Bill Perkins

Dothan

Editorial Page Editor at Dothan Eagle

A guy with a pen and some parchment.

Articles

Deciphering love of grocery stores & other arcania

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

Earlier in my newspapering days I was a reporter, which was great fun because every day’s workload was a mixed bag and completely up in the air. Even when there were assignments scheduled, a phone call could upend it all and send you off on some goose chase. On one of those days, I wound up in Panama City Beach.
PERKINS: Deciphering a love of grocery stores, and other arcania

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

When you hear people talk about previous lives, they’ll usually get around to letting you know that in their past incarnation, they were someone special. A princess, or a king. Joan of Arc, maybe, or an Egyptian pharaoh. Statistically speaking, it’s more likely they were a scullery maid, an anonymous person in the 15th century rabble at Rouen who cheered as flames licked at the heretic Joan, or a serf toiling in the shadows of a European castle.
Florida woman dies after crash with police vehicle

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

An 80-year-old Jackson County woman died mid-morningTuesday after her car was struck by an unmarked Dothan Police SUV on Ross Clark Circle between Main and Choctaw streets. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts The victim was identified as Carole Hughes of Grand Ridge, Florida; the identity of driver of the police vehicle was not disclosed.
Another trip down 'le trou du lapin original'

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

A thought popped into my mind a few days ago and has held my interest, although it was more of an image than a thought. It seemed to arrive apropos to nothing, but I’d awakened that day with an earworm, and was mindlessly humming and trying to remember the words to Complainte de la Butte, a French love song written some 75 years or so ago. I don’t speak French, so the whole exercise was a waste of time.
PERKINS: Broken windows and the madness of health insurance

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

A quarter-century has passed since I read Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point,” but in the time since, I’d guess I’ve never gone more than a week or so without thinking about it one way or another. In more recent times, I’ve probably thought about it or referenced it every couple of days. I’ve even considered that I’m in the midst of a new reality, one in which the wheels are about to fall off the wagon and no one else seems concerned. If you think I’m talking about politics, think again.
Husband admits to strangling wife he reported missing

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

The disappearance of a Dothan woman reported missing on Monday was solved after her husband admitted to strangling her Saturday. Stephen Miller Sr., 64, of Dothan, reported that his wife, Gloria Miller, had disappeared from their Halls Mill Road home Saturday afternoon, and investigators soon uncovered several indicators of foul play.
New support group offers information for caregivers of those with memory loss

1 month ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

Southeast Alabama Regional Council on Aging (SARCOA) created a new Caregiver Compass support group designed for people caring for loved ones with dementia. Recognizing the challenges many caregivers face in attending daytime meetings, this group will meet in the evening from 4 to 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.
Henrietta Saliba, mother of Dothan mayor, dies at 88

2 months ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

Henrietta Carpenter Saliba, mother of Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba and widow of two-term former mayor Alfred Saliba, died Tuesday after a brief illness. She was 88. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Henrietta Carpenter, a native of New Hope, Alabama, met Alfred Saliba while attending the University of Alabama. The couple wed in 1955 and moved to Dothan, where they started a construction firm, Alfred Saliba Homes.
Big-name shows and personal comfort don’t really jibe

2 months ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

When I was in high school, listening to rock music like many of my peers, I looked for new music wherever I might find it. Late at night I would try to take advantage of atmospheric changes and tune in to a public radio station operated by Florida State University and run by people who played anything that was out of the mainstream. There was a lot of good stuff to be discovered there. And I’d pore over music magazines like Rolling Stone, Circus, Crawdaddy, and Creem.
PERKINS: Finding one's people without looking for them

2 months ago | dothaneagle.com | Bill Perkins

Several years ago, on some gifting occasion or another, I received an opportunity to send some saliva off to Ancestry. While I didn’t expect any surprises, we had a good time filling out the paperwork and laughing over trying to fill the saliva vial with elegance and grace, which is more difficult than it might seem. A few weeks later, we got our results. As expected, there were no surprises.