Viewpoint

The people and leaders in Purdy find themselves in difficult position. Three train crashes with motorists at the Washington Avenue railroad crossing in three years have made it very clear the current arrangement there is not working. This week, a tragic fatality in a car-train collision at that crossing could easily have turned into three if the children had not made it out alive...

A friend recently returned from Waco, Texas, where she spoke with a longtime resident who might as well have been a paid ambassador for the Chamber of Commerce. He told everyone how much he loved his town and how he would never want to live anywhere else...

This week, The Monett Times staff made the annual excursion to the Monett agriculture conferences to keep abreast of developments in that portion of the local economy. I’ve always found these events, along with the bi-county soils and crops conference and the Southwest Research Center’s Field Day, some of the most interesting I attend all year. ...

On Monday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemoration services were held at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland. It was also the 75th anniversary of the liberation of that death camp, where over 1 million people died. Services were broadcast live on the BBC...

Filings for the April 7 election closed this week, and it was reassuring to see a number of people emerged from the woodwork to file. Granted, no additional candidates filed for the Monett City Council. For positions that are only open once every four years, that may seem surprising. On the other hand, the lack of candidates also expresses a vote of confidence in how the city is being run...

Dear Editor: I believe what’s happening to our Commander in Chief, Donald Trump, with this impeachment is an absolute disgrace to our nation. I truly believe this man wants to fix our broken system of government and our country and make it a better place for us all. Even though he’s been our President for the last three years, to me, he’s not a politician. He’s a rich businessman who has the fortitude to speak the truth and take corrective action, even it is against popular opinion...

With the refinancing of the City of Monett’s tax increment financing (TIF) bonds for one final project, and the official end of the city’s first TIF district declared at the upcoming Monday city council meeting, we can ask if tax increment financing served Monett well...

Dear Editor: In 2017, Lawrence County tax payers showed their support for our County Sheriff by approving (2:1 votes) a new Law Enforcement tax. Unfortunately, our efforts (and money) to help county law enforcement are being undercut by our own State Department of Corrections, which now owes more than $32 million in unpaid reimbursements to counties (Lawrence, Barry, Greene, etc.) that hold inmates charged with state crimes...

Obituaries this week brought the sad news of friends passing, as they usually do. This week two brought up memories of public labors that made life better in three communities. Dan Neal, who died at 62 in Tennessee of cancer on Jan. 3, had been an active figure around Pierce City 30 years ago. Dan had young kids and teens back then, as did his friends and extended family, and they provided the spark that propelled him into the public spotlight...

Now that we’re into a new year, and New Year’s resolutions suggest new directions for the coming months, here’s some ideas for our communities. For the Monett City Council, now that the cost share has jumped the big hurdle for improving Central Avenue and building a roundabout, it would be prudent as soon as possible to unveil the roundabout plan to the impacted property owners. Some businesses may have to move and deserve some time to make plans or even to buy real estate elsewhere in town...