No pun intended with the headline there, so our local guy that was in opposition doesn't need to get upset. Perhaps it's a sign of the times when a prestigious nomination such as curator to the University of Missouri governing board gets met with opposition from their home town, but it's still disappointing. The opposition was futile as Democrats who expressed concern about Judy Haggard, oh she can be Judith to the big boys but she's still Judy to us, finally realized what they had was an independent woman who can make up her own mind and who refused to be labeled.

Congratulations to Judy. Being willing to serve on any board/commission/committee for the citizens of Missouri requires a huge commitment just in terms of getting to and from meeting locations around the state from the Bootheel.

Another good thing with her being on the board of curators is that we can now get the university plane in here to ferry all the fans back and forth to the football games. That will be great for Tiger fans. And, the new, longer runway means the school can send the big plane after Judy and her guests.

For some reason that plane never seemed to show up on game day when Paul T. Combs was on the board of curators. He kept telling local Mizzou fans the school just didn't do that sort of thing. We'll just have to see if Judy has more pull than Paul T. Combs.

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Club news

My tale about getting back and forth to school as a lad growing up in the hills of West Virginia has sparked quite a bit of interest. More than a few folks have chosen to tell their own tales, some of which make mine pale in comparison. Most of those comments can be read on the guestbook of the DDD's website (www.dddnews.com). A few of those stories have almost brought tears to my eyes. The following tale of woe was excerpted from that other publication in town with almost as wide a circulation as the DDD, the Rotary Club Newsletter.

Steve McElwrath was regaling his breakfast companions, club hostess Jessie Greenway, JoNell Minton and the publication's editor, this past week about his early education experiences. Steve also had to walk several miles to and from the one-room school he attended early on. And as if that wasn't bad enough Steve said someone stole his lunch every day. See what I mean about the tears.

We're also glad to report that the local Rotary Club will have no more budget problems for the rest of the year. One Rotarian who knows about such things pointed out that a horse named Rotary was running in the eighth race at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., Thursday afternoon. He vowed to place a wager on that horse and donate the winnings to the club.

Rotary, ridden by a jockey named Sterling, came in first and paid $183.40 on a $2 bet. The Rotarian who was placing the bet is known as a high roller and the speculation is that he placed much more than a $2 bet on the horse.

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Speaking of bygone days

The newspaper is gearing up for our annual publication of what was known as a Progress edition. We're actually changing the name of that section to more accurately reflect what it's all about. Our largest edition of the year will be published on consecutive Fridays in March and will henceforth and forever more be known as "Community Reflections." This year's subtitle is "A look at our early communities."

The feature stories in that edition will look at some of our early settlements. Where possible we'll provide photos of buildings and people from those days as well.

One of the more interesting stories around is that of Tywhappity (Tie-whop-eh-tee) and the school house subsequently built in that community just after the turn of the century.

"The first school board consisted of the following men: R.A. Pelts, H.G. Jones and A.L.. Kennedy.

"The first building was a frame structure costing the sum of one thousand dollars. The first school began July 8, 1908 although the building was not entirely completed. Miss Nettie Sanders of Kennett was the fist school mistress with an enrollment of fifty-six pupils. She taught the first two schools consisting of six-month terms, with a salary of forty dollars, forty-five dollars the second year."

The story goes on to tell about a second and larger building, a two-room brick structure, that came along eight years later at a price of $2,500 paid for with the creation of a bond issue.

The school continued to grow to the point it had eighty-five students and two teachers going for nine months of the year. A tornado wiped out the school, but the community was determined to provide education for its children at the local level and rebuilt once again even though building costs had risen to the point a two-room brick structure set them back $6,500 by that time.

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Apology is warranted

I saw where actor Robert Redford took the occasion of the opening of the Sundance Film Festival, the event he is credited with founding and in which he remains a driving force, to lash out at President Bush calling for a massive apology.

Then, as the film festival ran out its string of movies for all to see, those who attended were treated to such disgusting topics as a feature on bestiality and one which included the rape of a 12 year-old girl.

I couldn't help but wonder who should apologize to whom.

Bud Hunt is the publisher of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.