Let us pause to acknowledge a bright spot on our local landscape. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine cut the ribbon on its South Georgia campus in Moultrie. Classes will start Monday for the 55 students of its inaugural class.

Hard to believe, but in a handful of weeks, most South Georgia youngsters will be back in school. Summer — as a concept of vacations, no school, lazy afternoons, etc. — will soon draw to a close.

About 60 percent of physicians will open their offices within 60 miles of where they do their residency.

Many people want your money.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about whether the U.S. Census can ask respondents if they and their family members are citizens.

Between 2013 and 2017, lung cancer was the No. 3 cause of death in Colquitt County. Colon cancer was No. 14. With two of the top 15 causes of death being cancer, the eradication of the disease would be a godsend for our community.

A rant sent in Wednesday afternoon reads:

The Observer published to our website the story about the hiring of a new head football coach after Monday night’s school board meeting, and we linked it to our Facebook page. Comments quickly came in, including one from a woman who wrote “Just bring PROPST BACK PLEASE.”

A conflict over whether to give more money to Puerto Rico to help recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria has held up a disaster bill that would help South Georgia recover from Hurricane Michael. Congress needs to find a middle ground and get assistance flowing soon.

Autism can be difficult to define because Autism Spectrum Disorders describe a wide range of disorders with symptoms that vary in type and severity.

We strongly oppose House Bill House Bill 734. We urge our state representatives — Sam Watson of Moultrie and Jay Powell of Camilla as well as all their colleagues — to flatly reject this measure sponsored by Rep. Andy Welch of McDonough.

Charles Dickens wrote a lengthy but meaningful first line to his novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” And it relates to the situation facing Colquitt County following a fight that was instigated online.

Truth, accuracy, facts — those are watchwords for journalists. They’re the guideposts we strive for as we tell the stories we’re called upon to tell.

Two weeks ago in this space, The Observer called upon the community to let us know who was reaching out to help our neighbors in Cairo following the tornado that smashed a section of that city.

Today is the 125th birthday of The Moultrie Observer. On March 15, 1894, W.H. Cooper cranked up his little printing press and published Volume 1, Number 1 of this same publication you hold in your hands.

There has been much confusion over the issue of medical marijuana in Georgia. We are not convinced that all of that is by accident. But almost anything would make more sense than the situation as it is now.

January 1 is a natural time for new beginnings. It holds such promise of the wonderful things that await us in the year ahead.

Almost one-fourth of the households in Colquitt County (23.8 percent) receive food stamps, so when the federal government starts talking about changes to the program, it has a local impact.

Voters, today is your next-to-last chance to weigh in on an election in 2018. Early voting concludes this afternoon in a two-race runoff. Regular voting will take place Tuesday for voters who have not cast ballots early or via absentee ballot.

Colquitt County is a giving community, and that’s good because it’s also a needful place.

“Thank you for your service” is a phrase veterans appreciate on Veterans Day – or any other day of the year for that matter.

Statewide, more than a staggering 2 million Georgians cast ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election including 184,925 mail-in absentee ballots along with 1.88 million in-person votes. That more than doubles the previous record for early voting in a midterm election, set in November 2014.

It’s one of the clearest sentences in the Constitution: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

Voter suppression is wrong. Look at your own driver’s license, Social Security card and voter registration form. Are there any variations whatsoever?

By the time you read this, someone you know could be a billionaire.

In her letter to the editor today, Rebecca Blalock raises an important question: Why is the community not supporting the Southwest Georgians who were impacted so severely by Hurricane Michael?

At The Observer, we’ve seen a lot of photos of conditions on the Florida coast after Hurricane Michael swept through. Houses and businesses were reduced to boards scattered around and their contents strewn so far most will never be found. And items that are found may never again be fit to use.

At this writing, the emergency management officials in Colquitt County and many other places are still working to clean up after Hurricane Michael.

Sometimes the question isn’t how good or bad you are compared to other people, it’s simply what are you willing to put up with yourself.

More than any other charity, the United Way epitomizes the team approach to solving society’s problems.

Your local newspaper is not The Fake News. Your newspaper is most definitely not The Enemy of the People. In fact, the paper is the eyes, ears and voice of the people.

At the top of today’s Rant and Rave column is a comment asking for more space for those comments.

No, we don’t know who wrote that Rant and Rave.

On April 26, The Observer received a comment criticizing us for running a series of negative rants about the school system. It’s the third one down in today's Rant and Rave column if you haven’t seen it yet.

Sometimes it seems our lawmakers spend a lot of time majoring in minors. A case in point: Some of our lawmakers are once again pushing the idea that most state communications be published only in English.

On recent days in our Rants and Raves column, the issue of “street people” has been batted around relative to the very cold weather we have experienced.

During recent days there have been numerous reports of individuals and groups who have given of their time, talents and money to serve the needy during the holiday season.

We should be adequately warned by now that there are myriad shysters and con-artists out there who would like to take away some of our hard-earned money. Yet some will fall prey.

As we go about our daily lives here in sunny South Georgia, driving through our beautiful countryside of cotton fields, grazing cattle, big oaks and pine forests, we probably don’t dwell too much on the issue of pollution.

Over the past two weeks, The Moultrie Observer’s “Sunlight Project” has focused on the opioid epidemic in our nation — a tragedy that expresses itself very loudly right here in our own community.

Dear editor:

   There was a place in Poland called the Sobibor Death Camp. Probably few of us have heard of it or remember it. It’s an element of that great horror known as the Holocaust.

A few nights ago, some 100 or more people gathered for a candlelight vigil in the courthouse annex here in Moultrie, honoring the memory of those who have died as a result of domestic violence.

The good news is we have an incredible amount of information at our fingertips via computers. The bad news is we have an incredible amount of information at our fingertips via computers.

So what the heck is a bump  stock? Simply put, it’s a device that can be attached to a semi-automatic weapon to make it a rapid fire, fully-automatic device capable of the kind of horror that unfolded in Las Vegas last Sunday where some 58 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

Once a again let us note that one can honor the soldier and not the war.