For the first time since February, I was on a conference call this week that I did not want to be on and that the organizer would rather not have to set up. CoxHealth held COVID-19 calls in November, December and February, initially detailing the initial surge of cases and eventually highlighting the arrival of vaccines that everyone hoped would break the wave...

If there are any “old timers” around south Barry County, especially in the Cassville area, who might have had a suspicion they were being talked about recently, there is a good possibility it was really happening. The occasion was a long delayed meeting between Carl Smithson and myself...

For almost half a decade, police forces across the country have started to see a steady dip in their ranks, and the Barry County Sheriff’s Office roster is becoming a prime example of how fewer employees can lead to larger issues. Right now, the county is at 67 percent of its normal staffing, and where the office is hurting the most is where the public is most likely to see them — the road...

For a number of years, I was proud of several pieces of crystal rock that came out of the cave that ran under the old school house on 7th Street Hill. They were pieces of the past that were very valuable to me for sometime. Then, a few years later, the Kime boys got permission to open the cave front from Judy VanZandt, owner of the property. ...