Opinion

The General Assembly reconvened on Feb. 5, to a full agenda of committee meetings, the Governor’s State of the Commonwealth Address and the passage of several important pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 2, the public employee pension reform bill.

Americans are good at a lot of things but one trait that seems to run through most of our history is the ability to turn a bad situation to our advantage through innovation and a willingness to look outside the box.
The weak economy and the deterioration of the tobacco market has opened the door for Kentucky farmers to once again start raising hemp as a lucrative cash crop.

I’m great at making New Year’s resolutions.
I stink at keeping New Year’s resolutions.
Almost every year, I publicly proclaim that I will do this or that or stop doing that thing I shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
And each year, it seems like I make a long list of resolutions just to watch them fall by the wayside either by apathy, personal weakness or my unyielding opposition to change.
Of the six resolutions I made last year, I managed to keep three of them.

This was supposed to be the Thanksgiving I got a break.
This was supposed to be the first time in decades that I sat back and let Thanksgiving come to me instead of me packing up and hitting the highway for dinner with my family.
My oldest nephew, who is stationed in Afghanistan, is home on leave and requested that Thanksgiving be held at our house instead of Corbin or London where most of my wife’s family is from.

Editor’s Note: Veterans Day is an appropriate time for us to recall the sacrifices made by those serving and who had served in our armed forces. To mark this occasion, the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in Dana, Indiana, and Scripps Howard Foundation have allowed us to reprint of Pyle’s most famous column “The Death of Capt. Waskow.” It’s a reminder to all of the ultimate sacrifice made by so many Americans to maintain the freedoms we enjoy.

By Ernie Pyle

Throughout these difficult economic times, school boards are forced to take drastic measures to reduce deficits caused by a lack of federal and state funding. When trying to balance the budget, a school system really only has two options, either reduce the amount of expenditures or produce additional revenue.
Across the commonwealth, many school boards are considering the possibility of a property-tax increase as a way to provide additional revenue to meet the educational needs of its students. For districts like Owen County without much industry, this is the only recourse.

June and July are National Fireworks Safety Month.  
Rick Morgan, Owen County EM Director, would like to advise the public on the safe and responsible use of consumer fireworks so as to eliminate injuries.  
Review these safety tips:
• Use fireworks outdoors only.  
• Obey local laws.  
• If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
• Always have water handy (a hose or buckets of water).  

Recently, on a rainy, dismal day during my latest trip to Owen County, I stopped at the badly overgrown and neglected cemetery on route 127 at the Owen/Franklin County line. 

No Cat convert this year

We tried, Coach Cal.
Thanks for the effort, Michael.
I appreciate it, Anthony.
You guys kept up your end of the deal.
But unfortunately, it didn’t take.

Last week, I shared my secret shame - my daughter is a Louisville Cardinal fan.
Like a parent ushering their kid to rehab, I hoped that she would see the error of her ways by exposing her to a better way - The Way of The Wildcat.
I had hoped that Saturday night’s Final Four showdown between Kentucky and Louisville would snap her back to her senses.