Columns

By: Raymond Powell

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (NKJ). We are all familiar with the nativity scene showing the holy family and the “Three Wise men” or “Three Kings”. As a twelve year old boy I could have written up the story with a great deal of confidence but with further study and reading how much do I really know about the Magi? Where did they come from? What was the star they followed?

The Gospel of Matthew is the only gospel to tell of the Magi or telling of the Wise Men from the East coming to Jerusalem saying’ “Saying where is he that is born King of the Jews.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

By Stephen Waguespack

Throughout life, we often find ourselves on a quest for that one silver bullet to solve our problems.

The problem with that simple approach is that most of life’s challenges are complex and multifaceted, demanding a similarly complex solution. They are not usually structured in a way susceptible to an easy answer, though that rarely stops us from pursuing one.

Wish you had more money? Rather than paying your dues and focusing on hard work, why not buy a Powerball ticket? Want to stop the cycle of poverty in our state? Instead of focusing on the difficult task of improving the educational system, offering effective job training or combating the culture of government dependency, government is prone to simply propose a new wage or hiring mandate on the private sector.

By Stephen Waguespack

As the pressure mounts on the media for social media clicks and reader attention in a highly competitive marketplace, anonymous sources have become more frequently used by some writers to get stories out quickly and sell certain controversial narratives. The excessive use of these types of sources, once considered taboo by most journalists and journalism schools, has unfortunately become much more commonplace. Whether productive or not, this atypical approach to traditional journalism appears to be a growing trend.

Keeping with this new trend, we at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) put out a call to our members to submit anonymous feedback to the Governor’s recent Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) proposal. Their comments have been startling

By Allison Davidson Carpenter

Last week I touched on a response to the first of three questions that three high school seniors recently asked me in a store on Youree Drive. As I mentioned, these three students were asking random people these questions on video as part of a Bible class assignment called “The Jaywalking Project.”

Today I’m going to talk about the second question that the students asked me, and I’ll give a brief answer to it. As I’ve previously said, the responses to these questions could span books and books, but in the interest of space, I’ll condense the answer as best as possible.

The second question was: Is the Bible a trustworthy book? Why or why not?

Yes, I believe it is.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

By: Raymond Powell

On November 11th the veterans (both men and women) were honored in every part of America. Veterans of all branches of service were “Thanked” for their contribution for preserving the freedoms that we enjoy today. They deserve every recognition given to them – but there was a very large group of “Heroes” that has been sadly neglected. There were millions of women typified by “Rosie the Riveter” during World War II that joined the industrial work force in hard, grueling jobs to produce munitions and equipment necessary to win the war.

On November 28, 1942 during W.W.II the assembly line at Ford Motor Company’s huge Willow Run plant turned out its first bomber, a B-24 Liberator. By the time the plant reached its peak, in the summer of 1944, it was producing a bomber each hour – thanks to women like Rosie the Riveter.

By Stephen Waguespack

In 1993, professional basketball star Charles Barkley made headlines when he used a Nike commercial to say, “I am not a role model…. just because I can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids…. parents should be role models.”

These were quite controversial comments at that time. While some agreed wholeheartedly, many saw his comments as an excuse for perceived bad behavior on his part and that of several other athletes during that era.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/

By: Raymond Powell

Public schools have been an integral part of DeSoto Parish life for over one hundred and fifty years. Grand Cane in October 1894 was made a public high school. On April 3, 1895 Mansfield became a high school. The State Board of Education approved Keatchie and Stonewall as high schools in 1898.

The main focus of this article is to honor some of the early school board members and principals William Goss was elected Presidentof the DeSoto School in 1902 to succeed W.C. Scott who died in office. S.R. Cummins was elected Superintendent in October 1908 and served until 1912. G.O. Houston was elected over G. Odom on the third ballot to become superintendent and he served until May 1926. Mr. Houston resigned in order to accept the positon of Assistant Superintendent of Caddo Parish.

By Stephen Waguespack

A recent report released by 24/7 Wall Street, a national financial news and opinion research company, states that Louisiana is the fourth poorest state in the country. This sobering report comes on the heels of another recent report by Governing magazine, which used 2016 Census figures to conclude that Louisiana has had the largest decline in real income in the nation.

The report by 24/7 Wall Street specifically stated:

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Mansfield%20EnterpriseID391/