Opinion & Editorial

William NeSmith, 16, cradles Halle on her way to the truck for a ride to the farm. (Photo submitted by Dink NeSmith)

William NeSmith, 16, cradles Halle on her way to the truck for a ride to the farm. (Photo submitted by Dink NeSmith)

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Opinion: Hallelujah, an emu joins our barnyard menagerie

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Ink is in my blood.   But I’ve never said, “Today I am going to get some ink on my skin.”   However, if I did, I might tattoo this phrase: “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”   Have you ever muttered that, too?   But this isn’t a complaint.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

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Opinion: Slain pastor’s daughter wishes change of heart for killer

News Staff
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Phil Hudgins CNI   It’s June 17, 2025, as I write this. It’s the 10th anniversary of the night a white supremacist walked into a predominantly Black church in Charleston, S.C., pretended to pray with the parishioners and then shot and killed nine of them.   Eliana Pinckney was 11 years old.
In 2016 the Rev. Dr. Felix Haynes, left, arranged for us to visit with Wendell and Tanya Berry (and their dog, Maggie) in their Port Royal, Kentucky, home. Wendell Berry is a famed author and advocate for responsible environmental stewardship. He became a valuable adviser in the battle to keep Wayne County from possibly becoming America’s largest toxic-coal-ash dump. (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

In 2016 the Rev. Dr. Felix Haynes, left, arranged for us to visit with Wendell and Tanya Berry (and their dog, Maggie) in their Port Royal, Kentucky, home. Wendell Berry is a famed author and advocate for responsible environmental stewardship. He became a valuable adviser in the battle to keep Wayne County from possibly becoming America’s largest toxic-coal-ash dump. (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

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Opinion: Felix was more than an articulate ‘man of the cloth’

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
The phone call rattled my soul.   The Rev. Dr. Felix Haynes, 81, had died.   The articulate “man of the cloth” was a biblical scholar and deliverer of poignant sermons. But Felix was much more than a preacher. He was a friend to thousands.    And I was one of the fortunate ones.
When our five llamas’ ears are standing at attention, it’s a signal that something’s up or someone is coming to visit. Curious George’s and Roscoe’s ears were telling the truth. Photographer Tom Thon was coming to take this photo. (Submitted by NeSmith)

When our five llamas’ ears are standing at attention, it’s a signal that something’s up or someone is coming to visit. Curious George’s and Roscoe’s ears were telling the truth. Photographer Tom Thon was coming to take this photo. (Submitted by NeSmith)

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Opinion: Lots to observe and love in ‘country living’

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
The 7-year-old visitor wrinkled her nose.   She had a question.   “Is this what you call country living?”    “Yes, ma’am.”   “I like it,” she said.   “Me, too.”   And here’s why.   Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.
Granny Trina, my namesake, and I took this picture 10 years ago while I was a senior in high school. At 80 then, and at 90 now, she’s retained her natural dark hair color – something I hope to get from her as well! (Submitted by Rose Scoggins)

Granny Trina, my namesake, and I took this picture 10 years ago while I was a senior in high school. At 80 then, and at 90 now, she’s retained her natural dark hair color – something I hope to get from her as well! (Submitted by Rose Scoggins)

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Opinion: Happy 90th Birthday to my name twin, Katrenia Saylors

Rose Scoggins - Editor and Publisher
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
I have a confession: My “real” name isn’t Rose. Sure, it’s listed as my middle name on my birth certificate, but as all of us who go by our middle names know, legally we’re a different person.    I’m Katrenia Scoggins.    No, not after the hurricane. That’s Katrina.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

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Opinion: 2025 Legislative Newsletter

News Staff
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Alan Powell State Rep.   Bills that weren’t passed by midnight on Sine Die are dead for this year’s session, meaning they can be reconsidered in the 2026 legislative session at the earliest. The Senate adjourned just before 9:15 p.m.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

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Opinion: Family gathers to raise WWII airman’s sunken marker

News Staff
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Phil Hudgins CNI   It’s late morning on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. The air is cool for late May, low hanging rain clouds forbidding the sun’s appearance. Most of the Hudgins boys and a couple of nephews are gathered in the cemetery of Belmont Baptist Church south of Gainesville, Ga.
This photo—taken in December 1997—was my dad’s last Christmas with us. Until our mother died in 2014, the Leon Loard portraits, in the background, of sisters Sandy and Sheila (pictured) and me always hung side by side. Today the portraits are in each of our homes. (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

This photo—taken in December 1997—was my dad’s last Christmas with us. Until our mother died in 2014, the Leon Loard portraits, in the background, of sisters Sandy and Sheila (pictured) and me always hung side by side. Today the portraits are in each of our homes. (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

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Opinion: Big Dink stories help keep my father ‘alive’

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Sunday is Father’s Day. Oh, I wish mine were still here so that I could tell him how much I loved him. Even though he died in 1998, Big Dink’s DNA is at work inside me. And so many stories keep him “alive.