Steadfast and faithful

By Douglas Huff   I have two dogs. They are both mongrels, which means that their ancestry is mixed up. Jethro is a Basset Hound mix. He is not a small dog, but he is short and he is long. He has long sharp toenails and he can dig a hole in a heartbeat. I am not sure what Theo’s ancestry is.

Haidt's Anxious Generation

By: Julie Weeks   I'd begun reading the New York Times best-selling book, "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness" (Jonathan Haidt), earlier this spring well before I knew I'd be the editor of The Star and long before several school...

If I were running for president, you’d want to know about my boyhood

By: Phil Hudgins   When I was a little guy, I would lie on my back in the yard and look up at the clouds or the trees, searching for an answer to the question of the day. God, do you want me to start raising worms now so that when I open my bait shop, I’ll be ready?

Who is this man and what is he doing in The Star?

By: Dick Yarborough   Well, that person is me and I am here at the invitation of the editor with specific instructions to inform, entertain and occasionally exasperate you on a weekly basis.  This is a third career for me.

The Hydrangea

By: Ronda Rich   It was about 16 years ago that a famous man dug up part of a famous plant in his garden of world renown and gave it to me. “Don’t put it where it’ll get the hot afternoon sun, plant it in the gentle sun,” he explained. “If the leaves wilt, it’s from lack of hydration.

We’re soft and we can’t deny it

By: Tom Poland   Mama trembled when she talked about the Great Depression. I never forgot that. She’s gone and only the oldest survivors recall those hard times. Today’s full-plate patrons can’t relate. Hello obesity.

Sister City Exchange Program: My time in Mure-cho, Japan

By Naomi Bernal   My time in Mure-cho was a life changing experience. When I heard of the program I thought it was an interesting program because I had never heard of it before. I remember my Russian teacher telling me that I would not regret doing this program.

Back to school looks different these days

By Brett Kittredge   Children across Georgia will soon be returning to school. Recently, however, “back to school” has begun to look a little different for a growing number of students. That is because the delivery of education across the country is evolving to meet changing needs.

Year(s) in Review

Fall sports are set to officially kick off tomorrow when the Lady Devils softball team takes on North Oconee on the road at 6:30 p.m.

Lesson in human decency can be learned in grammar school

When I was in elementary school—it was either the sixth or seventh grade—my classmates elected me to fight a boy named Johnny because he supposedly was picking on smaller kids. It was almost an honor. The fight took place down at the railroad tracks near the school.