While driving down an East Texas country road I spotted this scene. The autumn trees and the late afternoon sun made these golden bales of hay shine just a little bit more. Fortunately I had my camera with me. (c) James Q. Eddy Jr.
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OPTV's Thomas Carter speaks about O'Reilly General Hospital: The Hospital With A Soul

As the United States was preparing to enter World War II, the military was constructing hospitals throughout the country for the onslaught of wounded service members. About 40 hospitals were built throughout the country, including O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. In honor of Veterans Day Ozark Public Broadcasting will rebroadcast O'Reilly General Hospital: The Hospital with a Soul on Thursday, November 11, at 8 pm.
Director of Programming and Production at OPTV Thomas Carter wrote and produced the documentary. He spoke with KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro about how the construction of O'Reilly helped shape Springfield and greater southwest Missouri today.

You can stream the documentary on OPTV's website or thru the PBS app.

Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.

In the fall of 2023 Fred was promoted to Interim General Manager and was appointed GM in Feburary of 2024.