Category Archives: Opinions
Could Pinocchio be lying?
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you 
as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were alien in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34 NRSV).
There’s an old saying used when people present partial or distorted information.
“Just because your mouth opens and shuts like a prayer book, doesn’t mean it is one.”
If Jeff Sessions wants to cherry pick scripture to justify his
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Letters to the Editor 6-18-20
Veterans wanted for Honor Flight
Dear Editor,
This letter is in regard to the Honor Flight program. We are Pete Peters and Richard Reece and are on the staff of Honor Flight and also members of the American Legion, Pickens Post 11.
We are seeking WWII veterans who haven’t gone to Washington to see their memorial yet.
If you are not familiar with the Honor Flight program, we are a volunteer organization dedicated to getting all of our WWII vets to Washington to see their monument. The cost of the trip for
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A look at the Great Commission
I love to write (and talk), and all who know me will agree that I am not a man of few words. As a windy minister, it only seems logical that I would be involved in the world of communication.
For the last few years, I’ve been writing “Living on Purpose,” and it’s truly been a pleasure. I just want to say that I sincerely appreciate all of you who take the time to read the column and the many thoughtful and encouraging emails that I receive each week.
I’ve been writing sermons, articles and music for a long time,
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Reducing suicide risk
The number is almost as bad as it used to be: 20 veterans commit suicide each day, down from a previous 22. That 
number still is much too high. True to his word, however, President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order directing more supportive mental health care for service members who are now transitioning to veteran status.
Three agencies will work together on this: the Department of
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Budget shows commitment to priorities
The School District of Pickens County’s 2018-2019 general fund budget is distinguished by its commitment to three priorities: 
safety, people and opportunities.
In 2017-2018, the school board took steps to ensure full-time law enforcement coverage at some of our most remote elementary schools and part-time coverage at all others. Our middle and high schools have enjoyed full-time school resource officers for many years. The 2018-2019 budget includes new funding for full-time school resource officers at every school. In total, the SDPC will spend $1.3 million for resource officers in our schools in the coming year. Our commitment to safety will also extend beyond resource officers. The budget provides for a new
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Here kitty, kitty, kitty
My mama was like a race horse. She was intense, energetic, creative and forceful. She also had a wonderful sense of humor. You could count on her to fight the good fight, and she always knew the right thing to do.
I know this because she never failed to let us know what we should be doing, when we should do, why we should do it and how we should do it.
She lived her life as though she oversaw the world, and it was a
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A beautiful day in the neighborhood
I’m sure that many of you remember the man who portrayed the friendly neighbor in the popular children’s program known all over the world as Mr. Rogers. Who can forget the childlike song that asked the question, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”
With the macho crowd, he was labeled a sissy and downright creepy, but to children, he was always a nice, polite and comforting role model. There have been many false accusations about him through the years, like the rumors about him having to wear long-sleeved sweaters to
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Money laundering made easier
Money laundering had its origins with crime syndicates. Former SLED chief Robert Stewart said that one of the dangers 
of South Carolina’s legalization of video poker was that it provided a statewide network of money laundromats.
A video poker operator would report receipts for a poker machine, pay the taxes on the money received, and the money would be cleansed of any taint related to the source of funds. Stewart said in some
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Seniors go hungry
I just-released report paints a grim picture about the number of seniors age 60 and older who don’t get enough to eat. “The 
State of Senior Hunger in America” shows that while those numbers have decreased slightly, they’re still above the rate from 2007.
Here’s a sad statistic: Two-thirds of seniors who don’t get enough to eat have incomes above the poverty line. Because of that, they don’t qualify for nutrition programs such as SNAP
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Wisdom and knowledge are two different things
When it comes to having spiritual wisdom, it’s not how much we know, but how much we understand. It’s one thing to have bags of information seeds stacked up in the barn of our mind, but more importantly, how many seeds have been planted and nurtured to take root within our heart?
The devil and all of his helpers have worlds of spiritual knowledge, but they do not allow it to penetrate their conscience and change who they are. Likewise, humans can also
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