This blog features news and commentary from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. Send news items or comments to rturner229@hotmail.com
Just as members of a sports team have to learn how to be good sports and lose graciously, kids need to hear the word no. If they grow up thinking that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, we've failed them. Kids need to learn that they need to follow directions. There are rules (yes, I used the dirty 'r' word) and they apply to everyone.
I think I'm speaking for many teachers when I say, "We're tired of bribing kids with toys and candy." Okay, I've said it. So... I might as well say a bit more. We're tired of negotiating. We're tired of defending ourselves to prove our innocence while misbehaving kids get away with every type of misbehavior you can image. Would it help if My Mom called the principal to complain? Maybe I should ask her to call and say that the kids are picking on me. Maybe I should tell her to call the board of education and complain about the work I am expected to do. Do you think any of them would be afraid of my little mom?
Maybe I should get the attention of the 'groups' that come up with these ideas. I haven't figured out HOW to get their attention yet. Nothing has worked. So far. I don't have enough money to get their attention. I don't have enough influential friends in the right position for them to give me the time of day. But, hey! maybe someday someone will get the bright idea to listen to a teacher about teaching. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.
So in the meantime, teachers are subjected to using singsong voices in order to get through to kids who are throwing temper tantrums. We're forced to assure them that everything will be okay, when we have no control over their lives outside of our four walls. We are expected to focus our attention on one while we have to teach test material to everyone else so that test scores go up. We're compared to private institutions. We're given inferior (or inaccurate) teaching materials and then blamed for their inaccuracies.
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of it. Want us to do our job and teach the next generation? Then support us. Give us the backing we need. Stop being afraid of parents, kids, and companies and start listening to us. We need discipline in our schools, not a cutesy little program that gives our kids sugar and stickers. Get a backbone. Remember that we're on the same team. We want to teach kids. But we can't do it alone.
I can't claim to run every obituary that would be of interest to readers in the Turner Report/Inside Joplin target area, but in the days since I created Inside Joplin Obituaries in November 2013, I have continued to cast a wider net for the obituaries that appear on the blog.
From the beginning, area funeral homes have sent me notifications and obituaries and these are the criteria I use to determine which ones are posted:
1. The deceased has to be someone from Jasper, Newton, Barton or McDonald County, have a survivor who lives in one of those counties or had some other connection to the four counties. This has included people who worked in this area, attended college here, or in many cases, thanks to the extensive research of former Carthage resident John Hall obituaries of people who played minor league baseball in this area have been posted. I have also posted obituaries that I think may be of interest and have even run posts on the deaths of some of the dogs that have worked for local law enforcement.
2. In the old days (before greedy newspaper owners began charging for the obits, everyone's obituary appeared in the newspaper. I remember Jack Harshaw working every morning with area funeral homes to get the facts straight for the obituaries that ran each weekday and Saturday in the Carthage Press. There was a time when you were guaranteed to be mentioned in the newspaper at least two times during your life- your birth and your death. Federal privacy regulations now prohibit the news releases on births that used to be issued by hospitals. Now many people cannot afford to run obituaries when they die, so many never knew who they were or even that they are no longer with us.
I work to find every obituary I can and I am not concerned if these people were not necessarily model citizens. One of the earliest obituaries in Inside Joplin Obituaries was a man who was executed for committing a brutal murder.
3. Two obituary areas have been added in the last couple of years. I started the Inside Pittsburg Obituaries blog to cover obituaries in southeast Kansas. At first, I double-posted some of the obituaries if the deceased had some connection to the four core counties. Now the obituaries only appear on one blog. If the deceased is connected to the core counties, it runs on Inside Joplin Obituaries. Otherwise, it runs in Inside Pittsburg Obituaries. Obituaries have also been added for Lockwood in Dade County, primarily because I was the last editor of the Lockwood Luminary-Golden City Herald when it closed in October 1979, I loved the year I spent in Lockwood and besides, it's my blog so I added Lockwood. It is possible that at some point in the future I will add Dade County to the four core counties.
If you have an obituary that you do not see on Inside Joplin Obituaries or Inside Pittsburg Obituaries, send me an e-mail at rturner229@hotmail.com
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I do not accept money to keep items off the Turner Report/Inside Joplin
I can't recall it ever happening when I was editor of the Carthage Press, but when I was at the Lamar Democrat, there were three instances in which people attempted to bribe me to keep items out of the newspaper.
All of them involved violations of the law. In two cases I was offered money to keep arrests out of the paper. Another time, an attractive young woman in her early 20s, offered something of a more physical nature.
When these bribe offers were made, I explained my policy. The first time you ask me to omit something from the paper, I explain the policy. If there is a second time, I not only run the item, but I run it at the top of the list in bold letters.
Though those people were disappointed, they said they understood my position. (The attractive young woman was probably relieved.)
I have no idea why, but the number of people trying to keep me from running items on the blogs, primarily Inside Joplin, has numbered in the dozens.
Some threaten lawsuits when I am running information taken directly from public records. Others have offered to pay substantial sums, one even starting at $1,000. One, as Turner Report readers will recall did not try to stop me from running an item, but paid me a visit at my apartment after I used court documents to write about DWI and statutory sodomy charges against him and sent me to the Freeman emergency room with a well-placed punch.
I will be the first to tell you, I could have used the $1,000 (though I could do without the visits to my apartment). That being said, I will not accept any kind of bribe to keep public information off the blog.
There could be a number of reasons why the bribe offers and the threats have increased. Perhaps it is because people have grown used to public records not appearing in the media. With so many newspapers going out of business and others crippled to the point where they do not run the information any more, people get out of the habit of seeing that information made public. People who are not used to seeing that kind of information are quick to say that it's "private."
No, it is not.
It could also be that people will not accept seeing this kind of information on the internet.
Or it could be a societal failing, but it will take someone far more learned than I am to determine that.
For those who are considering offering a bribe to keep something out of the Turner Report/Inside Joplin, please don't. I am not going to put your name right at the top in bold letters, but I will print it, nothing more, nothing less, but I will print it.
Death of Neosho kindergarten teacher tops most visited posts
The top obituary this week on Inside Joplin Obituaries comes as no surprise.
The death of Neosho Benton Elementary kindergarten teacher Angel Hayes while performing crossing duty after school stunned the community. The story also placed in the top 10 most visited posts on both the Turner Report and Inside Joplin.
This week's list also includes four returning posts from previous weeks, including the number one post on Inside Joplin and three posts on the Jayda Kyle murder case on the Turner Report.
The posts and links to each of them are featured below:
The hearings for Judge Kavanaugh so far have been a show of liberal Senators at their worst. Democrats have refused to listen during his hearings, choosing theatrics and disruption over doing their jobs.
Kavanaugh should be having one of the smoothest confirmation hearings in Supreme Court history. He is remarkably qualified, fair, and he has an almost unparalleled wealth of experience. Many have said that President Trump could not have made a better choice, and I must say I agree.
With so much at stake - religious liberty, immigration, the Second Amendment - our country needs someone like Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
That’s why the grandstanding by those on the left is nothing short of shocking, and it’s why McCaskill’s blatant obstruction must end. Kavanaugh deserves better, but more importantly, our country deserves better.
Many Missourians who voted for Donald Trump did so because he promised to nominate qualified, conservative judges. Well, McCaskill made a promise too. She promised to represent Missouri’s interests in the Senate, a promise she is once again breaking. By choosing not to support this nominee, McCaskill is blatantly putting party leadership before her own state.
She's willfully letting her own constituents down.
This shouldn’t be about party loyalty, it should be about the future of our judicial system. I am running for Senate because in times like these, Missouri doesn’t have a voice with Claire McCaskill in office.
I hope the rest of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is more civil, and that he is quickly confirmed. I know Judge Kavanaugh will be a fantastic Supreme Court justice.
I wanted to take a break from all the campaign crazy and talk about something pretty important.
Everywhere I go, I hear the same thing — folks are scared about losing their healthcare. I know our system’s not perfect. And I know folks struggle for access to life-saving treatments if they have the unfortunate luck to get sick.
Which is why Josh Hawley’s lawsuit threatening to strip healthcare coverage from people with pre-existing conditions leaves me utterly appalled.
To make sure Hawley knows exactly who he’s hurting with this abomination of a lawsuit, my team has spent the summer talking to Missourians who could lose their healthcare if Hawley gets his way.
We’ve heard 30 inspiring stories from folks with pre-existing conditions and we’ll be sharing them over 30 days. All the people I’ve spoken to are facing really serious challenges; they’re fighting incredibly hard to not only take care of themselves, but their families — and taking every last bit of energy to fight back against Hawley’s vicious, indignant attacks. Each one has ignited a fire within me to keep fighting right beside them every day.
I could spend hours talking about the ugliness of this lawsuit, but I know the folks we’ve talked to would do it a whole lot better.
This week the Senate held hearings for one of its greatest Constitutional responsibilities, confirming the President of the United States’ nominee for a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Like many Americans, I was disappointed to see obstructionist Senators devolve into bitter, childlike antics instead of properly and responsibly fulfilling their Constitutional duty.
Between outside liberal groups and Democratic Senators trying to launch their White House ambitions, Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings were hijacked into an embarrassing display of unwarranted personal attacks and shameless self-promotion.
The showboating and campaigning began as soon as the hearing was gaveled in. The Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee couldn’t even finish his opening sentence before liberal Senators dreaming of the White House interrupted him and demanded he delay the hearing.
Close to 150 protestors, shipped in by liberal groups, took turns shouting over Judge Kavanaugh and were arrested in the committee room. As the entire nation watched, eager to hear President Trump’s nominee answer Senators’ questions and offer insight on his legal thinking, liberal Senators selfishly seized the limelight and blasted out fundraising emails, completely neglecting their responsibility to vet and confirm the president’s nominee.
The most insulting part of this charade is the Senators making a mockery of the United States Senate have already announced they wouldn’t vote for Judge Kavanaugh anyway.
Following Senator Chuck Schumer’s lead, half of the Democratic Senators on the Judiciary Committee announced their opposition to Kavanaugh’s confirmation before the hearings even began and many refused to even meet with him. Over the weekend they debated not showing up at all for the hearing but decided instead to orchestrate a political theater.
Despite the distractions and interruptions, Judge Kavanaugh maintained his composure. He professionally and courteously attempted to answer Senators’ questions, even as they baselessly attacked his character while his family was in the room. This is a man who has authored 307 opinions as a judge, yet the obstructionists spent more time shouting about arcane Senate rules and hyping unsubstantiated rumors than asking Judge Kavanaugh about his legal opinions.
The Supreme Court has adopted his legal reasoning in at least a dozen of their cases. He is known throughout the legal world as a thought leader and a “judge’s judge.” The American Bar Association unanimously named him “well qualified,” its highest possible endorsement. And instead of hearing his views on the law, we saw Senators declare themselves ‘Spartacus’ and shout over one another as they tried to paint Judge Kavanaugh with conspiracy theories and fear mongering.
The real reason liberals are opposing Judge Kavanaugh is because he said he will follow the Constitution fairly and interpret laws as written. He has consistently ruled to restrain the regulatory state – the unelected bureaucrats in Washington who create rules and regulations – and has promised not to legislate from the bench.
Many liberals in Washington would much prefer an activist judge pushing for more government power and regulations. They want the Court to push an agenda – their agenda – and they know they won’t get that with Judge Kavanaugh’s independence and commitment to the Constitution.
Judge Kavanaugh is an immensely qualified and well-respected judge, and it is a shame to watch him and his family endure the political smears and uncalled-for attacks on his character. He is a good man who has demonstrated he will uphold the rule of law and respect the Constitution as written.
In the hearings this week, Judge Kavanaugh has shown more respect to the Constitution than any of the obstructionist Senators who hijacked one of the Senate’s most important duties to fuel their personal 2020 ambitions.
Another long-running community newspaper bit the dust today, once again thanks to GateHouse Media.
The Waynesville Daily Guide published its last issue after 50 years.
Despite the Daily Guide's expiration, anyone wanting to read the letter the company sent to readers still has to answer survey questions.
After you reach the "closure letter" it is clear that GateHouse officials put no more thought into the Waynesville letter than they did into the one that announced the closure of the Carthage Press last week.
In fact, with only a couple of minor changes, it is the same letter. GateHouse officials not only do not know how to run a newspaper, they do not even know how to close one with any consideration for the people who are losing a part of their community.
This is the letter that greeted Waynesville readers: The Waynesville Daily Guide will publish its final issue Friday, September 7, 2018.
After 50 years, The Waynesville Daily Guide, proudly serving Waynesville, St. Robert and all of Pulaski County, will publish its final issue Friday, September 7, 2018.
“The Waynesville Daily Guide has been a staple in the Waynesville area for more than half a century and has been present for every milestone in the community,” said Dave Cuddihy, Senior Group Publisher. “While we transition our focus, we remain committed to serving neighboring communities. Our sister publication, Rolla Daily News, will cover important Waynesville news.”
Subscribers to The Waynesville Daily Guide publications will receive refunds within 30 days for the balance of their subscriptions.
And we will continue to provide Waynesville businesses comprehensive marketing solutions with our extensive digital offerings, as well as the total market coverage of the Waynesville Extra each Wednesday.
If you have any questions regarding your subscription or advertising options, please contact Dave Cuddihy at 573-346-2132 or dcuddihy@gatehousemedia.com.
This was the closure letter for the Carthage Press:
After 140 years, the Carthage Press will publish its final issue on Wednesday, August 29, 2018.
"As Southwest Missouri's Oldest Daily Newspaper, it's been a privilege serving the Carthage communities all these years," said Joseph Leong, senior group publisher. "While we transition our focus, we remain committed to serving neighboring communities. Our sister publication, Neosho Daily News, will cover important Carthage news."
Subscribers to the Carthage Press publications will receive refunds within 30 days for the balance of their subscriptions.
And we will continue to provide Carthage businesses comprehensive marketing solutions with our extensive digital offerings as well as the regional Big Nickel.
If you have any questions regarding your subscription or advertising options, please contact Joseph Leong at jleong@gatehousemedia.com or 417-451-1520.
Those seeking to go to the Carthage Press website are now being automatically directed to the Neosho Daily News.
I was most likely one of the last people to check out the Waynesville Daily Guide website. Shortly after I read the closure letter, which was posted at 6 a.m. today, I was redirected to the Rolla Daily News website.
This week I attended a Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C focused on ways to improve access to affordable housing in the multifamily market.
The need for more affordable housing continues to be a top priority of mine. Though it has been a decade since the housing crisis of 2008, and our economy has greatly improved since that time, many families, especially those in minority communities were never fully able to recover wealth that was lost during the financial crisis. Demand for rental units vastly increased in the years following the recession, and the availability of affordable rental units has not kept pace. Rental prices have also been increasing at a much faster rate than wage growth. Additionally, millennial adults, burdened with high student loans and limited job opportunities, have put off homeownership to stay in the rental market. These factors have resulted in a growing rental affordability crisis.
This should be a major focus of legislators. If you don’t have a place to live, then everything else is in jeopardy. You cannot hold a job without an address. You lose income. You lose stability.
According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, “a growing number of moderate-income and fully-employed renter households are cost-burdened, spending at least 30 percent of their income on rent and other housing costs.” Recently, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition found that “there is no state, metropolitan area, or county where a worker earning federal minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent by working a standard 40 hour week.”
This is a challenge that not only exists in our urban areas but also in our rural communities. In the rural part of my district there hasn’t been a new multifamily housing development in years. The demand is there but the development has yet to come.
We must address the needs of the millions of Americans who continue to struggle with housing. It is a priority for me and worth undertaking until resolved.
(A link to the Financial Services Committee hearing can be found here.)
The U.S. Drought Monitor map was updated yesterday and is on the department’s Drought website at dnr.mo.gov/drought.
Dry to exceptionally dry conditions continue to exist in Missouri. Forty-six counties are in D2 or greater status, down from 70 counties last week. Three counties remain in D4 status, down from 22 last week. Nineteen counties remain in D3 status, an increase from 12 counties last week. Twenty-four counties are in D2 status, a decrease from 36 last week. Twenty-five counties no longer are in D2 or greater status.
D4 conditions continue in portions of Clay, Jackson and Platte counties.
D3 conditions exist in portions of Andrew, Boone, Caldwell, Callaway, Chariton, Cole, Cooper, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Howard, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Moniteau, Nodaway and Sullivan counties.
Counties no longer in D2 or greater status include Audrain, Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Douglas, Hickory, Holt, Jasper, Knox, Lawrence, Lewis, Maries, McDonald, Monroe, Newton, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski, Shelby, St. Clair, Stone, Taney and Wright counties.
In response to drought conditions in Missouri, Governor Parson made emergency water access available for family farms at 28 Department of Conservation areas and five Department of Natural Resources state parks. Read more and locate water hauling access areas and contact information for individual sites online atdnr.mo.gov/droughtresources. Additional information about agriculture and drinking water assistance and resources is available on the website.
A map is available that provides drought condition reports and photos that were submitted by citizens. A “Pictures” tab was added for easily locating reports that contain photos. The Experimental Missouri Drought Conditions & Impacts Map is online at http://arcg.is/0Xrvy4.
A photo gallery, organized in folders by county, also is available online at https://bit.ly/2MHHjlS.
Reports and photos are essential tools used in the assessment of drought conditions. As drought conditions continue, citizens are strongly encouraged to report livestock stress, crop damage, and low water in ponds and streams by submitting information using the Missouri Extension Drought Impact Reporter online athttps://bit.ly/2OdCcHd. Information will be used to assess conditions in each county and to inform drought maps provided by U.S. Drought Monitor for Missouri (https://bit.ly/2C2nm4j).
If your idea of a good newspaper is the Jasper County Citizen, the Sarcoxie Record or the Pierce City Leader-Journal, you are going to love the new newspaper that Carthage residents received in the mail Thursday.
Just one week after the closing of southwest Missouri's oldest newspaper, the Carthage Press, the Carthage Chronicle was introduced to the community by Paul Donley, the publisher of the three newspaper mentioned in the first paragraph.
"Carthage deserves a new newspaper," the introductory article on the top of page one stated succinctly."
The article continues:
So when the owners announced last week the Press was ceasing operations, both in the print edition and online, the community lost a part of its identity. It created a void.
In the remainder of the article, it is explained that the interest of the community will determine whether the Chronicle continues to publish and directs readers to a subscription form on page 3.
Donley is charging $34.98 annually for Jasper County residents and $44.98 for those outside the county.
The remainder of the first edition included a the same columns Donley runs in his other three newspapers, one by conservative writer Rich Lowry, whose columns deal with national politics, one from Donley, whose columns also normally deal with national politics and one form outdoorsman Francis Skalicky.
The back page features a lengthy article on last Friday night's Carthage football game, along with some excellent game photos. That is a good start, but Carthage was playing Carl Junction. It will be interesting to see if the same type of coverage is included of tonight's home Carthage game against Joplin.
After a week of not having any newspapers, the Turner Report has learned Carthage may soon have multiple publications. A second newspaper is reportedly in the planning stages.
At the same time GateHouse Media officials were telling Carthage Press readers the Neosho Daily News would be covering major Carthage news, they had already accepted the resignation of the Daily's managing editor.
That promise to Carthage readers appears to be nothing but a ploy to convince a few gullible Press readers that they could continue to receive their community's news by subscribing to the Daily.
The most recent edition of the Neosho Daily contained no mention of Carthage news and Carthage news.
The newspaper, as it should, had a page one filled with Neosho stories and Neosho and Newton County information on the inside pages.
The newspaper featured a farewell column from Managing Editor Todd Higdon, who had been with the Daily for 16 years.
When I made the decision to leave the Daily News, I had co-workers ask if we were moving. The answer is NO. I love this community, I have been a part of it for 47 years, growing up in Newtonia. Dad worked at CBT (Community Bank and Trust) for more than 50 years, he and Mom would shop locally and Tina and I are invested in this community. We have friends here, her job is close and it is a great community. Once again, I want to thank you all for everything.
The newspaper includes a half-page house ad, extolling the virtues of the Neosho Daily News and GateHouse Media, which includes the following phrase:
In our world, trust means everything.
At the bottom of this ad is a scary, disturbing message about GateHouse Media:
America's largest publisher of community newspapers
*** Advertisement My new book Newton County Memories writes about a time when community newspapers actually covered the community and includes some stories about the Neosho Daily News, as well as many of the colorful people, places and events that have made Newton County so special in my life. The book is available locally at Granby Auto Supply and Hardware, Changing Hands Book Shoppe and Always Buying Books in Joplin and Pat's Books in Carthage. It can also be purchased online in paperback and e-book formats from Amazon at the links below.
