TRIBUNE COLUMN
Parents prepare for sex offender’s premature return to neighborhood
By TONY MESSENGER
Jeff Vernace should expect quite the homecoming when he returns to his home in Jackson, Miss.

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL HISTORY
Tribune honored famous blacks from Missouri
By BILL CLARK
The Tribune honored a dozen black Missourians, including two Columbians, for their contributions to our state.

HAPPY TAILS TIPS
Be sure your unwanted animals receive care
By JIM JOHNSON
In last week’s column, Susan wrote about unavoidable life changes that require pet relinquishments. This week’s tip deals with the other animals we receive into our program and the way most animals end up at shelters and rescues.

Natural balance
By KEN LEISER of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch 
ST. LOUIS - By the time LaBarque Creek Conservation Area opens to the public sometime this year, the state will confront a challenge every bit as thorny as the prickly pear cactuses that dot the steep terrain. 

Importing politics
By JAMES ROSEN of McClatchy Newspapers 
WASHINGTON - Five years ago - or even five days ago - it was just another obscure federal agency, one of thousands with alphabet-soup acronyms and quiet missions performed beyond the glare of public scrutiny. 

TRAVEL

VENTURE BOUND
‘Greatest Show on Earth’ a thrill years after its final performance
By WAYNE ANDERSON
In the days before radio, TV and movies, the most exciting event of the year in many American towns was the arrival of the circus. One could buy a ticket and marvel at strange animals by the dozens, performers doing impossible feats and, in the sideshows, the most unusual humans to be found anywhere on Earth.

DAY TRIPS
Old-time Ozarks still enchanting
By RAY SPECKMAN
Even with our recent frigid weather, a look at the calendar makes us realize that more than 3 million people will again flock to the venerable Lake of the Ozarks - a playground to families, nouveau-riche and wannabes, and the seemingly unending legions of "dreamers" and $50-leveraged millionaires.

South Carolina woos international audience
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Vicki and James Smith are the kind of new visitors South Carolina is working hard to attract. They have never been to the state before, they are affluent and they have soft British accents.

Amberley Castle makes for a regal holiday stop
By GARY WARNER of The Orange County Register
You be the queen. I’ll be the king. Or shall we be prince and princess? Knight and lady?