Military service is a family affair. There is a lot asked of loved ones of who serve alongside the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform. They move away from family and friends to support our country’s readiness at home, during deployments and amid mission transitions. These families need to know we’re doing our very best to make sure they have a good quality of life. That’s why I’m helping lead a push to modernize and expand means to better support their evolving needs.

Denton Grubb received a well-earned birthday party and recognition event for his 100th birthday last week. The Alabam native turned 100 last Wednesday. The day before, the Madison County Veteran Services Office and Madison County American Legion put on a wonderful program for Grubb at the Madison County Senior Health and Wellness Center. The dining hall was packed.

The City, County, Local Committee of Arkansas House of Representatives started late last week due to a technical glitch. Sometimes, technology can fail. 

When I lived in El Dorado, I helped the Habitat for Humanity chapter there build more than 30 houses for deserving working families. I showed up my first Saturday with a hammer, very little construction experience, but a wealth of desire to help others.

The federal government can be difficult to maneuver, and it can be especially frustrating when trying to get help in a hurry. The good news is my staff and I here to help. We have been recognized for outstanding constituent service and routinely help thousands of Arkansans navigate federal agencies to get answers, navigate the bureaucracy and secure needed paperwork.

It was truly a pleasure to recently sit down for a chat with Denton Grubb, who will turn 100 years old on March 1. You can see a profile on Grubb in this week’s Lifestyles on Page 6A.

We love the state of Arkansas. It’s full of dichotomous beauty. Like the Ozark Mountains and the Mississippi Delta, both are beautiful for different reasons. With talent ranging from Al Green to Johnny Cash to Justin Moore, Arkansas’s musicality is as wide ranging and diverse as its people.

Arkansans across the state are working toward a common goal of preserving our unique history. Communities are embracing the past to build a bright future and we’re pleased to advocate on behalf of these efforts.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week revealed some details of her education overhaul plan. Reaction, as expected, pretty much fell along party lines. Sanders supporters praised the package, while others cautioned that it could harm public education, especially in the more rural areas of the state.

I’ve been honored to serve on the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees to help craft policies designed to fulfill the promise we made to the men and women who served in our nation’s uniform by expanding access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, benefits and services. This responsibility also means ensuring we have qualified personnel across VA clinics to carry out this sacred task. 

Round two of inclement wintery weather hit Madison County last week. Your small, dedicated staff at The Record proved it could do whatever is needed to get the job done.

You know what one says about “the best laid plans. ...”

Protecting the United States and our interests is a fundamental responsibility for the federal government. Our founders made this role clear when they wrote the Constitution with the intent to, in part, “provide for the common defense.”

Americans have long called on Washington to cut inefficiencies in federal programs and modernize them for the 21st century. Yet rarely, are those calls heard on Capitol Hill.

An investigation by the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to identify who leaked a draft court decision that signaled the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling the legalized abortion at the federal level. 

More than four years ago I used this space to share the ongoing efforts to preserve the Butterfield Overland Trail, a piece of Arkansas’s history that helped shape westward expansion. Now there is more to celebrate as legislation I championed to designate this landmark pathway as a national historic trail has been signed into law.

Well, well, well, President Joe Biden finds himself in quite the political mess.

A new year gives us an opportunity for a fresh start and to make positive changes to the way we live. No matter what our resolutions are, we can agree on hoping 2023 will be better than the past. It’s also the beginning of a new Congress which is another reason to be optimistic because we will have expanded options to hold the Biden administration accountable and advance policies important to Arkansas.

So is the past week a glimpse into what the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives will be like for the next two years? If so, I’m not sure anyone comes out as a winner.

Having seen the effects of the disease up close, I can clearly report that dementia sucks, in a big way.