Roses and thorns: 3-14-2010

Roses and thorns 3-12-2010

Birney Imes: Sparks fly

Eunice Pruitt has been obsessive about welding since he was 6 years old.

Steve Mullen: When the power goes out

A Titanic clap of thunder jolts me awake with a start. That one must’ve been right on top of us. A second peal a minute later knocks out the power. There’s a moment of darkness before WCBI’s generator kicks on, allowing the building’s sign to throw a little artificial light down Fifth Street.

Birney Imes: Church of dreams

When Darren Leach was 9 years old his grandmother told him he was going to be a preacher. It took more than three decades — not until 2007 — for Macy Jones’ prophecy to come true.

Ask Rufus: How did Military Road get its name?

Whenever something gets torn up, people tend to pay more attention. So it is with Military Road in Columbus.

Steve Mullen: Goodbye Barry, with regrets

A recent New York Times article, “Depression’s upside,” explores something known as rumination, the thought process that defines depression. Some people are more prone to rumination — which essentially is stewing over things — than others.

Birney Imes: Random notes

Friday afternoon on the way to meet a friend at the Riverwalk, a poster on a downtown store window caught my eye.

Roses and thorns: 2-28-2010

A rose to the MUW’s theater department, department head William “Peppy” Biddy, director Brook Hannemann, thespians, backstage workers and other participants in the college’s presentation of William Shakespeare’s “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream.”

Steve Mullen: Lessons from Admiral Ackbar

Recent events at Ole Miss make me wonder if someone broke into the marijuana farm and is handing out free samples.

Birney Imes: Art Johnson’s art

On a recent Thursday afternoon Daylan Hairston stood outside a metal building scrubbing the inside of a car hood balanced on two sawhorses. Hairston, 19, is a senior at Victory Christian Academy, and has the good fortune of already knowing what he wants to do with his life. Daylan plans to work in the auto body shop of Art Johnson, a man who claims Hairston as his “adopted” grandson.

Tim Pratt: What we learned from a hitchhiker named John

When I picked up a hitchhiker named John last Friday on Highway 82, I never dreamed what a stir he and I would cause in the community.

Roses and thorns 2-21-10

Mississippi State Bulldog fans; Columbus Municipal School District Teacher of the Year Cindy Ming; Lowndes County Board of Supervisors; and Caledonia teacher Terry Wiygul

Jay Lacklen: Aurora borealis

Flying in a military jet across far northern Canada one night, I encountered as brilliant a display of northern lights, or the aurora borealis, as I had ever seen that provoked both scientific and spiritual thoughts.

Steve Mullen: Lessons from John Jordan

Lots of Mississippi school districts are in bad shape — 52 out of 152 are either ranked at risk of failing, or failing, according to the state Department of Education. 37 more are on the bubble. And for John Jordan, that means business is a-boomin’.

Best of the Triangle 2012

Salute to Industry 2013

Health & Wellness 2013