Opinion

For your reading enjoyment, we continue to publish Rambling Vines by the late Marylea Vines as she recalls events and names of Corning folks from many years ago. We are currently in the year 1990 Just happened to run into Mrs.

Brittany James, eight years old, is shown with a 50-pound flathead catfish that is nearly as big as she. The fish was said to have been caught on a trot line Monday at “Gum Stump”, where very few fishermen know, and even fewer will reveal the exact location.

This column was first published in the Courier in the Sept. 26, 2018 issue and has been slightly edited.

Clayton’s County. Welcome to Clayton County is a limited weekly column exploring the life of General Powell Clayton, the original namesake of our county, our early history, and why we are not called Clayton County today.

We have often heard the expression, “The Pen is Mightier than The Sword”. We ask, “How can that be?” Perhaps the offspring of a pen might be greater than the stroke of the sword.

LITTLE ROCK – Legislators and state officials continue to work on methods of improving maternal health care in Arkansas. A special committee created by the governor last week issued its recommendations in a report called “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies.” It calls for making access to health care more clear and convenient for expectant mothers.

Co-founder of Vortex, Dirt Road Democrats PAC Investing Big Heading into 2024 Election Cycle WASHINGTON – Earlier this month Dirt Road Democrats PAC announced a major six-figure investment aimed at boosting Democratic candidates across Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi in the upcoming November elections. This strategic investment underscores their commitment to strengthening Democratic representation in key battlegrounds and traditionally overlooked areas, ensuring that every voice is heard, and every vote counts.

As we welcome September, it’s a time to recognize the vital role that rice plays in Arkansas and to celebrate National Rice Month. Our state stands proud as the number one producer of rice in the United States, contributing significantly to both our economy and our communities.

I purposely didn’t write a column about 9/11 that would have published last week on 9/11. I knew that it would be on everyone’s minds on that day. I wanted to wait a week and talk to you about the heroes not only of that day, but the coming weeks. Heroes, I believe, are born. They have no need to be created. I have met several of them in my life and, well, you just know they are special. Even if you might not know how special. I won’t trouble you with all of them, but those of you who are from Corning, and might be young, ask your elders about H.N (Porky) Robinson. I was long out of high school before I got to know just how special he was. Ask someone if they know where he served in WWII. Then I met and had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with Captain Larry Chesley, later, Lt. Col. Chesley. Captain Chesley spent 7 years in the Hanoi Helton from 1966 to 1973. I was so very honored that he sat and told me his story candidly, I will never forget. He passed away in 2021. Rest in Peace, Sir. I won’t continue, though there were others. What makes these men and women do the things they do, with no regard to sometimes their own welfare? One week back from this publication was the 23rd anniversary of 9/11/2001. For weeks we read about heroes of that day, and for weeks new heroes kept stepping forward to treat this wound in America’s heart. This is a story I wanted you to hear, in case you haven’t, of one of those heroes. His name was Rick Rescorla, and he was born in in a tiny village in Cornwall, England on May 27th 1939. He was one day behind me, who arrived a day earlier near Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas, on the 26th. In 1956, the same year I graduated Corning High School, he left Hayle at age 16 to join the British Military. He fought the communist backed insurgencies in Cyprus and Rhodesia from ‘60 to ’63. In 1962 I was in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. His experiences made him very anti-communist, as well it should, and it did with man

Restoring Voting Rights for Felons in Arkansas: A Path to Redemption In Arkansas, more than 5,000 citizens are locked out of their most fundamental democratic right—the right to vote—due to past felony convictions. This deliberate process of locking them out, not only silences their voices but undermines the values of rehabilitation and reintegration into society.