Opinion & Editorial

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.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

Opinion: 2025 Legislative Newsletter

News Staff
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
The buildup to Sine Die is always dramatic, with legislators scrambling to get their bills heard and passed. However, several key pieces of legislation did not pass before the 2025 legislative session’s sine die adjournment.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

Opinion: Acts of apostles, ancient and modern

News Staff
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Reid Hamilton Local Columnist   Here at the beginning of Pride Month, I had the opportunity to preach on the story of the slave girl with a spirit of divination, from chapter 16 of the Acts of the Apostles.
Example of slime mold (Photo submitted by Sierra Burke)

Example of slime mold (Photo submitted by Sierra Burke)

Opinion: The case of the shape shifting molds

News Staff
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Sierra Burke Local Columnist   There is something growing on lawns and in landscapes that is the talk of the town. It moves, shape-shifts, and has a very unattractive look.
“Georgia, Georgia The whole day through (the whole day through) Just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind) ….” (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

“Georgia, Georgia The whole day through (the whole day through) Just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind) ….” (Photo submitted by NeSmith)

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Opinion: Georgia. what's on your mind?

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
If you asked me to name my 10 favorite songs, the answer wouldn’t be instantaneous. But I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you my top pick, “Georgia on My Mind.” Ray Charles sings it best. Willie Nelson is my runner-up. Indeed, Georgia is always on my mind. I have never wanted to live anywhere else.
In his final days, this is one of the cartoons that I shared with my dad. He loved telling his grandchildren about his working on Shedd’s Dairy milk-delivery truck when he was a kid. One morning, Mrs. Roswell Majette’s bulldog bit him between his back pockets. He always laughed and said, “The doctor painted my behind with Mercurochrome and charged me $3. It took me three weeks to pay the bill.” (Submitted by NeSmith)

In his final days, this is one of the cartoons that I shared with my dad. He loved telling his grandchildren about his working on Shedd’s Dairy milk-delivery truck when he was a kid. One morning, Mrs. Roswell Majette’s bulldog bit him between his back pockets. He always laughed and said, “The doctor painted my behind with Mercurochrome and charged me $3. It took me three weeks to pay the bill.” (Submitted by NeSmith)

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Opinion: Men should get over latex-glove paranoia

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
The physician’s assistant asked, “Mr. NeSmith, are you allergic to latex?” “No, ma’am. Not until I hear it snap on your wrist.” Ladies, you know what I am talking about. Women, compared to men, have to endure the most medical-exam indignities.
The Hartwell Sun

The Hartwell Sun

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Opinion: Learning from a love of history

News Staff
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
You may be surprised to know that English/Language Arts was not my favorite subject in school. Sure, I liked it way more than math and science, but diagramming sentences? No thank you. My real interest lied in the stories that came to life in my social studies/history classes.