Ray Matthews grew up in Newport, Ark., as the son of a rice farmer. But from a young age he dreamed of different landscapes than those he saw in south Arkansas.
There is a ton of pressure on everyone involved when it comes to school ratings. From school boards to administrators to teachers and to students, the strain doesn’t escape anyone.
In 1917, the Commerical Club of Columbia, now the Marion County Development Partnership, helped raise $50,000 from area citizens and 3,000 acres of farmland were donated in an attempt to convince the state of Mississippi to bring its new training institute to Columbia.
There are so many amazing and interesting residents in Marion County but maybe none quite like Randall Baker. Not only does he have one of the most unusual occupations in the county, he has also shared his servant’s heart with Marion County for more than three decades.
Teacher, preacher and university president are professions associated with strong leaders. They also perfectly describe Dr. Tommy King, president of William Carey University.
Here is Henry Danton, knocking on doors during the London blackouts of World War II, asking for lodging while on tour. And he’s inside the Royal Opera House in 1946, soaring through the air during the premiere of what continues to be considered one of the great classical ballets in British history.
Editor's Note: Sports Editor Joshua Campbell posed questions to longtime coaches at each of Marion County’s four high schools about why they love their profession and what it means to them to work with young people.
National Library Week is coming up in April, but the Columbia-Marion County Library is going even beyond that and making it a month-long celebration. That makes it an ideal time to look at an organization where more than 41,000 walked through its doors in the past year.
Just off of Mississippi 586 in Foxworth behind Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church stands the 4-foot-tall gravestone of a man who claimed to be America’s last living slave.
The Columbia Police Department has recently started a program that could save lives and reduce drug-related crime. And while the idea behind the Mercy Project was a simple one, even Police Chief Michael Kelly thought it sounded crazy at first.
While their first-round script was far from what anyone had in mind, the West Marion Trojans’... READ MORE
