Viewpoint

This time of year, many community activities help bind our towns together in rituals of the season. So many have their own traditions that at times seem to tie events into routines rather that open doors to new experiences. The Festival of Lights, which opens on Wednesday, is a wonderful example of making a holiday tradition out of whole cloth, literally nothing into something that can be recreated year by year...

Monett did two things right this week. First, people got out and voted. The almost 50 percent turnout reflected two national elections in a row that people in town exercised their right to vote in greater numbers than usually seen. After the 20 percent turnout for the August primary, it was heartening to see people got on board. It was also great to see 40 more registered voters in the Barry County portion of town between the two elections, and up 70 in the Lawrence County portion...

Dear Editor: The officers and members of Monett Council No. 1075 of the Knights of Columbus would like to sincerely thank the residents of Monett and the immediate surrounding area for their generous contributions to our recently concluded “Tootsie Roll Drive” to raise funds to help support our citizens with developmental disabilities...

This week we had another reminder that the eyes of the world are on us in a visit by journalist and best selling author Eric Hamus, who was visiting Monett from Luxembourg. Hamus has roots in Monett. His mother, Chris Hermes, was an AFS student to Monett in 1967, staying with Floyd and Dee Stewart and family. ...

You’d never know from looking around Monett, and most of our neighboring towns, that there’s a storm brewing out there. There’s not that many campaign signs forecasting the election. Few of them are for local races, or for people that anyone local knows personally and sits down with the coffee klatch at a local eatery...

Last week was National Newspaper Week. It’s just another week for those of us in the business, but it’s important to take stock of what it means to have, and not have, a newspaper in your community. It means having someone at your city council meeting to pass along what your elected officials are doing. ...

This week, two incidents took place involving the Monett police that warrant attention, as they were not reported in The Monett Times. One took place on Tuesday. Dispatch received a call from the Gene Taylor VA Outpatient Clinic in Mt. Vernon. One of their clients, a veteran from Monett, had expressed suicidal desires and had left to return home...

Dear Editor: The Tom Dewey picture (Barry-Lawrence Midweek, Oct. 2, from the visit of New York Governor Tom Dewey, and his wife, Frances Hutt Dewey, to Monett on Oct. 14, 1948) brings back a Hall family story. As you may know, V.B. Hall Sr. and my brother, Ben, were on the Harry Truman train as it came to town (on Sept. 29)...

I discovered a long time ago while standing on Broadway that it’s not easy describing a parade float rolling down the street in front of you. Most of the time, by the time you write down the color scheme and the words on the banner on the side, the float has rolled out of sight. There’s more to see. There’s a theme, a visual landscape and characters on board, usually several different kinds. There may be more words on the back. A photo captures some, but not all, of that...

Dear Editor: Last year, the Lawrence County Commission proposed a law enforcement tax to “supplement” the General Revenue budget, correct the over-crowded, aging jail situation and hire more deputies. One year later, I have downloaded the various budget spreadsheets to find that General Revenue money previously allocated to the sheriff and jail has virtually vanished, from $1.4 million to $30,000...

A good example of what happens when you put good people in charge of a project showed itself this week at Monett Elementary School. Finding a safer way for parents to drop off and pick up students wasn’t seen as an issue until the tragic accident at the Neosho schools left a teacher dead. ...

This week, a freelance reporter for a German magazine dropped into Freistatt to figure out what a community with a history of separateness between Germans and the rest of America looks like in the early 21st century. Roland Peters, who writes for the online magazine Medium, found that much of the uniqueness of Freistatt, mainly that earlier generation of German-rooted residents, has simply faded from the scene. ...

Dear Editor: To the citizens of Lawrence County: I have recently seen some letters to the editor in our area newspapers regarding the sheriff’s department budget from the law enforcement sales tax (LEST) and the general fund. In order to dispel some misconceptions and misinformation, I am writing and including data available to the public at the county clerk’s office...