Columns/Editorials

Columns/Editorials
Newspaper staff embraces the grind for quality coverage
By From JT Staff Reports 
November 25, 2025
Thanksgiving always provides a break in the calendar to reflect on the past year and look forward to what is yet to come. On the horizon, we see a different landscape for newspapers compared to TV or ...
Columns/Editorials
Residents already taxed too much
By From JT Staff Reports 
November 17, 2025
Looking at the recent local election results is sometimes like taking medication that can be cyclical in nature. Consider someone who takes pills that cause a side effect that in turn creates the need...
Columns/Editorials
Jack of all trades – In defense of daylight savings
By Jack Christian 
November 17, 2025
Hey everyone, you might’ve seen my name in the paper these last few months. My name is Jack Christian, a life-long Marysville resident who is in my first couple of months on the job here at the Marysv...
Columns/Editorials
Letters to the Editor: Fifth Street changes much needed
By Michelle Cunningham 
November 10, 2025
Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the Oct. 25, 2025 editorial, “Tighten your seat belt on Fifth Street,” which raises concerns about the addition of bump-out curbs along West Fifth Street in Ma...
Columns/Editorials
Feed your Head: Lucid dreams and angry characters
By Kyle Meddles 
November 10, 2025
Last week I had my first lucid dream and told one of the characters in it that they were not real. I have come to find out that was a mistake. As defined by the National Library of Medicine, lucid dre...
Columns/Editorials
A Word to the Wise: Picking the perfect candy to hurl
By Chad Williamson 
October 27, 2025
You simply must put some thought into your candy. Being so close to Halloween, you might think I’m referring to trick or treat offerings - but I’m talking about parades. Having watched the Marysville ...
Asking Congress to protect original work
Columns/Editorials
Kevin Behrens, publisher of the Marysville Journal-Tribune, talks with U.S Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee in the photo above at the News Media Alliance dinner held this past week in Washington DC. Behrens was part of a group of newspaper publishers at the nation’s capital to discuss various issues with members of Congress. Artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the topics of conversation. Unfortunately because of the shutdown, there was no official testimony before Congress. (Photo submitted)
Asking Congress to protect original work
By From JT Staff Reports 
October 13, 2025
It’s no secret that original content is being scraped from newspaper websites by AI bots for advertising streams. That theft is akin to a musician’s song being repurposed for profit without their perm...
Columns/Editorials
Surely we have to be better than this
By Michael Williamson 
September 29, 2025
In troubled times, I turn to the past. Through history and through art, I find a kind of wisdom and foresight that can usually tell us something about ourselves and maybe how to go forward. Whether it...
Columns/Editorials
FM radio brings character to trips
By Kyle Meddles 
September 23, 2025
With news headlines dominated by divisive topics and overwhelming negativity, I wanted to detach and talk about a little piece of Americana that still exists in many corners of the country. A few year...
Columns/Editorials
I’ve got gnus for you
By Chad Williamson 
September 15, 2025
Sometimes when I write a column, I dig down into a local or national issue, trying to reason it out on the page. The goal being that whether the reader agrees or disagrees, they will think deeply abou...
Columns/Editorials
County in a position to provide tax relief
By From JT Staff Reports 
September 8, 2025
Commissioner Tom McCarthy recently spoke up about tax relief ideas at the regular county commissioners meeting-which is much needed. He talked about the state budget and wanting to wait to see what Oh...
Columns/Editorials
All income levels welcome in true community
By Michael Williamson 
September 8, 2025
I heard some comments last week that not only made an impression at the time, but are still rattling around in my head a week later. The one that left the biggest impression was one that I also occasi...
Columns/Editorials
Results guide puts a ribbon on the fair
By Kevin Behrens 
August 18, 2025
The Union County Fair just wrapped up its 179th year making it the oldest entity in the county, even older than the Marysville Journal-Tribune. The fair has always been about showcasing the best of th...
Columns/Editorials
Feed your head – Wrestling, politics both appreciate a pop
By Kyle Meddles 
August 9, 2025
In professional wrestling, a “pop” is when an act, usually an in-ring action, receives an emotionally-charged and overwhelming reaction from the crowd. In most cases, the act is curated by producers t...
Columns/Editorials
Mike Drops – Superman hasn’t changed, but the world has
By Michael Williamson 
August 2, 2025
This week, I’ve been thinking about Superman. I went to see the newest movie, directed by James Gunn, over the weekend and had a good time watching it. Despite that good time, I don’t really have much...
Columns/Editorials
A Word To The Wise – The finest beating I ever took
By Chad Williamson 
July 26, 2025
Sometimes life deals you a tough lesson in the form of squandered money, a sprained ankle or a lost friendship. Other times it comes in the form of 30 guys in boots kicking your guts out after your bu...
Columns/Editorials
Feed your head – For me, Shark Week rocks
By Kyle Meddles 
July 19, 2025
This upcoming week, I encourage everyone to get a bigger boat. Starting this Sunday through Saturday, July 26, is the Discovery Channel’s 37th annual edition of Shark Week, which is filled to the brim...
Columns/Editorials
Mike Drops – AI at Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers
By Michael Williamson 
July 12, 2025
If you’ve visited Wendy’s on West Fifth Street recently, you might’ve noticed the AI voice that now takes your order in the drive-thru. That location has joined others in the switch-over to embracing ...
Columns/Editorials
A Word To The Wise – Paramount payout a blow to free speech
By Chad Williamson 
July 3, 2025
The $16-million settlement that Paramount has agreed to pay Donald Trump is trash. It’s bogus, a clear attack on free speech and it shows how the power of the federal government can be leveraged for p...
Columns/Editorials
Feed your head – Arriving at my wits’ end
By Kyle Meddles 
June 28, 2025
Have you ever been at your wits’ end with something? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, one who is at their wits’ end is “so worried, confused, or annoyed that (they) do not know what to do next.”...
Columns/Editorials
Mike Drops – The long, strange road to 200 episodes
By Michael Williamson 
June 21, 2025
I first recorded audio for a podcast my senior year in high school, nearly 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve recorded a lot of podcasts from silly, comedy shows with friends, to shows about movies and po...
Columns/Editorials
an editorial – Podcast akin to coffee shop conversation
June 21, 2025
Ever been at a morning coffee group and hear people ask what is a TIF or why are taxes the way they are or even why is there so much change going on in Union County? And when answers are offered, do y...
Columns/Editorials
A Word To The Wise – My father had a way with words
By Chad Williamson 
June 7, 2025
My father was no word-smith. In fact, he often molested the English language in ways that should have been illegal. He would often put an unnecessary “s” on words like “Hilliards” or “Krogers.” But it...
Columns/Editorials
an editorial – City water monitoring a blessing
June 7, 2025
Anyone planning a vacation this summer? If so, do yourself a favor and check the age of your water heater. Why? We recently got a call from the City of Marysville utility department telling us that ou...
Columns/Editorials
Feed your head – The first rule of kite club…
By Kyle Meddles 
May 31, 2025
With all of the strong winds sweeping through the area over the past few weeks, I decided to do something I have never done before. I flew a kite for the first time – and it went about as well as expe...
Columns/Editorials
an editorial – Tax money should be spent or returned
May 22, 2025
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is a standard set by the federal government with regard to retirement accounts. According to the IRS website, the RMD was established in 1974 as the minimum amount ...
Columns/Editorials
Mike Drops – Location isn’t film industry’s weakness
By Michael Williamson 
May 17, 2025
Last week, President Donald Trump announced he would be putting 100% tariffs on movies made outside the United States. Trump said the industry is dying a “fast death” and that is largely due to effort...