Opinion
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Pastor's Corner - July 18, 2019
In the fall of 1958, it was the day of our an annual athletic physicals in our small rural community. On this appointed day every would-be athlete walked down to the local clinic to see Dr. Helmut...
Pastor's Corner - July 11, 2019
“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” -- Abraham Lincoln Doesn’t it seem as you look around, read the newspaper or listen to or watch the daily news that one of the key concepts missing in all of...
Couch's Corner - July 11, 2019
Kern Transit will offer free rides to those from Wasco and Shafter attending Bakersfield College. The rides will continue through the summer session. In addition, the county also has funding available to offer the program again during the 2019-2020...
Letters to the Editor policy
We received a letter recently but the letter was not signed, so we are unable to verify its author. Since it's the policy of the paper not to publish anonymous opinion, we didn’t have the privilege of printing the the submission. If any reader has...
Letters to the Editor - June 27, 2019
My interest in Richland School District affairs was again sparked by the forced resignation of Superintendent Dr. Garcia, and public statements by district CBO and others in position to know of the financial health of the district. Most enlightened...
Pastor's Corner - June 20, 2019
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must Be lived forward.”--Kierkegaard Is that statement right on target or what? I read that quote in a book I am reading, and it hit me squarely between the eyes! I suppose said another way is more f...
Pastor's Corner - June 13, 2019
“To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, Knowledge and happiness…” --Ecclesiastes 2:26 ESV “True happiness... is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” -- Helen Keller PASTOR JIM NEAL...
Pastor's Corner - May 30, 2019
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7 Every choice you make has an end result. Zig Ziglar If you were a salesman of any ilk from...
Couch's Corner
This past Monday night and Tuesday morning at the Board of Supervisors Chambers, the TRUTH Forum was long, and at times tense, but successful. We had great attendance, a lot of public input and solid interaction between the public, the supervisors...
Pastor's Corner - May 9, 2019
[BEGIN ITAL]“For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me.”[END ITAL] Job 3:25 As a boy growing up, I would often hear my Dad say, “Boy, that guy has the patience of Job.” So I grew up thinking our...
Is there a doctor in the house?
It has been a rough couple of months. It seems that there hasn’t been a week that I haven’t felt sick. I have been sick off and on for over two months. My wife was sick for quite awhile too and...
Pastor's Corner - May 2, 2019
This sentence reached out and grabbed my attention this morning: “We’re preaching the gospel to the graveyard.” It’s from an article entitled, “Hope for Evangelism in a Secular Age,” by Akos Balogh. I found it on The Gospel Coalition...
Pastor's Corner - April 18, 2019
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, Your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” -- Mahatma Gandhi I heard a speaker say one time that the...
County's role in immigration
This week I wanted to discuss what seems to be the most controversial issue in our nation at this moment: immigration. It's important for all of us to understand the roles of all the different...
Pastor's Corner - April 11, 2019
PASTOR JIM NEAL You like I have read and heard the admonition that “it takes three times the muscle work to frown than to smile, so quit working yourself to death and smile.” I’m no muscle...
Library needs our help -- and deserves it
As some of you know, the Kern County Library and Shafter Learning Center would like to expand. If you have gone to the Learning Center lately, you may have seen a stack of surveys on the desk. If you fill out a survey, you are making a contribution b...
Pastor's Corner - April 4, 2019
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have appre...
Pastor's Corner - March 29, 2019
The Fresno Diocese has two bishops; however, a diocese normally only has one bishop. Because of this, the second bishop is called an “auxiliary bishop.” Nevertheless, we actually have two bishops. Bishop Joseph V. Brennan will be taking over our...
Pastor's Corner - March 21, 2019
Do you long for a comfort zone? Nido R. Qubein says in his little book “Attitude: the remarkable Power of Optimism” that a comfort zone is a place to rest, to be safe and a place to be comforted and coddled. Sounds like a nice enough place to be...
Pastor's Corner - March 14, 2019
We’ve all heard of “smart cars,” “smart phones” and even “Get Smart,” but how about “smart goals?” At an annual pastor’s retreat that I attend, our guest speaker, Gordon Penfold, gave us a good dose of leadership principles, one...
Pastor's Corner - March 7, 2019
JIM NEAL “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” --Abraham Lincoln Doesn’t it seem as you look around, read the newspaper or listen to or watch the daily news that one of the key concepts missing in all of...
A chance to love again
I wrote an editorial last month that was really tough for me. We had lost our dog TJ, leaving a big hole in my heart that I didn't think would ever get filled again. When we first lost him, I didn't...
Pastor's Corner - Feb. 28, 2019
“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” --Abraham Lincoln Doesn’t it seem as you look around, read the newspaper or listen to or watch the daily news that one of the key concepts missing in all of humanness...
Cleaning up matter of conscious
“He who covers his sins (wrongdoings) will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them Will have (find) mercy.” --Proverbs 28:13 Wise King Solomon penned that truism many, many years ago -- approximately 3,000 years, long before there...
