Opinion | Voice of The Southern
The Southern’s editorial board members are: Terra Kerkemeyer, publisher; Tom English, executive editor; Les Winkeler, sports editor; and Alee Quick, local news editor
Voice of The Southern: We encourage other school districts to follow suit with some of these ideas. We have a long ways to go to fix education…
Thumbs up to Honor Wreaths for Veterans, Cairo's Riko Nelson and Du Quoin's new hemp plant; thumbs down to Carbondale Mayor Mike Henry's comme…
Thumbs up to return of glass milk bottles, Italian Village's 60 years in Carbondale and SIU softball coach Kerri Blaylock; thumbs down to Macy…
Thumbs up to holiday lights, Shawnee basketball, SIU Carbondale and Spirit of the Love/Operation 400 Food and Gift Drive; thumbs down to IHSA.
We, the people who live and work in the region, need Southern Illinois University to be viable and vital. We need the university to be the cul…
Thumbs up to the Cairo Lights Parade. The beleaguered town’s population may still be dropping, and it is still staggering from a public housin…
If your Christmas list is still large, it’s time to start thinking small.
Thumbs up to the Murphysboro Red Devils football team for placing second in the Class 4A playoffs. The season didn’t have the fairy-tale endin…
Close your eyes for a moment and think of one of Southern Illinois’ many small towns.
Thumbs up to the Murphysboro and Nashville football teams for advancing to the state championship games at Northern Illinois University this w…
Tradition tells us that the First Thanksgiving was celebrated in October 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Thumbs up to the Carbondale-Marion area being recognized as one of the most welcoming places for retirees. USA Today listed the region as one …
Sometimes the math doesn’t add up.
Thumbs up to Carbondale finally being awarded a $14 million grant to build a multimodal transit facility downtown. Carbondale began pursuing t…
We don’t know how or when this horrific saga of gun violence gripping Southern Illinois will end. Unfortunately, we feel certain that more hea…
Thumbs up to the region’s annual observation of Veterans Day. Every American owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who have served in …
Let’s imagine a Southern Illinois University football player makes a leaping interception against Missouri State next week.
Thumbs up to an uneventful, yet enjoyable, Halloween celebration in downtown Carbondale. Chilly temperatures and persistent rain put something…
Southern Illinois University’s homecoming celebration was like a shot of B12 for the City of Carbondale.
Thumbs up to the proposed Walker’s Bluff casino and resort clearing its first political hurdle. The Williamson County board last week approved…
Chicago Sun-Times
There was a time when coal was king in Southern Illinois.
Thumbs up to a remarkable run by the Massac County Lady Patriots golf team. The Lady Patriots failed to qualify for the state tournament this …
The strike that kept Murphysboro students out of school for 5 days isn’t the result of a get-rich-quick scheme by teachers. It isn’t the resul…
Thumbs up to the Egyptian Health Department’s Recovery Resource Center that opened recently in Harrisburg. The center features substance abuse…
Thirty years later, history is repeating itself in the Shawnee National Forest.
Thumbs up to the Carbondale District 95 teachers’ union and school board for reaching a tentative contract agreement this week. Teachers’ stri…
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