Lincoln Memorial, Arlington are reminders of freedom's cost

If you were to suddenly appear this weekend at the numerous BBQs or pool parties without any knowledge of our nation's history, it might be hard to understand the real meaning of Memorial Day.

Morgan: From Covington square to Capitol Hill

The Covington News office is conveniently located for its local government reporters within easy walking distance of city hall, the Historic Courthouse and the county administration building. Today Gabe Khouli holds down that beat, but before Gabe, there was Rachel Oswald, trudging those well-worn paths and developing far more friends and admirers of her work than enemies. She was back in town this week for a visit with some of those friends.

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.

Durusau: “No” to organ donation a last indignity

Have you ever heard of an organ donor being turned down? One who met all the conditions to be a healthy donor, whose donation could bring sight, freedom from dialysis, even life to multiple recipients? Christian Longo is one such person whose request to be an organ donor has been turned down. Longo is on death row in Oregon. He can be executed but he can't be an organ ...

Black dog in need of a good home

The first time I saw the little black dog, he was a blur streaking down the street past our house with our black and white border collie in hot pursuit.

Giddens: Uniform response not always same

I'm in uniform today: Boat shoes, khaki slacks, a light blue Oxford shirt and tie.

Tax reformer miffed with legislators

A.D. Frazier is not a happy camper. My friend and former Atlanta Olympic colleague spent last summer chairing the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians, a 10-member council appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston.

Legislation moving forward

It's now at the point in the legislative session where the General Assembly is pushing into the phase where we press to move bills out of each chamber (House and Senate) and over to the other before crossover day. Crossover day is legislative day 30, the last day we can pass a bill out of one chamber and still be able to move it in the other.

Harwell: Things I know no longer matter

The older I get the more I feel that a good bit of information I've spent a lifetime accumulating may border on the insignificant. I hope I'm wrong, as it's a terrible thing to contemplate having expended enormous effort and priceless, irreplaceable time in the pursuit of knowledge which doesn't matter. But it's important to me, especially in winter, to know that the hot water won't reach the shower head until I've sung ...

SPLOST paves way to growth for county

Many of you reading this will remember when Newton County was primarily an agricultural community where cotton, orchards, hay fields, cattle, dairies and family gardens dominated the landscape. Others will cherish memories of those days as related by parents and grandparents. Roads that linked farms and homesteads were rutted dirt roads, even the most well-traveled.

Cushman: Liberty or bondage?

My 11-year-old daughter asked me to explain how Wisconsin's 14 Democratic state senators can leave the state while they are supposed to be working.

Drug war?

I was puzzled by the news of a DEA raid in Atlanta last week. Not that they found drugs and drug dealers in Atlanta. Those are almost as common a peanuts and peaches in Georgia.

Morgan: Family matters

The word "family" usually evokes only the warmest and fondest feelings of which we are capable.

Giddens: Not the image we want to project

Joe Cannelongo is a halfback.

Yarbrough: Some good news, sort of

It is not easy being a house husband cum columnist. Trying to figure out where the paper towels are located at the same time I am trying to figure out where the commas go makes my brain hurt.

Tudor: Winner depends on who’s keeping score

As the Georgia legislature begins its march to the halfway mark, few significant pieces of legislation have been dealt with.

Harwell: The few, the proud

Every once in a blue moon a television commercial will appear which actually causes me to stop and pay attention. One which does so features United States Marines in dress uniform, executing a rifle drill. As the recruiting message is heard, the line of Marines is shown extending through treasured, prominent American landmarks, from sea to shining sea. The commercial ends as the picture goes to black, with only the loud clack of ...

Weadick: SPLOST investment in community

There has been substantial debate regarding the proposed Newton County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, over the past weeks and months, but the merits of passing a six-year extension to the 1 percent county sales tax are difficult to ignore, namely the $57 million in funding for vital public works and programs in our community.