Travis: How do teachers savor their summer? Let’s count the ways

In just a few days, the school year for Newton County children will be over. We'll see pictures of them rushing out of the schools' doors, cheering.

Yarbrough: They’re schools, not businesses, as teachers know well

Dear Public School Teachers in Georgia:

McCoy: Where am I? Brain is not playing fair

It's not cool to keep silent

I remember the first time I ran away from home. I was in sixth grade and I had been wronged in some way. I was sure my parents loved my sister more or denied me some privilege, and I was having none of that. I stayed home when my parents left for work, skipped school, packed a bag and took my bike to this little secluded spot by the river, thinking that was an awesome place to live. I was home before my parents.

Credit report coding trips up buyers

Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lenders?

Sometimes, perspective changes things

Single and lonely in a new neighborhood, a guy invites his neighbors to a drop-in party. With ample food and drink, he sits alone as party time comes and goes.

Who's teaching students to hate U.S.?

Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are accused of setting the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon, attended the University of Massachusetts. Maybe they hated our nation before college, but if you want lessons on hating America, college attendance might be a good start. Let's look at it.

Where am I? Brain isn't playing fair

Last week, while out of town and staying in a hotel, I had a most exasperating experience.

Property tax proposal doesn’t add up

The word tax is a three-letter word that might as well be a four-letter word these days.

Cushman: Crisis management

My graduate course in crisis management was the 2012 Republican presidential primaries as a senior advisory and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich.

Crosswalk confusion is rampant

I try to walk at least five days or more a week for close to an hour.

Dalton mayor mulls run against Deal

David Pennington, the mayor of Dalton, is making noises about challenging incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary. Say what?

Carter: Character, integrity are true pillars of society

I was conversing with a couple of friends this week, each of whom expressed frustration and disappointment at having been wronged recently in a business transaction.

McCoy: Men, watch your step at weddings

If you're a man who's been invited to a wedding, you need to heed my advice so you know what to do at these alien affairs.

How home sellers shoot themselves in the foot

With full-fledged sellers' markets underway in dozens of metropolitan areas around the country, new research has found curious statistical patterns emerging: Even in cities where listings get multiple offers within days or hours, significant numbers of homes are sitting on the market for six months, 12 months or more with no takers.

Legislators finally getting message?

Don't look now, but I think you are beginning to have some impact on the issue of unlimited lobbying expenditures in the Legislature.

A tale of dueling monitors

A new computer has been placed on my desk at The Covington News. Let me correct that, a new-to-me computer.

McCoy: Lesson I’ve learned from trucks

I've owned four trucks in my 52 years and each has taught me a valuable life lesson. The first truck I ever owned was also the first new automobile I'd ever owned. Up to that point, I was a used car kind of guy, mainly because I had nothing interesting in my wallet. The truck was a mistake. I paid way too much, even though I had "a friend" at the dealership. The truck door ...

Searching for answers after Newtown

Following the school shooting horror in Newtown, Conn., our nation shares a heartfelt belief that something must be done.

Are guns the problem?

When I attended primary and secondary school -- during the 1940s and '50s -- one didn't hear of the kind of shooting mayhem that's become routine today. Why? It surely wasn't because of strict firearm laws. My replica of the 1902 Sears mail-order catalog shows 35 pages of firearm advertisements. People just sent in their money, and a firearm was shipped.

Doug Holt's view from the house

The 2013 legislative session started smoothly on January 14th, with the House re-electing Speaker David Ralston and Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones. Our 47 freshmen members started introducing bills with the usual excitement -- the excitement that comes from the first opportunity to act on ideas they could never do anything but talk about before. There will be some interesting committee hearings in weeks ahead.

A commentary on the 2nd Amendment

"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."

Carter: Remembering MLK Then and Now

On a sun-filled day in the summer of 1964, an excited boy of 4.5 dances around massive marble columns flanking the top step of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Scattered below, tourists mix and mingle on the concrete expanse between the memorial and the reflecting pool stretching to the Washington Monument in the distance.

GOP’s battle plans need a rework

Last week, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed cited the need to use hard and soft politics in governing the city. "We are making hard decisions again and again that allow us to show compassion," the Democrat said at a luncheon held by the Atlanta Press Club. "Because you can't help other people if you're broke yourself."

Morgan: 2013 off to a bad start

This year of 2013 has, for me, gotten off to a start worthy of a year that ends in 13. Not that I'm superstitious or anything. Here's how it began.

Local papers provide empowering info

I have the privilege of being with a group of newspaper publishers at the Georgia Press Association's winter gathering in Atlanta this week. It is one of those times I wish my momma and daddy were still around to see the crowd their little boy is hanging out with these days. Momma would be pleased; Daddy would be surprised.

Elvis truly left the building

I got an email from my sister last week reminding me that it was Elvis' birthday, his 78th one to be exact. I have Elvis socks that feature his name and musical notes and a small guitar with his name on it that is a Christmas ornament bought at Graceland. But that's it. My sister has more Elvis memorabilia than anyone I know. It all started on a whim.

Williams: Dishonest educators continue to create black eye

Nearly two years ago, U.S. News & World Report came out with a story titled "Educators Implicated in Atlanta Cheating Scandal." It reported that "for 10 years, hundreds of Atlanta public school teachers and principals changed answers on state tests in one of the largest cheating scandals in U.S. history." More than three-quarters of the 56 Atlanta schools investigated had cheated on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, sometimes called the national report card. ...

McCoy: How to remain manly while sick

Let's be painfully blunt: It's not possible for a man to be sick and remain manly. I'd like to claim that testosterone is the cure-all that keeps guys burly and ferocious through all kinds of challenges, but that hormone bows in defeat before the cold, the flu, or - in my case - bronchitis. I spent much of the new year fighting off a nasty infection, and that's when I learned just how far we ...

Carter: No time to fool around

When we struggle as a nation to find common ground - or even respectful dialog - on anything, the last thing we need is exaggeration and deliberately inflammatory language in discussing the events of the day. We'll always have that from some of the general public, but I expect better from our newspapers. That's why I was disappointed with this newspaper's editorial board for their "Our Thoughts" piece in last Sunday's Covington News titled "Fooled ...