Through the eyes of a child OPINION — With Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton having hit the Southeastern United States recently, it refreshes memories that Lee County has been affected by tornadoes — we all have been affected by natural...

Fire Prevention Week OPINION — As a teacher, I really look forward to Fire Prevention Week, which is Oct. 7 through 11 this year. I know students will enjoy and learn so much, and I want to thank our local fire departments for taking the time to...

A hug of hope, wisdom and gratefulness This Baby Boomer (born between 1946-1964) loves to sit down with my senior friends and the greater generation at church, visiting in long term facilities and spending time with my older friends. I am truly...

Sweet fruits of Fall OPINION — We are so blessed to have a community that celebrates all the Fall activities. This is truly a very busy and active time of year. Fall has been creeping in with its soft coolness and beautiful colors. This is a...

Settling into school OPINION — The school year is well underway. As teachers and parents, we are beginning to assess our children with a signal I have used be-fore which is SOS: S-Safe, O-Open, S-Sensitive. Safe — Do the children in my class feel...

Teaching children our Labor Day lessons OPINION — I remember that when I was a child we didn’t start the school year till after Labor Day due to not having air conditioning in the schools. I really looked forward to Labor Day, but I didn’t know why...

Fruits of the Spirit OPINION — As an older teacher, I am blessed to be doing inter-generational teaching at Trinity Preschool. Lee Ann Scroggins is the director, and teachers are greeting their students with Fruits of the Spirit decorations on the...

Teachers greet students with hope OPINION — Our students enter the classroom this week to begin the 2024-2025 school year. As teachers, when we see hope in a child we work to ignite it.Deuteronomy 28:6 — You will be blessed when you come in and...

Summer is not done yet OPINION — I can remember my son cherished his days out of school for summer when he was young. Being the child of a teacher, sometimes our summer vacation was cut short as I prepared to go back to the classroom. He would...

A front row seat for the Summer Olympics OPINION — Put on your seatbelt in your imaginary airplane as we fly to the beautiful capital seat of France, Paris, where the 2024 Summer Olympics are being held from Friday, July 26, to Sunday, Aug. 11.The...

July 4th parades in OPINION — I used to hear my grandmother say when July comes in that we are celebrating the “Dog Days of Summer.” The Farmer’s Almanac has named the 40 days from July 3 to Aug. 11, when we feel the hot, sultry days of summer in...

Celebrating our fathers OPINION — Hey, have you picked up that Father’s Day card or your dad’s favorite tie or shirt, a needed tool or favorite sports’ equipment yet?There are many different kinds of dads that come to our minds when we think of...

Summer has arrived OPINION — As a teacher, I love to teach about the different seasons of the year. I teach the Bible verse Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”I will be honest with...

Promises and encouragement to graduates OPINION — As we teachers have seen our classes graduate, we have bittersweet heart felt feelings as we see our students finish up a good school year.As parents bond to their children, we teachers bond to our...

OPINION — From “Here Comes A Hug” (author anonymous): It’s Wondrous what a hug can do. A hug can cheer you when you’re blue. A hug can say “I love you so” or “I really hate to see you go.” A hug can soothe a small child’s pain and bring a rainbow...

OPINION — Happy May Day to our community. April Showers have truly brought in May flowers in Lee County, Alabama. Our town, garden clubs and volunteer community associations do an excellent job of keeping up our environments as we welcome tourists...

BY BETH PINYERD OPINION — The United States Census Bureau defines Baby Boomers as “individuals born in the United States between 1946 and mid 1964.” As a Baby Boomer who is 71 years old, where has time gone?Just like when you have a child, they...

OPINION — One of the special learning centers I enjoy children rotating through in the classroom is the art center. A fresh white sheet of paper stretched and clamped on an easel or laid out on a table is just waiting to be drawn, colored or...

BY BETH PINYERD OPINION — I love living in central Alabama where we experience a lot of Spring rains. I remember sitting on my parents’ screened back porch and watching the rains come in. Living in south Alabama by the beautiful Mobile Bay for many...

OPINION — Baby Boomers who grew up in the community remember how Lee County celebrated Easter with children and families. My brother, Frank V. Jones, and I were recalling how Mrs. Alma Martin at Northside Elementary School in Opelika celebrated...