Opinion

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. By the time this is read America will be in the last couple of days before our national election. For us in North Central Louisiana a mayorship, a congressional seat that could determine the speaker of the house of …

Sallie HollisSallie Rose Hollis is a native of Rocky Branch and retired Journalism Professer from Louisiana Tech University. Contact her at sallierose@mail.com. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” – Ecclesiastes 3:1. So it is with this column. On Sept. 23 this year, one day after fall officially began, I posted this verse …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. There was a time when it was said that a man’s handshake is his honor. Two men could make a deal shake hands on the agreement and it was every bit as binding as if a contract had been …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Did you celebrate Columbus Day last week? ( Ooops, it’s now Indigenous Peoples Day.) That’s right. We changed the name, and now celebrate those Indian tribes Columbus encountered on his discovery of the Americas, a number of which …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Last night I saw the flagship university of Louisiana, LSU, pull out a dynamic win over Ole Miss in overtime. One of the storied rivalries of college football has been revived. What a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary …

Sallie HollisSallie Rose Hollis is a native of Rocky Branch and retired Journalism Professer from Louisiana Tech University. Contact her at sallierose@mail.com. Once again, the Enigma Explorer emerges from the shadows, ready to weave her way into the pages of this newspaper and the corners of your mind. Prepare to embark on a journey through the curious and the unexplained, …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. I have had the good fortune to have seen the world and visited some of the largest and grandest cities in this world. It is awe inspiring to view the mega-structures, large parks and toddle through museums that capture …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. “Drive Faster. The Mountains are close by”. That’s a bumper sticker I’ve seen on a number of cars throughout western North Carolina. Yes, living in the mountains is special. A lot of people are beach groupies or mountain …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. How is the best way to reinforce our belief in America?  How is the best way to show that America is truly a part of a unique experiment called democracy?  How is the best way to declare that you …

Sallie HollisSallie Rose Hollis is a native of Rocky Branch and retired Journalism Professer from Louisiana Tech University. Contact her at sallierose@mail.com. With National Punctuation Day just a few days in the rear-view mirror, let’s pause to appreciate something we rely on daily but sometimes neglect: punctuation. Yes, Sept. 24 was National Punctuation Day – a holiday you may not …