It could be anyone.&uot; Those words from Sue Ann Brown, director of the Guardian Shelter for Abused Women and Children, say so much about the problem of domestic violence in our community.

Domestic violence affects all of us &045;&045; it is more than just the reports and arrests listed in the crime roundup, more than the headlines about aggravated assaults or even murder.

In the past few months in Adams County, two murders were allegedly the result of domestic violence situations, and in the past three years alone, there have been 850 arrests for domestic violence cases.

For the next several days, we will examine the problem &045;&045; how it affects our entire community, how women can get help, how neighbors or friends can recognize a problem, and how law enforcement and courts are coping with the situation.

We hope this series will show our community how important &045;&045; and how tragic &045;&045; the issue has become.

But we also hope it sheds some light on how all of us can help curb the problem.

Mississippi should open Appropriations committees

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and House speaker Billy McCoy said last week they support opening Appropriations conference committee meetings.

We applaud these two top officials for standing up for something which should have been done in the first place. Open government is a hallmark of our democracy, and these meetings are key to the workings of state government. All other conference committee meetings are open. The House and Senate should pass the joint resolution to open Appropriations conference committees.