Columns & Opinions

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First Amendment

—leonard Woolsey, President, Southern Newspapers

Wed, 09/30/2026 - 12:11

First Amendment doesn’t belong to press, it belongs to all of us Last week I posted the following words on a social media site — and you’d have thought I’d poked an angry dog with a hot stick.

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100 YEARS AGO Rockdale High School Tigers defeated the Bartlett Bulldogs on the local gridiron last Friday by the score of 6 to 0, in a game that was played cautiously throughout on strictly defensive tactics.

I-14: What comes next – and when?

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I-14: What comes next – and when?

Judge’s Comments Bill Whitmire

Wed, 09/30/2026 - 12:11

Interest in the proposed Interstate 14 corridor has increased considerably since the Texas Department of Transportation released several conceptual routes through Central Texas, including Milam County.

Group scale drawing of ice cream in a waffle cone by Rockdale Junior High eighth-grade Art II students (now high school students) Bentley Knoblock, Brant Hutton, Sarahi Castillo Ramirez and Kendall Clevenger.

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Cats are enjoying new living situations

Falling Far From The Tree Kyle Cooke

Wed, 09/30/2026 - 12:11

O ur new Reporter family members, The Vintage Crow Mercantile, opened on Tuesday and they sure were busy. People started showing up right when they opened at 10 a.m. Because they have so much breakable stuff in the store, we had to move the cats out of the office.

Car keys saga, and other senior moments

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Car keys saga, and other senior moments

Bill Cooke

Wed, 09/23/2026 - 11:54

SPOILIN’ THE BROTH (Enjoy this column of Bill Cooke’s from September 2017.

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The free press

—josh Brodesky, San Antonio Express News

Wed, 09/23/2026 - 11:54

President Donald Trump may have been elected as the leader of the free world, but he has no regard for a free press. This isn’t hyperbole or Trump bashing.

Ice cream sundae group scale drawing by Rockdale Junior High eighth-grade Art II students Jazzlynn Dixon, Allison Garza, Ross Bell and Yoalee Vergara.

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Fun night for Stephanie Reeves’ birthday

Kyle Cooke

Wed, 09/23/2026 - 11:54

FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE Ihad the pleasure of dining with Stephanie Reeves on Saturday night for her 80th birthday, and she brought her daughters Christine, Jennifer and Suzanne with her. We were joined by Eric Smith, who was in my grade and played Dracula in one of our Curtain Caller plays.

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In the wheelbarrow

He Told Me To Tell You That Ken Ansell

Wed, 09/16/2026 - 17:01

AFrench tightrope walker stretched a wire across Niagara Falls back in the 1860s. He then walked across it and people were in awe. He asked the crowd if they believed he could push a wheelbarrow across the same wire and the crowd shouted, “We believe, we believe!

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Singing led him to his Master

Hidden In Christ With God Greg Nichols

Wed, 09/16/2026 - 17:01

“And then softly, to his own surprise, there at the vain end of his long journey and his grief, moved by what thought in his heart he could not tell, Sam began to sing.” The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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High insurance

News Staff

Wed, 09/16/2026 - 17:01

Texans deserve justice system that protects families, not insurance companies Texans believe in responsibility. When someone causes harm, they should make it right — fully and fairly.