Columns & Editorials

It can be easy to forget to apply sunscreen when a sunny summer day beckons you to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. But forgetting to apply sunscreen before spending time in the sun is a potentially deadly mistake. According to the World Health Organization, one in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer. In addition, the Skin Cancer Foundation notes that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. The discomfort of a sunburn might seem relatively harmless, but the relationship between sunburns and cancer risk is significant. The SCF notes that having five or more sunburns doubles your risk for melanoma, a type of skin cancer that often and quickly spreads to nearby lymph nodes. Perhaps that’s one reason why the American Cancer Society reports that the number of new invasive melanoma cases diagnosed annually increased by 47 percent between 2010 and 2020. Avoiding sunburn by applying and reapplying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a minimum sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 should be a priority for anyone spending time outdoors.

Last week something remarkable happened at my front door. It was an event that used to be commonplace for young people but in the world of cell phones, video games, computers and television it is something that rarely happens.

Dear Aunt B,

The moment a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal savior He gives them the Holy Spirit and keeps them in His hand for eternity. Jesus said no one could take them out of His hand. Although all Christians sin against GOD sometimes they are still in the hand of Jesus.

Top scholars at Southwestern College in Winfield and at Southwestern College Professional Studies have been announced with the release of the Dean’s Honor Roll for the spring 2021 semester. Full-time students who earned grade point averages of at least 3.70 (4.0 equals an A) were eligible for the honor.

Raising your own pumpkin patch, whether it is for decorations or pies, can be a fun a way to introduce gardening for your family.

Oh, how time flies. Kids will be back to school in a matter of weeks. This year, I hope to encourage parents and grandparents to pay close attention to what and how their children and grandchildren are doing in school. From curriculum to report cards, it is critical that parents are informed and aware of what is happening with their children’s education. Things are often not what they seem to be.

Lori and I take our three grandkids to Church every Sunday and we decided that the needs of our grandkids were more important than ours. So, since Covid restrictions have been eased at Churches, Lori and I have been visiting churches that have programs for young children.

Sometimes in our daily lives we come to a place where we need to be encouraged. These are a few words of wisdom written by H. Jackson Brown Jr.:

Dear Aunt B,

It’s been dominating the non-Covid, non-political, non-environmental news for years. Conspiracy theorists post. They picket. They shout from the rooftops. Pop darling icon Britney Spears must be freed, they say. Locked into a strict conservatorship controlled by her father, cemented in place by a judge in 2007 after her very scary, very public breakdown that culminated in a shaved head and an incident with a green umbrella, Britney leads a sheltered life. We are just now learning the extent of the shelter factor and her disdain for the whole ordeal. Even I’ve been guilty of thinking, “So what? So, she’s a millionairess who has someone else taking care of all the pesky details. Must be awful.” Insert eyeroll. But, now that we’re hearing from the source, learning facts like her inability to drive (her driver license is not in her possession), not being able to see a doctor without approval, being forced to wear an IUD contraceptive when she’d like to have a child, yet seemingly being ordered to work on demand (hence her Vegas residency) for a fortune she’s not allowed access to – that makes me squeamish and sad. Poor celebrities, you say. But, wait, this situation is eerily reminiscent of another time and this same place, America. There was a time where it didn’t take much for a woman to be denied the ability to be a mother. I’d like you to meet Ann Cooper Hewitt. She’s the heroine of our story. But first, let’s talk villain. Let’s talk eugenics.

No one questions the need for almost incessant practice to become a world-class athlete. Long days practicing in the heat or cold, or money spent on individual coaching to perfect a skill are not only understood as necessary but are encouraged to help athletes optimize their skills. Few would argue the inherent value in practice as it relates to athletics, but there is a glaring double standard when the concept of practice is applied to academics.

July 4th is a day when Americans celebrate their independence, but it’s also a day to commemorate two men who played vital roles in procuring that independence. Both John Adams, the second President of the United States, and his successor Thomas Jefferson passed away on July 4, 1826. The two men had an interesting relationship that became increasingly complex as the nation they helped to found developed. According to History.com, Adams and Jefferson were confidantes in the 1780s. But as time wore on, each man developed a different view of what the United States government should be, creating a rift in their relationship that was only widened by the 1800 presidential election. The men ran against each other in that election, which is still considered one of the more contentious elections in American history. Jefferson ultimately claimed victory, a result so unnerving to Adams that he left Washington, D.C. prior to Jefferson’s inauguration. The two men would ultimately reconcile, exchanging more than 150 letters before dying within hours of one another on Independence Day in 1826.