Tag: Opinion
State Health Officer Scott Harris: Keep this season full of hope...
“I Miss Precedented Times.” That’s a T-shirt slogan seen recently, and indeed the year 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus COVID-19....
Letter to the Editor: COVID-19 threatens access to medical treatment; stressed...
My family and I experienced a near tragedy this week. I want to share this to give some insight into our current COVID situation...
Op-Ed: 400 years later, the Pilgrim story is more relevant than...
This Thanksgiving will be different from any other we have had in our lifetimes. This past year has been a struggle, as every single...
Op-Ed: An inspirational pick
A century ago, the Suffragettes finally succeeded in winning the right to vote for women. They would be thrilled to see the nomination of...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Amend the 2015 Mandatory Release law
Dear Editor,
On September 12, 2020, a horrendous crime was committed to someone very near and dear to our hearts. Herndon “Junior” Self was a...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: In support of Rick Neighbors for Congress
Editor:
Almost 20 years ago we retired to the great state of Alabama. When the “dust” settled we began to pay attention to our local...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: It’s time for Alabama to do the...
The time has come to paraphrase the lawyer Joseph Welch in the famous Joe McCarthy hearing and address Governor Kay Ivey instead: “Have you no...
Perspective: Cullman VFW, Auxiliary march to remember 9/11
On Friday members of the Cullman Veterans of Foreign Wars and Auxiliary took part in a march around Sportsman Lake in remembrance of the...
9/11 – My story: What I saw firsthand with President Bush...
September 11, 2001 – Sarasota, Florida: It was a beautiful day as I stepped out of a bungalow at a tennis resort where President...
Letter to the Editor: An open letter from South Vinemont mayoral...
After the recent Letter to the Editor from my opponent, I commented that I have never heard, thought or said that Mayor Dodson has...
Letter to the Editor: In support of Colony Mayor Donnis Leeth
To the Editor:
First let me introduce myself. I am The Town of Colony Councilman Melvin Hammond (Finance) and have been a councilman for two...
Letter to the Editor: COVID-19 and the CHS band
I am the former activities director for Westminster Assisted Living. The reason I am writing you is to provide feedback regarding the CHS Band....
Letter to the Editor: An open letter from South Vinemont Mayor...
As far as this election goes, there have been several things said defaming my character. One, there’s things that have been said about things...
OPINION: Return to campus: Auburn University and COVID-19
Editor’s note: Heather Mann is a reporter for The Cullman Tribune who recently returned to campus at Auburn University for her junior year.
Classes...
OPINION: ‘Find the joy in the journey’: Motorcycle day rides
CULLMAN, Ala. – When it comes to needing some “wind therapy,” sometimes you can only afford a day ride, which is sometimes all you...
Editorial: Masks up: We can get through this school year together
In a few weeks, kids will be heading back to school for the first time in five months. Wednesday, Governor Kay Ivey addressed the...
On this Independence Day, recalling the Founders’ views of a free...
America’s Founders regarded a free press as so vital to the new nation that they took care to include that right in the First...
Op-Ed: This is our time, Alabama
My fellow Alabamians:
In a few days, America will celebrate her 244th birthday.
Traditionally, many towns and cities around the country light up the night with...
Opinion: 112 days
112 days. That’s how long our seniors, the members of the Greatest Generation, have been locked down inside assisted living and nursing homes. 112...
Ivey: Census participation is not simply about you
Census 2020 kicked off in March, shortly before the word “coronavirus” entered our everyday vocabulary and upended life as we then knew it. And...
Editorial: College in the time of COVID-19
Since August of 2017, I've been surrounded by orange and blue and calls of "War Eagle." Auburn became my second home (though Cullman will...
Guest Column: COVID-19 will be part of our lives for some...
I have been practicing medicine 28 years, and coronavirus is an altogether new experience for me. The biggest surprise for me is how rapidly...
Wilson, Watts: Do not let your guard down on COVID-19 in...
Mark Wilson, M.D., health officer, Jefferson County Department of Health
Ray L. Watts, M.D., president, University of Alabama at Birmingham
As parts of Alabama’s safer-at-home...
Look twice, save a life
May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. If you remember my piece from last year or know me outside of my profession, you know I’ve...
Op-Ed: Let’s build America’s health care equipment in Alabama
This is a difficult day for all of us. New unemployment numbers released this morning, some of the worst in our nation’s history, paint...
Op-Ed: Community colleges: Essential to post-pandemic economic recovery in Alabama and...
Community colleges in Alabama and across the nation have responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, making contributions to enhance capabilities of emergency responders and...
Op-Ed: Remembering my father and the Greatest Generation
It has been 75 years since the end of World War II. Today, May 8, we celebrate V.E. or Victory in Europe Day, the...
Op-Ed: ‘I’m proud to be a part of the Tyson Blountsville...
While we are all experiencing a NEW way of life during this pandemic, I have experienced and seen a lot of good during this...
Op-Ed: Remember Vietnam veterans this Memorial Day
As we honor our war dead this Memorial Day, please remember the extraordinary price Vietnam veterans have paid.
If you have never visited the Vietnam...
Op-Ed: Medicaid expansion would fix the hole in the roof of...
It may not have sounded like it on the surface, but Gov. Kay Ivey recently made one of her most encouraging comments yet about...
Editorial: I miss my senior friends
The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted everyone’s lives in many ways. Those of us in the media are no exception. There are those, especially on...
Letter to the Editor: Caregiving in the era of COVID-19
Even in ordinary times, the more than 760,000 unpaid family caregivers in Alabama face a daunting set of daily tasks. Oftentimes with little or no...
Op-ed: A war with an invisible enemy
The coronavirus pandemic has been called a war with an invisible enemy.
The Greatest Generation taught us to win a war; we have to be...
Let’s not become a people who dread sunrise
I can remember a time when I
dreaded sundown. I was a kid afraid of the dark and the monsters that lived
under my bed. Eventually,...
Op-Ed: Another rural hospital is closing- What will it take for...
Today (Friday, March 6, 2020), when the Pickens County Medical Center closes its doors, it will become yet another sad statistic among the now...
Letter to the Editor: Vote YES March 3, 2020 and Keep...
March 3, 2020 the citizens of Cullman County have an incredible opportunity to set the course for their future. Voting to support the proposed...
AL Labor Sec. Fitzgerald Washington: 2019 economic wrap-up
With the closing of the past decade, and at the beginning of a new one, economic conditions in Alabama couldn’t be much better. We...
Op-Ed: The most important agency in our state!
First, notice my topic is not the most important state agency. My topic is the most important agency in the state.
What agency is the...
Op-Ed: Continue to improve rural Alabama
My legislative district is rural, therefore my voice in the Legislature is for rural issues.
We’ve had significant success for “rural Alabama” in the Legislature...
Op-Ed: What new overtime rules mean to Alabama businesses
Federal overtime rules which took effect Jan. 1 are having a big impact on Alabama’s small businesses.
The change means more management-level employees are eligible...
Op-Ed: Continue broadband expansion
Can you imagine being without “city water” or electricity?
Without either of those utilities readily available, life would be difficult, and our local economy would...
Op-ed: Better paying jobs & continued economic growth
Every working-age, able-bodied person needs a good paying job.
Not too many years ago, the dominant manufacturing industry in Alabama was the textile industry. Just...
Op-ed: Mental health and substance abuse
Holidays are exciting times for many but tough for some.
For some, holidays are tough because of the loss of loved ones. Those of us...
Op-Ed: Education- how do we get to number 1?
This question has numerous answers, but I would like to hear your answer or answers.
I firmly believe education is important to our future. The...
Editorial: Our seniors deserve more. Cullman can do better!
At the heart of every great community are its seniors. Cullman County is no exception, and with hard-working entities such as the Cullman County...
Op-Ed: Local Legislation
Local legislation is often required to authorize a local entity to do something specific that otherwise is not authorized by law or the state...
Op-Ed: Making Alabama safer for children and families
It’s been a little over a month since we learned about the death of Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney in Birmingham. That kind of violence against...
Op-Ed: Road and bridge projects
It’s important for everyone to understand the process for road and bridge projects.
First of all, please understand that legislators do not vote to do...
Op-Ed: Senior citizens, thank you!
I am thankful for faith, family and freedom! And, I am thankful for senior citizens; they’ve truly blessed my life!
I’ve just always been able...
Op-Ed: Support LOCAL shops and restaurants on Small Business Saturday
Governor Ivey has proclaimed Nov. 30, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as Small Business Saturday in Alabama.
Small business really is the bedrock of Alabama’s economy....
‘Thank you’ from Cullman County Bosom Buddies
Dear Supporters,
On Oct. 1, 2019, Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation, Inc. held the (inaugural) Little Pink Dress (LPD) Benefit. It was a huge success!...
Op-Ed: Alabama prisons and criminal justice system
With any issue, finding the right balance is the key to success. The prison/criminal justice system issue is no different.
The purpose of prisons, in...
Op-ed: Protect RSA
When I say my goal is to protect RSA, (Retirement System of Alabama), I am speaking of preventing changing the retirement of Alabama’s public...
Today’s article is not a funny, but a sad loss of...
Tribune Column: Funny Things from Yesterday
Today’s article is not a funny, but a sad loss of a dear friend
Rudene and I met a couple...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Hypothetical – Bernie or Elizabeth, was this...
Right-thinking, fact-driven Americans have hit their high-water mark, frustrated with the liberal news media fabricating stories about conservatives. Every day, since the Nov. 8,...
Letter to the Editor: 9/11 – My story: What I saw...
September 11, 2001 – Sarasota, Florida: It was a beautiful day as I stepped out of a bungalow at a tennis resort where President...
Letter to the Editor: Valuing school bus drivers
The purpose of this letter is to draw public attention and awareness statewide to a travesty concerning a profession that should command better wages....
Letter to the Editor: New federal public charge rule will hurt...
A new Department of Homeland Security regulation published last Monday will harm the health and well-being of thousands of Alabama families. The so-called public...
Editorial: ‘Make me look good, now!’ A guide to positive media...
More than half the time I conduct interviews, the episode concludes with the interviewee saying one of two things (actually the same thing in...
Letter to the Editor: Why should I join the VFW?
I’m a combat veteran but I’ve got a job, two kids in sports and I’m busy, or, I’m retired with grandkids and church and...
3 books to add to your summer reading list
Here are three books to consider adding to your summer reading list, reviewed by Cullman County Public Library Director Sharon Townson.
"Daisy Jones & The...
Opinion: Be aware of motorcyclists; they’re people, too
I have been riding a motorcycle since July 2018. Thankfully, I have not had the experience of having a cigarette butt thrown from a...
From Shane Barnette: Cullman County’s new half-cent sales tax for facilities...
UPDATE: "The project has not been shelved. The schedule for the sports complex has not changed because there never has been a schedule. It...
EDITORIAL: The First Amendment and an elected Cullman official
If you gonna write for us, I want you to write positive. Anytime the commission name is in an article, it’s all positive. No...
GUEST EDITORIAL: Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell urges Congress to...
Farming Feeds Alabama, but our state’s farmers also help feed the world.
That’s why the Alabama Farmers Federation is urging Congress to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada...
Tribune Column: Fishing with Tim
I want to start off by introducing myself. I am an avid outdoorsman, a tournament angler and a high school fishing coach. I have...
The touchy subject of taxes
I am fortunate to work in a school system whose community voted to keep a local tax to improve schools. I am also fortunate...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Sen. Garlan Gudger: ‘Why I support the...
Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman is seen here with supporters in Cullman on June 5, 2018. (Cullman Tribune file photo)
On Tuesday, Governor Kay Ivey signed...
Guest Editorial: The value of ‘third places’ to a thriving Cullman
While it sounds simple, creating places where neighbors get to know neighbors is the key to growing a thriving place to live. That’s what...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: AL GOP Chair Lathan’s open letter to...
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan released an open letter to Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama on Thursday. It appears in its entirety below.
An...
Community with Carol: Ross Harrison of Sacred Heart School, part 2
Ross Harrison, left, with Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
This week on Community with Carol, I continued my interview with Ross...
Always Reforming: Dysfunctions and decline
Last week we focused on assessment and why that process is so important. Assessment informs a local church of the true condition of ministry....
Always Reforming: Courage
This is the second in a series of five. In this article we focus on Courage. Perhaps a quote from the well-known exchange in...
Always Reforming: Tenacity
This is the fifth in a series of five. Our focus today is tenacity. Caleb has long been one of my favorite biblical personages....
Always Reforming: Loyalty
This is the fourth in a series of five. The average pastoral tenure is three-and-a-half to four years. True loyalty is developed over time...
Community with Carol: Ross Harrison of Sacred Heart School
Ross Harrison, left, with Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
For this week’s Community with Carol, It was my pleasure to sit...
Community with Carol: Becky Goff with United Way of Cullman County,...
Carol Berry, left, and Becky Goff, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
I did not have a new guest this week on Community with...
Always Reforming: Competence
This is the third in a series of five. There exists formal research data that reveals that incompetent leadership is a major cause of...
Community with Carol: Becky Goff with United Way of Cullman County
Becky Goff, left, and Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
Becky Goff has been the executive director of the United Way of...
Community with Carol: Martha Lawrence with Cullman’s Little Pantry
Martha Lawrence, left, and Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
Martha Lawrence was my guest this week on Community with Carol. In...
Community with Carol: Kathy Wilson with the Cullman County Human Trafficking...
Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force Chairperson Kathy Wilson, left, with Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
What is human trafficking? That...
Community with Carol: April German of Victoria’s Hope
April German, left, and Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
April German of Victoria’s Hope is my guest on Community with Carol...
News from the Pond: DAR Good Citizens
These are the winners in the Good Citizen /Essay contest held by the Dripping Springs Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. They were announced...
Community with Carol: Jamie Brown of the Senior Outreach Organization
Left to right: Jamie Brown, Carol Berry and Barbara Whitehead (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
Jamie Brown is my guest this week on Community...
Community with Carol: Linda Bailey with the Committee on Church Cooperation
Carol Berry with Linda Bailey (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
My guest this week on Community with Carol is Linda Bailey with the Committee...
Community with Carol: Angie Young of Hope for the Homeless
Carol Berry with Angie Young (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
For the Christmas edition of Community with Carol, I wanted to showcase Hope for...
Community with Carol: Candace Lingo of Cullman County CASA
Carol Berry, left, with Candace Lingo, right
Every story I have done for Community with Carol has been a joy. My guest this week is...
Farm Bill passage provides certainty for farmers
MONTGOMERY - Final passage of a five-year farm bill by Congress today (Dec. 12, 2018) was welcome news for Alabama farmers eager to prepare...
Community with Carol: Victim Services of Cullman, Inc.
Carol Berry, left, with Jamie Sims, right, of Victim Services of Cullman, Inc. (contributed)
I am excited to partner with the Cullman Tribune to write...
Op-ed: Cullman internet speeds 33% lower than Alabama average. Can it...
Residents of Cullman are likely familiar with this frustrating situation: only one or two options for internet service, and high prices for slow speeds.
Unsurprisingly,...
My granddaddy, my coach: Longtime Cold Springs coach Clay Campbell to...
Longtime Cold Springs track and cross country coach Clay Campbell will be inducted into the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame in March 2019. (Photo...
Community with Carol: Josh Swindall of Cullman Christian School
Josh Swindall with his wife and children (contributed)
I was impressed with my guest this week on “Community with Carol,” Josh Swindall, the new principal...
OPINION: Think before you give, or receive, a pet for Christmas
The holidays season is here, and people are searching for the perfect gifts for friends and family. We have all seen beautiful images of...
Community with Carol: Jerry Jacob of Grace Place
This week, Carol speaks with Jerry Jacob from Grace Episcopal Church’s Grace Place, a ministry for people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory...
Community with Carol: Rachel Bryant from Karma in Cullman
Carol Berry, left, with Rachel Bryant, right
My guest this week on “Community with Carol” is Rachel Bryant, founder and director of Karma in Cullman.
The...
Community with Carol: Katie Loyd of St. Vincent de Paul
Carol Berry with Katie Loyd
I believe I have found the oldest nonprofit in Cullman: St. Vincent de Paul. The mission of this organization is...
Op-ed: It’s time to get back to work in Montgomery!
Alabama Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Fairview
Winning football coaches tell their teams to celebrate victory for 24 hours then get back to work.
We're ready to get...
Community with Carol: Julie Hall from The Link of Cullman County
Julie Hall, left, and Carol Berry, right
My guest this week on “Community with Carol” is Julie Hall from The Link of Cullman County. We...
Community with Carol: Saving Forgotten Warriors
Jeremy Hogan, founder of Saving Forgotten Warriors (Carol Berry)
Saving Forgotten Warriors’ mission statement is “Advocating for the health, safety and wellbeing of our military...
Be prepared to be impacted by ‘Nightmare on Old 69’
Attendees gather outside Church 212's "Nightmare on Old 69" Friday evening (Maggie Darnell for The Cullman Tribune)
“We want people to think,” Church 212 Pastor...
