Opinion

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I’m not a fan of the literal stuff myself, but when it comes to the figurative lemonade, my cup is never full.

Monett would define this as preparing students for their future. Education has changed over the decades, but the purpose has remained constant — to ensure all students receive a highquality and equitable education.

Veteran’s Day is almost here, Nov. 11.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opened on Oct. 1, 2022. Anyone interested in attending college or technical school should complete this application to receive available aid through grants and student loans. A few other eligibility guidelines include citizenship and financial need. Many opportunities are available for anyone who wants to continue with his/her education. Unfortunately, this information does not always reach everyone. First-generation students are among those who miss educational opportunities, because no other family member traveled the higher education journey. They do not know how to offer advice.

When my journalism career began, one of my first city beats was the little town of Kensett, Ark. A population of just over 1,000, Kensett sat a couple miles east of the 22,000-strong Searcy, Ark.

For the second time this year, Monettans who go to the ballot box on Nov. 8 will see the same question concerning a local use tax.

It’s me again! Little did I know that Kyle was going to post a picture of me and supply my email to my opinion column! Luckily, I didn’t get any threats. And, I forgot one small thing, SOCIAL MEDIA, since I am not old enough to be on it! My sister, Diane, informed me that my article had been posted on Facebook, so since it was posted, she said she had the right to post it also.

Farmers and ranchers have experienced 200300 percent increases in fertilizer costs in 2021 and the first half of 2022, according to Ben Brown, senior research associate for the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

It’s been a big year for local journalism. In July, I attended the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors conference, where I accepted a Golden Dozen award for column-writing, and just a few weeks ago, I attended the Missouri Press Association conference and accepted more than 50 awards on mine and my staff’s behalf.

For the first time in three years, I had the opportunity to take a few days of vacation, and my companion and I decided to take off to the Great Lakes to catch a glimpse of a few lighthouses along the north shore of Lake Superior. As most people know, I have a fascination with lighthouses, beaches, boats, seashells, dolphins and almost anything nautically related. And, as everyone knows, most of those things are not conveniently located to southwest Missouri, so you have to plan. What the Great Lakes lack in dolphins and seashells, they more than make up for in lighthouses. There are more than 56 lighthouses along the Lake Superior Circle Tour, but I limited my list to six.