This and That

Needless to say there’s a lot of news to talk about this week.

So many news item and just one column.

Where to begin?

I suppose I could begin with the Malden pastor who managed to offend so many people with his sermon directed towards women that the video went viral.

An article with reactions from the community is featured on our front page that sums it all up pretty well.

Plus my wife is trained in the martial arts so I know my limitations.

Please no letters claiming I’m making light of the situation.

I’m not. My wife knows how I feel about her, and I share on our relationship with others often.

She’s not only my wife, she’s also my best friend.

Keith Mitchell.

The name conjures up many images.

A great sense of humor, a funny hat, a pharmacist and business owner, but at the top of list a humanitarian. A more than generous benefactor to so many.

He truly loves this community and it shows.

At a ceremony honoring Keith this week, held at the park which bears his name, he stated he could never give enough.

Well sir, we as a community couldn’t thank you enough.

Truly a Dunklin County treasure.

Shootings.

The recent shootings in Kennett have spurred much discussion.

I’ll not finger-point.

I’ve said before, blame solves nothing.

In my travels this week I visited two area counties.

I was asked about the shootings.

I replied it’s a sad and disturbing situation.

Our Southeast Missouri neighbors replied, “That’s just Kennett for you.”

Friends, we don’t want that handle.

We don’t want Kennett to be associated or linked with,drugs, crime, and multiple shootings.

We need solutions, and in the coming weeks I’ll explore some options that other small communities have implemented to help them with this problem.

It’s hard to fix.

Our streets and neighborhoods didn’t get like this overnight.

It’s allowed to happen over time.

It’s a problem that should have been looked at thirty years ago.

The horses are out of the barn.

I realize there has been action taken. I know that investigations take time. Neighborhood rejuvenation is time consuming and costly.

But the thing with crime and blight is that it has a tendency to seep and spread throughout a community.

We must take action to prevent that.

As it stands we appear to be losing.

Less discussion and pointless meetings, and some more, transparent, decisive action seems to be warranted.

Our community is worth the effort.

See you out there.