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The Snoop 5.5.2016

I don’t know if the fish are getting dumber or the fishermen are getting smarter, but this spring has seen an unusually high number of state records set by anglers. The Missouri Department of Conservation confirms that nine state records have already been set in 2016 – more than would normally be seen in an entire year.

One record that has stood for 55 years is rooted in the Ozarks. Marvin Bushong, of Gainesville, caught the Missouri record largemouth bass in 1961 on Bull Shoals Lake. The lunker was officially weighed at 13 pounds, 14 ounces. Marvin’s son, Mike, said the fish weighed 14 pounds when it was caught – and weighed on meat market scales in Gainesville. Conservation officials didn’t come from Jefferson City until three days later and although the fish had been kept in a bucket of ice, there’s no doubt it lost some of its weight.

The bigmouth, caught near Pontiac, remains the biggest bass ever taken from the Missouri or Arkansas waters of Bull Shoals Lake.

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Josh Hawley, Republican candidate for Missouri Attorney General, stopped by the Herald Office last Thursday afternoon. It was my first visit with the young man and I must say I was impressed. He is a Constitution lawyer and is not a career politician. As we visited, I realized we think alike on many of the issues.

Josh and his wife, Erin, also an attorney (they met in law school) live south of Columbia. They have been married six years and have two boys, ages 3 and 1.

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And now, a tribute to all our mothers…

The following is an excerpt from Don Kuehle’s “Good Thinking” column.

THE  BEST  MOTHER  EVER

Anna M. Jarvis was born in 1864 in Grafton, West Virginia. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1904. The following year, on May 9, 1905, Anna’s mother died. Anna loved her mother dearly. That’s why, on May 9, 1906, Anna invited her family and close friends to a  service in remembrance of her mother. Again the next year, on May 9, 1907, Anna held a memorial service for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Jarvis had a dream that it would be wonderful if everybody remembered their mother on a special day.

The city of Philadelphia was the first city to observe Mother’s Day, on May 10, 1909.  In 1913, Pennsylvania decreed that Mother’s Day be a state holiday. In that same year, the United States Congress passed a resolution making the second Sunday in May a national holiday, “dedicated to the memory of the best mother in the world, your mother.” President Woodrow Wilson signed the resolution into law in 1914; people were encouraged to display the American flag as a public expression of love and appreciation for all mothers. Anna’s dream had become reality!

Mother’s Day continues to be a special time when we remember the best mother in the world, our mother!

(Don Kuehle is a retired Methodist minister living in Jackson, Mo. He submits his “Good Thinking” column regularly, and we often publish it, either as a stand-alone column or as part of The Snoop.)

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(From The Gospel Greats newsletter…)

You’re Not a Kid Anymore When… (according to Jeff Foxworthy)

You consider coffee one of the more important things in life.

You actually enjoy watching the news.

The phone rings and you hope it’s not for you.

The only reason you’re still awake at 4 a.m. is indigestion.

People ask what color your hair USED to be.

You start singing along with the elevator music.

You really do want a new washing machine for your birthday.

Your car has four doors.

You routinely check the oil in your car.

You’ve owned clothes so long that they’ve come back into style…twice

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

7 a.m. is your idea of “sleeping in.”

You write “thank you” notes without being told.