Today's News

Staff writer/photographer

Just one week remains to adopt a Tri-County Community Action Agency Teddy Bear Tree recipient.

Teddy bears will be available through Friday, Dec. 9, at Cook’s in Eminence. A table is set up at the front of the store by the pharmacy.

Family Services Coordinator Margaret Mullins said there are still at least 25 children who need the community’s help.

One of the most challenging problems facing state government these days is our sky-rocketing prison population.

This decade alone, the number of inmates has risen nearly 50 percent, while costs have gone up by more than half.  In the last fiscal year, we spent $450 million to house more than 21,000 prisoners, a population roughly the same size as our 17th largest city.

In January, the legislature’s Program Review and Investigations Committee began taking a closer look at the reasons behind this surge.

General Manager

It was a trip he might not have taken without some help from his community.

In October, Sulphur teen Kenneth Gaines took part in the National Youth Leadership Congress in Washington, D.C. It was the experience of a lifetime.

While at the conference, Gaines took part in a variety of scenarios. In two of those, Gaines played the part of key leaders — the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

The White House says it has good reasons to bring the terrorists who planned the 9/11 attacks to New York City to try them in a federal courtroom instead of at the secure detention facility at Guantanamo. But I can’t think of any.

The reasons why that decision is a mistake, however, are easy to list. It puts the tools we use to fight terror at risk. And it is a needless risk to America’s security. And it gives these terrorists a worldwide platform to spread their hateful propaganda.