It’s mid September, and local schools are about to hit the onemonth mark of their school year. Time definitely flies.

As we get older and we begin to watch the next generations change some of the things that we hold dear, we begin to grumble. So often I hear complaint after complaint about where the country is headed and how if things don’t change, we are headed for disaster.

“What in tarnation?” That’s probably what my friend Wade Hermansen said when he happened upon this mighty fine mare munching on grass at the Cassville City Park on Monday morning.

People and relationships come and go, and there are not many greater feelings than finding something you want to hold onto forever. On Tuesday — after we put out next week’s paper — we will go celebrate my wife’s sixth 25th birthday.

The new school year is officially underway. In our house, this also brings a return to routines such as bedtimes, early mornings, after school activities and homework.

Recently, things have began to change in my life and those around me. I can sense a call for faith to be tested and for obedience to heed that call.

The state of Missouri, Barry County and the City of Cassville are all a part, and I dare say an integral part, of the history and the development of the western portion of this great nation, the United States.

The 2023-2024 school year began last Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Anyone with an interest in newspapers — or the U.S. Constitution — has had at least one eye glued to what’s been happening at the Marion County Record in Marion, Kan.