by Gary Farley | Jan 4, 2005 | Opinion
The settlement and development of rural America was driven by a social vision attributed to Thomas Jefferson. He believed that our nation would become primarily characterized by the majority of people living and working on small farms. Nearby, typically within three...
by Gary Farley | May 26, 2004 | Opinion
Over the past decade many rural hospitals have had to close their doors. Reasons cited have included the lack of physicians serving rural communities, high costs of providing care, lower rates of Medicare reimbursement for rural hospitals, issues with Medicaid, cut...
by Gary Farley | Feb 13, 2003 | Opinion
Those short-sighted people prospering from the abuse of our rural places and peoples are not listening. And they have the ears of our governments. Young men and women from the rural South, Baptist young folk, will be much more highly represented in terms of...
by Gary Farley | May 31, 2002 | Opinion
The Great Plains “Dust Bowl” of the mid-1930s provided a wake-up call for farmers, ranchers and the federal government. The topsoil was being blown off the plains, leaving sterile hardpan behind. Natural resource conservation was added to the agenda of the...
by Gary Farley | May 16, 2002 | Opinion
The season of rural church homecomings arrived across the South with the first Sunday in May. Cemeteries are spruced up, church houses and grounds are cleaned up. New carpets are installed, and steeples and church signs are improved. The date for an annual church...
