Opinion

EDITOR’S NOTE: This column was originally written and published in 2011. “What have you done for us lately?” I don’t think the average American military veteran has the time or the temperament to spend 51 weeks a year asking such a question, but a reasonable person could hardly blame him if he did...

To the editor: It was a near perfect beautiful October fall day as United Way of Bedford County celebrated Day of Caring and the Kickoff Luncheon for the 2018 campaign. Sanford and Jostens, both under the Newell Brand umbrella responded with large numbers of volunteers. First Community Bank also had a team in place...

To the Editor: Thank you to the sponsors and participants who helped make the 27th Annual Pencil Country Classic, benefiting the children and families of the Child Development Center, a success. Your continued support has allowed the CDC to bring light and hope to many families with developmentally delayed children. ...

I feel the general consensus is that it's time for all political commercials ... to take leave. We're coming down to the wire, in more ways than one, toward the Nov. 6 election. Some ads do make me laugh. Rebuttal political ads -- getting a bit mucky at this stage -- remind me of the little kid who says, "I didn't do it."...

To the Editor: Small farms need a voice in Washington. Scott DesJarlais sits on the House Agriculture Committee which tried and failed to pass a version of the farm bill that would slash programs that help small and beginning farmers, as well as rural residents in our district...

To the editor: To paraphrase Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran pastor who spoke out against Hitler and was thrown into a concentration camp; first, they came for the poor, and I did not vote, because I was not poor. Then they came for the undocumented immigrants, and I did not vote, because I was not an undocumented immigrant. ...

Beyond the noise of the Beltway and the daily vilification of national media outlets, are community newspapers serving cities, counties and regions throughout the U.S. Your local newspaper is far from being The Fake News. Your newspaper is most definitely not The Enemy of the People...

To the editor: There are many variables that impact the success of farming. Whether it’s the weather, market changes, or burdensome regulations, farming can be a risky business. Yet there are programs in place that support our farmers thrpugh good times and bad. ...

Domestic violence looks like a private problem, but nothing could be further from the truth. Any time a member of our community suffers at the hands of another, everyone suffers. Domestic violence is a community problem. If you’re a victim, you know it only too well. ...

To the editor: The closer we get to election day, the uglier and more partisan people seem to become. I recently read a letter from Pat Marsh attacking Phil Bredesen for no other reason than Bredesen is a Democrat. ‘Schumer! Pelosi! Hillary! Oh my!’...

A 52-year-old Shelbyville man is the newest dot to be placed on Bedford County’s sex offender registry. If it doesn’t make you angry that there’s another sexual predator going through our local court system, it should. The man pled guilty in Bedford County Circuit Court last Friday before Judge Wyatt Burk to charges of criminal attempt to commit aggravated statutory rape and solicitation of a minor. ...

To the Editor: Just a few days ago I read two obits of vets. They said we owe them a debt. I am wondering how we can pay that debt now, They are gone. They need NOTHING. As I recall, a year or so ago this man who is a vet said he and his wife were old and sick...

To the Editor: Last Thursday afternoon I got caught driving in the torrential downpour that hit Shelbyville at about 3 p.m. As I am not a frequent visitor to the town, I got lost trying to find U.S. 231 North to return home to Murfreesboro. Some very large puddles had formed on the side streets, and as I crept along slowly, not sure where I was, my car broke down -- right front ball joint snapped and the wheel almost fell off! -- in front of Bedford Manor Apartments on Barksdale Lane...

To The Editor: With the coming of the Nov. 8 election, two candidates are seeking your vote to elect them the next governor of the great state of Tennessee. One is a conservative republican, the other a moderate Democrat, but both cherish their God-fearing Christian values in every aspect of life,...

The Tennessee Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Oct. 4 in an important case involving state libel laws and a free press. The appeal before the state’s highest court is a test of the state’s fair report privilege. On a practical level, this privilege, which is recognized in every state’s laws, protects journalists from libel claims when they are reporting on official proceedings — such as court cases and city council meetings — as long as the reporting is a fair, accurate and balanced account of what happened.. ...

To the Editor: I served in the Tennessee House of Representatives when Phil Bredesen was governor and, sure, he did what he had to so we could squeak through some very tough economic times. But in Washington D.C., he will only be another pawn of Chuck Schumer. ...