While I don’t know who said it first, there is an often repeated truism that goes, “We don’t miss the water till the well runs dry.” And I might add, you don’t miss your community newspaper until you don’t have one. Back in the prime of my weekly column in the late 1990s, I had more than 300 newspapers running it, and more than 375 in 35 states that ran it at one time or another. But due to the Internet and other electronic media, plus more than 32 million…

There is an old joke about this man who heard that 80 percent of all accidents occur within 25 miles of home -- so he moved. Well, apparently a lot of people are moving, but not for the same reason. There is an alarming trend taking place in America today that is cause for concern, at least in some circles. This is the loss of population in rural areas that has caused the majority of our citizens to believe that “rural America is dying.” The 2020 census is likely to…

Back in the early days, Truett Cathy, founder of the Chic-fil-A restaurant chain, had a very special tip for training employees. When he had them seated before him he would pose this question: “How do you know when someone needs encouragement?” After a bit, and a few puzzled stares, he would answer his own question. The answer is, “It is when they come in the door.” Now that is pretty simple, but it is also true. This is just another way of saying that we all need encouragement every day…