L. Daniels, 89, of Fort Smith passed away Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. He was born Jan. 1, 1928, in Van Buren to the late Argyle Loren Daniels Sr. and Inez Jewel White Daniels. He was a member of First Free Will Baptist Church, a U.S. Army veteran, retired from Shamrock Bolt & Screw and worked at Bowling World. He was also a member and past master of the Belle Point Lodge No. 20, York Rite, Amrita Grotto, the American Legion and the UCT. He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Irene Coleman Daniels.Funeral service will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Fentress Mortuary Chapel with military honors and burial to follow at Forest Park Cemetery in Fort Smith.Mr. Daniels is survived by two sons, Ricky Daniels and his wife, Sandra of Van Buren and Randy Daniels and his wife, Mary of Fort Smith; and two nieces, Janie Collins and her husband, Richard of Texas and Judy Golden of Nevada.Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. today at the funeral home.To sign the online guestbook, please visit www.fentressmortuary.com.
(Charleston Express)
Walking a thin line on prayer walks
Sep 1, 2017
Crossing the Line(Photo: File)The issue of religion and its proper place in public schools surfaced once again in Mississippi last week when a familiar Wisconsin-based group took issue with "Prayer Walks" held before the start of the academic year in Calhoun County.The walks are an annual occurrence in the county just south of Oxford, a way to set the proper tone for the coming year in the view of those who stage them. According to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, however, the walks are little more than a school-sponsored attempt to indoctrinate students with a particular religious point of view.It's a sensitive topic that's difficult to discuss without emotions taking control, but there do seem to be some aspects of the situation that should raise anyone's eyebrows.For one thing, the walks aren't strictly student- or parent-driven events. Participation by school system employees seem to be much a part of it. Secondly, the remarks of school system employees make it clear the idea was to sway young, impressionable minds to a particular point of view.In a TV interview, a no doubt well-meaning Principal Dallas Gore of Bruce High School said he and teachers wanted to "change the culture of the school" and referred to children as "moldable" and "still impressionable."If Gore had meant the goal was simply to steer kids away from influences that anyone would agree aren't in their best interest, fine. Many causes or beliefs would be more constructive than the influences that can capture the imagination of children if left to their own devices.But if by "impressionable" he meant, as seems to be the case, that the intent was to take advantage of that trait to steer them to a particular religion? People, understandably, feel strongly about their faith and certainly have the right to teach their children in that way. There are plenty of appropriate places to do just that. We tread on dangerous ground, however, when we cede that right to others, including well-meaning educators in public schools.It's easy to excuse...
(The Commercial Appeal)
