Opinion Archive

Nine weeks is all that remains in the school athletic season if you count the softball state championship week. For most teams, the year will be over long before that.

I was hired for my first ministry position by a pastor with 40 years of experience. “You don’t serve people,” he sagely said to me, “you serve God, and people are served in the process.” He advised against living in a parsonage and instead purchasing a home to build equity. “You will never get rich in ministry,” he counseled, “but God will provide for your needs.” Now, nearing his years of experience, I can attest to the wisdom of his counsel. Nonetheless, there was a financial situation in that ministry that had me scratching my head in amusement.

Word to the wise with all our spring chores out in the yard. If you are blowing anything with a blower, wear eye protection. If you are cutting limbs above you or next to you, wear eye protection. My brother was out blowing leaves one evening recently. He wasn’t wearing even sunglasses – because it was evening. The next morning, he woke up and his left eye was glued shut from eye gunk. He went to the urgent care, and they told him he had scratched his eye and it was healing. Turns out, it was probably from blowing leaves without eye protection.

We attended the March 21 meeting of the Land Development Taskforce and were pleasantly surprised by what we heard and saw.

Back in February, we put the county commissioners on blast for selecting a “builder heavy” taskforce. They listened and backed off on some of the choices they made in favor of a more balanced approach. But we were still left with three builders in the end.

I’ve never been one to complain about athletes transferring. I don’t care if coaches jump from one job to another. Sure, you hate to see it, but it’s part of sports in 2025. The days of staying in one place are long gone in college athletics.

If you have ever watched the myriad TV shows about antiques, you know that haylofts in unused barns can yield some surprising treasures. Someone in the past places a valuable, unused item in a place that is secure from the elements and out of the way, then forgets it is there. My father-in-law in Indiana had just such a barn.

I’m very honored to be on the board of Main Street Crestview Association (MSCA) as their Vice President, and together we have accomplished a lot of positive changes. However, the board has never seen the kind of “trouble” that tends to follow me. Luckily, they are very astute and have seen this as an opportunity to learn what slander and libel looks like and how to address very negative social media posts – that are patently untrue. Also, they have learned how to resist the urge to address every accusation on social media.  Crestview isn’t used to having a real newspaper that reports the news, no matter who might be the subject.

In the latest issue of Editor & Publisher Magazine, they tackle the issue of Freedom of the Press and some of the perils that come with it. Leonard Woolsey, a respected publisher of the Daily News in Galveston, Texas, and the 2025 president of Southern Newspapers, had a lot to say about the perils of reporting the truth. The following is a portion of what was published in the February 2025 issue, with Gretchen A. Peck reporting.

It wasn’t the state weightlifting meet, but it was pretty darn close.
Talented boys weightlifting teams from around Northwest Florida competed at the Navarre Invitational last Wednesday afternoon.

So I took my first trip over to the new track at Pine Forest a couple of weekends ago. Let me just say that I was impressed.
It kind of felt like I was walking into a stadium for the state meet with the way the rubberized track looked as the sun beat down on it. It is indeed a thing of beauty.