by - September 14, 2015 1:58 pm
Connecting with patients
We moved my mom and step-dad back to Arkansas from Amarillo, Texas, a couple of years ago so they would be closer to my brother, sister, and me (not to…
Guest Commentary
by - September 10, 2015 10:39 pm
Other angles of Fort Smith history
Two events this month feature crucial aspects of Fort Smith’s social history. Saturday, (Sept. 12), the 1865 Council of Fort Smith will be featured, and Thursday, Sept. 24, the role…
by - September 7, 2015 4:35 pm
Terrorism directed at small businesses
The greatest threat to America’s small businesses is terrorism – domestic terrorism. If you are a business owner, this isn’t news. It has been reality for decades. It just gets…
by - August 30, 2015 7:54 pm
Climate change is here
“Wow, the water sure looks high.” My wife said this as we were visiting our hometown of St. Augustine, Fla, this summer. We were on Matanzas Bay, separated from the…
by - August 17, 2015 6:07 pm
Mystery, suspense and Fort Smith finances
I spent this past Sunday afternoon reading a mystery. It wasn’t Agatha Christie. It was the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended Dec….
by - August 16, 2015 3:31 pm
The politics of A.P.E.
In 2013, right after she stepped down as U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton enjoyed a high approval rating from the American people. Her trust level was on solid ground….
by - August 11, 2015 5:39 pm
10 ideas to reduce student loan debt
On Monday, Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed increasing federal spending by $350 billion to provide college student debt relief. Here are a few ways to lower student debt for…
by - August 9, 2015 11:32 pm
A visit to Arkansas City
For five miles east of McGehee, Highway 4 is as straight as the Delta farmland is flat. Headed toward the Mississippi River, you see the levee rising in the distance….
by - August 4, 2015 11:24 am
Avoiding the escalation
Another police officer is dead, murdered in the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. Only a few weeks ago, two police officers were gunned down on the streets of Jackson, Mississippi. Murders…
by - August 2, 2015 2:27 pm
Self-correcting homo sapiens
I like to think I am an astute observer of the human scene, that I have a good memory, and my knowledge base is rooted in sound reasoning and empirical…
by - July 29, 2015 3:02 pm
The secret embezzler
I have a particular dislike for bookkeepers and accountants who commit fraud and embezzle from their employers. The act is vile and the person committing the fraud betrays their employer’s…
by - July 27, 2015 3:16 pm
The economic benefit of the arts
Civic leaders increasingly recognize that the arts, creative place-making and arts tourism not only provide social and cultural benefits to our community but economic benefits as well. We need only…
by - July 26, 2015 5:49 pm
A prologue to a farce or a tragedy
As Founding Father James Madison once said, “A Popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it is but a Prologue to a Farce or a tragedy, or…
by - July 23, 2015 11:05 pm
To a town divided: The history of the Southside Rebel
My earliest memories of Southside Rebel Pride came when I was in grade school, watching my two older brothers play football for the Rebels. My oldest brother played on the…
by - July 13, 2015 4:06 pm
Sebastian County’s five-year appraisal explainer
It’s that time again; unbelievably, it has been five years since we completed a countywide reappraisal, so it’s time to do it again. Those of us in the assessor’s office…
by - July 12, 2015 7:37 pm
Speculating about Gosack’s departure
Ray Gosack’s sudden and unexpected resignation as Fort Smith’s City Administrator without a hint of the reason begs one to speculate as to the why. Speculation isn’t reliable in finding…
by - July 12, 2015 1:35 pm
The push for better forest management
My first bill, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, passed the House of Representatives on Thursday (July 9). It is bipartisan legislation that will give the Forest Service the tools it…
by - July 5, 2015 2:02 pm
Our naïve idea about Iraq
Some Iraqis are now beginning to say the country should be divided into regions composed of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. The Kurds have pretty much gone their own way, the…
by - July 1, 2015 6:26 pm
A tough sale for Huckabee 2.0
Recent political history has it that the Democratic Party tends to “fall in love” with its presidential nominees, while the Republican Party tends to “fall in line” behind the presumptive…
by - June 30, 2015 7:25 pm
Lessons learned from a bad experience
When businesses become customers of other businesses, the interactions between the companies can be very instructive, providing each company with “how to” lessons, and many times with “how not to”…