe is an illusion." So declares the Financial Times in the closing line of its Saturday editorial: "Europe Cannot Ignore Syrian Migrant Crisis." The FT undertakes to instruct the Old Continent on what its duty is and what its future holds: "The EU will face flows of migrants and asylum seekers across the Mediterranean for decades to come."...

President Trump’s work to secure our borders, build a wall, and restore the rule of law across our county has energized millions of Americans since he became President. However, his efforts to keep American families safe have continually been undermined by cities which flagrantly disregard our country’s illegal immigration laws and serve as “Sanctuary Cities” for illegal immigrants seeking a safe hide-away. ...

Poplar Bluff and everybody else, you need to be paying attention to Trump. He’s done bragged over there that he’s cutting, how much he cut Medicare last year and now he’s going to be cutting Social Security if he gets elected. I don’t know if you all remember how many people got cut off when Reagan was in and he took a swipe at it, but as many younger disabled people as there is, that ought to bring you out to vote...

It was a busy week at your State Capitol, and I would like to share just a few of the happenings with you. Three bills were passed by the Senate and are now heading to the House for consideration: Senate Bill 644 modifies laws regarding service dogs to ensure the animal is trained to perform tasks and assist the owner with difficulties directly related to their disability; Senate Bill 664 prohibits “call spoofing” and adds it to the telemarketing no-call list; and Senate Bill 673 supports military spouses by allowing them to receive an equivalent license, i.e. ...

We have a lot of big decisions coming our way this year. It’s the type of election year that kind of wears you out before you even get to the polls. We’re sure everyone was hit with the same overwhelming number of ads for Mike Bloomberg before he dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nominee after seeing a sound defeat on Super Tuesday by Joe Biden...

A week ago, the candidacy of Joe Biden was at death's door. On a taping of "The McLaughlin Group," this writer suggested it might be time to "call the rectory" and have the monsignor come render last rites. Today, Biden's candidacy is not only alive. He is first in votes, victories and delegates, and is favored to win the nomination and, by most polls, to defeat Donald Trump in November...

Sometimes we forget what things are about. Take Lent for instance. There is nothing in the Bible about this time before Easter. Jesus did not practice it. Why do some practice it? Why do we do the ashes and give things up for seven weeks? Well, the short answer is sin. Yep, I said it, sin is the reason we do Lent, Easter and even Christmas...

Sweet relief. Super Tuesday was the worst setback for left-wing populism since Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party crashed and burned. But while the voters have handed Joe Biden another chance, it's important to recognize why they've had doubts. From the start of this election cycle, majorities of Democrats had signaled that their highest priority was beating President Donald Trump. ...

The rumblings from the Beltway are ominous, my fellow Americans. As the U.S Supreme Court prepares to rule on President Donald Trump's termination of the Obama administration amnesty and work permits for 800,000 young illegal immigrants sometime between now and June 2020, all the usual open-borders special interests are lobbying for a "DACA deal" in Congress...

Here are a few headlines about an African tragedy: "Africa's Worst Locust Plague in Decades Threatens Millions" (The Wall Street Journal), "'Unprecedented' Locust Invasion Approaches Full-Blown Crisis" (Scientific American), "Somalia Declares Locust Outbreak a 'National Emergency'" (The National) and "UN Calls for International Action on East Africa Locust Outbreak" (Bloomberg Green). ...

Since the coronavirus outbreak began in China, misleading information has swirled in the media. Data and statistics have been shared without any context; rumors and speculation have been presented as absolute truths. The New York Times has already labeled it the “TrumpVirus.” When the Left’s hatred of the President is more important to them than letting clear and straightforward facts get to the American people, panic creeps in and everyone is hurt. ...

Why in the world is the federal government, 20 years into the 21st century, continuing to pour tens of billions of tax dollars into little-used mass transit rail projects? In a digital age with increasingly popular and affordable door-to-door ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft, universal use of cars by all income groups and the revolution of smart driverless vehicles around the corner, subway systems and light rail are as old-fashioned as the rotary phone. ...

After Joe Biden's blowout victory in South Carolina Saturday and the swift withdrawal of Tom Steyer, "Mayor Pete" Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the decisive day of the race for the Democratic nomination, Super Tuesday, is at hand. Fourteen states -- including California and Texas and delegate-rich Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia -- hold primaries today, where 40% of the delegates to the Democratic convention will be chosen...

Our community was rocked by something terrible Thursday. Someone we trusted not only with our public safety, but the safety of our children, was accused of some of the most horrible crimes imaginable. Not many details are known at this time about the charges that have been filed against a now former Poplar Bluff police officer and an area woman...

When I first heard the shocking news of the actions of a now-former trusted member of our community had allegedly done, I was confused. I was angry. I was upset. I couldn’t understand how someone, who was supposed to be a beacon of trust for our community and our citizens, both young and old, could commit such acts...

The first two months of the 2020 Legislative Session are off to a good start. Some bills are progressing quickly, while others seem to be riding on turtle shells. Senate Bill 623, which I sponsored, will ensure that abused and neglected children will have a court appointed guardian ad litem who will meet with the children within seven business days of their appointment. ...

A highlight of my job is the opportunity to recognize special people on special occasions. One such event occurred when I recently presented a resolution in honor of Mr. Bob Healy’s 85th birthday. Many of you might know Bob, who is originally from Poplar Bluff. ...

I loved Adam Holtz’ devotional in the May 18, 2018, edition of Our Daily Bread. He shared a time when his brilliant solution to a clogged toilet was to flush it again. The result was the opposite of what he had hoped, and he watched helplessly as instead disappearing, the contents of the toilet spilled onto his bathroom floor. Him yelling “No! No! No! NO!” did nothing to change things...

Not a single member of Congress should reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act program that's coming up for a vote mid-March unless significant reforms are made that protect Americans' civil liberties and privacy. This includes protections for the current president of the United States, and future administrations and their associates, who should never be spied on for illegitimate and political purposes like we saw during the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane operation against Donald Trump and his campaign in the lead up to the 2016 election.. ...

Not until well into the Democratic debate Tuesday night did the COVID-19 coronavirus come up, and it was Mike Bloomberg, not a CBS moderator, who raised it: "The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago," the former New York mayor said. "There's nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. And he's defunded the CDC."...

According to CNN, Bernie Sanders "has been consistent for 40 years." Some find this reassuring. Sanders is not a finger-in-the-wind politician who tacks this way or that depending upon what's popular. On the other hand, if someone has never changed his mind throughout 78 years of life, it suggests ideological rigidity and imperviousness to evidence, not high principle...

"We're full, our system's full, our country's full!" That was President Donald Trump last year at our southern border. "Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families." That was Trump in January 2017 at his inaugural address...

Is career and technical education important today? Definitely! The future of career education is increasing rapidly, and the Poplar Bluff School District is working to meet those needs so current and future students are prepared for success. The president of the United States recently released a proposed budget increase in career and technical education (CTE) of over $900 million. ...

Before former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg threw his hat into the 2020 presidential race, he defended the New York Police Department's use of "stop, question and frisk" policing. At a United States Naval Academy's 2019 Leadership Conference, Bloomberg said, "We focused on keeping kids from going through the correctional system ... ...

To the editor: The SEMO United Blind Club would like to thank everyone who donated for their 2019 fundraisers. Special thanks to the Lions Club for their support and donation and to the Modern Woodmen for their matching funds donation. SEMO United Blind Club is looking forward to a great year in 2020...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration just announced some spectacular news that should be banner headlines across the country: The price of natural gas has fallen to its lowest February level in 20 years. The data shows that natural gas prices fell to $1.77 per million British thermal units. ...

Sen. Bernie Sanders may be on the cusp of both capturing the Democratic nomination and transforming his party as dramatically as President Donald Trump captured and remade the Republican Party. After his sweep of the Nevada caucuses, following popular vote victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sanders has the enthusiasm and the momentum, as the crucial battles loom in South Carolina on Saturday and Super Tuesday on March 3...

Recently, I visited Washington County Memorial Hospital (WCMH) to meet with hospital leaders and community members who rely on the day-to-day services of the hospital to discuss how to improve access to care and how best to keep costs down for working families...

Chris Batrano was a father to two sons, a partner, a son and a brother. He was a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School and Three Rivers College. He was a systems programmer. He was a musician. He was a Mizzou fan. Batrano, who was 51 when he passed Feb. 7, was many more things than his diagnosis — ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease...

The pre-Nevada Democratic debate was a gift to Donald Trump. Instead of training their fire on the incumbent, or on the vulnerable front-runner, Bernie Sanders, the candidates tore Mike Bloomberg to shreds while saving plenty of darts for one another. ...

Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Mayor Mike Bloomberg learned what it is like to be thrown up against a wall and frisked. At the opening of the Democratic debate, his first, Mayor Mike was greeted by his nearest neighbor on stage, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with this warm welcome:...

February is Career and Technical Education month and I wanted to take some time to let our stakeholders know about the many opportunities for career education in Poplar Bluff Schools. The Poplar Bluff R-I school system has two different methods of providing career education to students, the first of which being programs offered directly to students on an hourly basis on the Poplar Bluff High School campus....

To Whom It May Concern, I was excited to hear of the special day of service and prayer on Feb. 29 here in the Bluff. Since our church, Faith Baptist Church, has committed ourselves to 500 hours of prayer for our city in the next year, we are glad to include this in our commitment...

To the editor: The guffaw of the Democratic Party over their failure in Iowa is nothing short of a mockery of our Republic. The good people of Iowa turned out looking to participate in the process of choosing their nominee, only to learn the harsh lesson that Republicans have known for years: Democrats cannot be trusted to create efficient processes, much less run the government. ...

The month of February is special for those of us who work in CTE, because February is CTE month. What is CTE you might ask? It is Career and Technical Education (CTE), and it has a strong backstory as well as a bright future for our community. As an educator, I have always marveled at the accomplishments of Career Education in our public schools...

If you are part of what is called a liturgical church, then you know what is coming up next week. On Wednesday, we will begin the journey to Easter with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. If you don’t share in this holy time, that’s okay, not everyone does. Ash Wednesday starts the season of Lent, which is the 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter...