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Opinion

  • Despite woes, baseball is back

    I face a conundrum next week. You see I am a baseball fan and I am not sure how I should feel at this time of the year.

    The season opens up next week. It should be a time when I and other fans stop and celebrate what a great game baseball is. There is no question that the game itself is special. It is the only sport that is not timed. It is one of the few sports where the defense has possession of the ball before each play.

  • There is a price for failure

    There is a lesson to be learned in the firing of University of Kentucky Basketball Coach Billy Gillispie.

    If you don’t succeed at your job, you will be fired.

    With the failure to reach the NCAA tournament, Gillispie’s fate wasn’t hard to guess. There have been rumblings around the Big Blue faithful for weeks that Gillispie’s time should come to an end.

    Everyone has an expectation of success. Some teams would be excited to make it to the National Invitational Tournament but none of those teams are headquartered in Lexington.

  • Robert C. Haydon

    Robert C. Haydon, 83, died March 30, 2009, at Golden Living Center.

    He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Nelba Bourne Haydon.

    He was a member of Graefenburg Baptist Church since 1972. He retired with 33 years of service as an engineer with Blue Grass Energy.

    He was a World War II Army veteran, serving two tours of duty overseas, and was an avid hunter and fisherman.

    He was preceded in death by his son, Dan Haydon.

  • American Idol 101

    Although I consider myself current with pop culture, this is the first season I’ve watched “American Idol.”

    In years past, I’ve seen the last 15 minutes of some of the final shows to see who wins, but not knowing who’s who, I didn’t really care one way or another.

    This season, mostly because I hate being left out of the water-cooler conversation, I decided early on to watch every episode – from first auditions to finale – and I even hope to buy tickets to see the Top Ten Idol contestants when they go on tour this summer.

  • Putting the twit in Twitter

    Maybe I’m old or just plain grouchy, but I don’t get Twitter.

    For those of you who may have not caught up with the latest internet fad, Twitter is an Internet-based, social-networking service that allows the user to send short messages to a group of friends. Since the messages can’t be larger than 140 characters, it’s designed to give friends just a little taste of what’s going on in your life.

  • A basketball party in Lexington

    The Commonwealth of Kentucky threw its annual party last week in Lexington.

    Sixteen teams from around the state earned the right to take part in the National City/Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.

    The tournament tipped off Wednesday afternoon and concluded on Saturday night with the Holmes Bulldogs cutting down the nets after defeating Louisville Central in double overtime in the Championship Game.

  • County Clerk Corner: How to Save...

    Tough times require us to think of ways of saving and getting the most out of what we have.

    As you may know, the month of April is when the law requires the delinquent tax bills to be sold at the courthouse steps. The tax sale in Owen County will be held April 29. After the tax sale, all the delinquent tax bills are turned over to the County Clerk’s Office.

    At this time the tax payer will be faced with an increase in the amount due. However, if your tax bill is purchased from the clerk’s office by a third party, the price grows more and more.

  • Getting ready to dance

    I am sure that when most people see that I am writing a column about getting ready to dance they will assume I am referring to March Madness – otherwise known as the “Big Dance.” The tournament is one of my favorite times of the year.

    But I am not writing this about basketball. In fact, I write this column at the expense of my manhood.

    OK, who I am trying to kid? And you can stop giggling.

  • Other voices

    One of my mentors-at-a-distance was Carl Sagan. I watched his now-famous TV show, Cosmos, read some of his books and read his articles in the popular media. His words in a Sunday magazine article, though written over 20 years ago, blazed off the paper and have stuck with me through the years. Carl saw the training he received as a great gift, one that the son of an immigrant would never have received except for this wonderful confluence of time and space – here and now and in America.

  • Preserve downtown charm

    When I was younger, it was always a treat for me to get to come to Owenton.

    It may not be the biggest city, it may not have big fancy restaurants, a Wal-Mart or a plethora of clothing stores, but there was always something about Owenton that appealed to me.

    As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed something about Owenton that is drastically different from other cities I’ve visited. The courthouse sits at the center of downtown, and the downtown area thrives right around the courthouse.

  • Compliments to the kids

    In a society where so much emphasis is being placed on winning, it seems there is not enough being placed on how to act when you do. Not only can you be a poor sport when you lose, it is not uncommon for someone to be a sore winner.

    That is not the case in Owen County.

    The basketball teams made history this season when both the varsity girls and boys won a District Championship. The boys even advanced to the semifinals of the 8th Region Tournament.

  • Thanks to Katey’s Angels

    As most of you probably know, on the morning of Jan. 22 my daughter was in a horrific car accident. She had left, as she did every morning, wondering if I liked her shirt, if her hair looked OK and could I grab her a snack for breakfast. In less than five minutes after she left, a friend of hers called me and said, “Katey has been in an accident.” It took me seconds to be out the door and to her.

  • All good things ...

    For the last month I have been living two very different lives. One as a newspaper reporter and the other as a student at Lexington Theological Seminary. I have realized I cannot do both and do them both well.

    It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to leave the staff of the News-Herald. While I am looking forward to this new path in my life, it is sad to see my time as a reporter come to an end.

  • Uncle Al, Jessica and pageants

    A few thoughts ...

    When a local person is invited to participate in a beauty pageant, it’s usually pretty big news.

    If one of our local ladies was asked to strut her stuff in an important competition, the News-Herald would devote a lot of ink to it – pictures, a nice story, reaction from mom and dad – stuff like that.

    Well, one Owen County resident was recently asked to take their place among dozens of beautiful, smart, ambitious young women.

    But other than this mention, the News-Herald won’t be covering the event.

  • A friend in deed

    Can there be anything more heart-breaking than having a sick or injured child?

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had two people I know endure that special pain.

    The News-Herald Office Manager, Sherry Lyons, is dealing with her daughter’s accident. Sherry is a very strong woman and seems to be handling things as well as possible.

    Things haven’t been so good for another friend of mine.

    A tumor was recently found on the kidney of a dear friend’s 3-year-old son, Seth.

  • Dealing with a bout of level 2...

    I once took a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in early March. I was broadcasting basketball on the radio at the time for Northern Kentucky University and the team headed north to play Lake Superior State University.

    The team lost and the next morning on the bus outside the hotel I was listening to a local disc jockey who said with much enthusiasm that the current temperature was -2 degrees. He then went on to say that spring was just around the corner.

    While I appreciated his optimism, I’ve never quite understood it.

  • Adventures in an icy exile

    Boy, last week stunk.

    I’m sure it stunk for thousands of other Owen countians stuck in the dark.

    When I was a kid, I was a big fan of winter – snow storms meant no school; sleigh riding down the steep hill in front of my mom’s house in Cynthiana; snowball fights with the 14 other kids who lived in my neighborhood; or chasing my dog Radar through the snow drifts.

    For a kid, heavy snow is just another opportunity to have fun.

  • Bad weather brings out good folk

    I am independent and usually self-sufficient, but the second total hip-replacement surgery in four years and the recent snowstorm left my driveway and my porch inches deep in snow and me unable to clean it.

    First, Brett Inman who was here installing a new bathroom heater, took the time to shovel part of the drive and to clean the snow off the porch. I didn’t ask him to do it.

  • Looking back at a year of learning

    It all started on a very cold day in February at Elk Creek Lodge and ended where it began on a very warm day in October.

    A group of people ranging in age and occupation set out on a journey to learn more about education, health care, child services, government, agriculture, entrepreneurship and industry relating to our community.

    February was the kickoff to it all as we learn things about the people in the group and each other’s view and perceptions of what to expect of the leadership class.

  • Cold night, warm hearts

    Gracious people and our Gracious Lord Jesus were there when our van went over the edge of Highway 22, Dec. 23.

    It was “black ice night.” I made the mistake of tapping my brake, preparing for a curve, past the high school. Sapling trees prevented me from rolling. The seat belt held. The air bag did not even open.

    Mike W. was at my window in less than one minute. “I’ll call 911,” he encouraged after he found I was unharmed.