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Opinion

  • Remembering Sept. 11, 2001

    In the moments before the first plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, officials from 18 states had gathered for the annual Southern Governors’ Association conference in Lexington. As Governor of Kentucky and chairman of the association, I was hosting the event.

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    The healing power of sports

    It was a dark day, maybe the darkest.
    Ten years have passed since Sept. 11, 2001. Ten years have come and gone since planes flew into three buildings and one crashed in an open field. People have lived now for a decade without a loved one who was either on a plane or in a building just minding their own business. They did not choose their fate and neither did the country. It happened anyway.   

  •
    Tough times for a tomato bum

    I have a confession to make.
    My name is John and I am a tomato bum.
    For most of my adult life, I have been able to slip through the summer rarely spending money on the most wonderful of summer fruit — the vine-ripened, but still carrying flecks of dirt, homegrown Kentucky tomato.
    For me, homegrown tomatoes are the crystal meth of agriculture. Usually, the first taste is free but after that, they start charging. And as soon as you’re are done with the first one, you crave more.

  • Pro-Israel voters support Johnson

    Secretary of State candidate Bill Johnson was in Owen County Thursday. After a hard day’s work from the time he unhooked his pickup from his travel trailer at Kentucky Horse Park, to loading up the yard signs, to asking for votes and endorsements from the home of Paul Smith in south Owen County to the enterprises along Owenton’s Seminary Street, Johnson spoke that evening at the very first event sponsored by Pro-Israel Voters for Bill Johnson.

  • Trust hopes to preserve watershed

    All of us remember places from our childhood that don’t exist anymore. Whether it’s the old home place that has been bulldozed or a family farm that has been divided into lots, the landscape of the past has changed.
    This change is often called “progress.” While progress can improve lives of families and communities, not all change is progress. Many people are realizing that their quality of life and the character of their communities are being diminished by continued conversion of farms and forest to other uses.

  • What’s in a number?

    I love Chinese food. It’s one of my favorite types of food to eat and I especially like the fortune cookie you get when they give you the bill. I’ve traveled to Asia and they really don’t give you fortune cookies at most restaurants there.
    The fortune cookie is an American thing, but it’s fun anyway.
    While I don’t follow the signs or stars or don’t let astrology rule my thought process — except for belief in that whole full moon thing — I do save the fortunes from my cookies.

  •
    Saveway’s survival shouldn’t shock...

    One of the things that has impressed me most about Owen countiains since I came here nearly three years ago is the strong sense of independence people around here constantly display and their commitment to preserving the past.
    When word started circulating around town last week that Saveway would be closing its doors, people took it personally.
    “There has never been a time during my life when there wasn’t a Saveway,”

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    It’s like putting down a favorite...

    I faced an ugly truth this week.
    It’s about time to say goodbye to an old friend - my 1999 Toyota Sienna van.
    When I bought the van from the Kentucky Press Association, it already had about 130,000 miles on it. Most of those were highway miles. It had been used my staff members who had to attend meetings and workshops around the state and nation.
    David Thompson, president of KPA, is meticulous about making sure the oil was changed well before the 3,000 mile mark.

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    Now that it’s over ... Respect the...

    As I write this, it’s Election Day. According to Owen County Clerk Joan Kincaid, it looks like a lot of people are coming out to vote on this topic.
    The fight over the wet/dry issue wasn’t particularly bloody thank goodness.
    When I was the editor of the Times-Tribune in Corbin, the local-option issue came to a vote and it made for some strange bedfellows.

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    Time to thank your friends,...

    There are dozens of volunteers working in the hot sun to put Owen County in the best light possible.
    These aren’t paid employees. Most of them are small business owners or just concerned private citizens who want to see Owen County grow and prosper.
    The first-ever Owen County Fan Fair opens today and will continue through Sunday.
    The event is designed to give Owen County a moment in the spotlight as people travel to the big Sprint Cup race in Sparta this weekend.

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    Time for another piece of paradise

    It’s almost fair time again in Owen County, which likely means the coming week will bring back many fond memories for me.
    Throughout my entire life, my dad has owned and operated his own business. While most people are beginning to wind down from a day of work at 5 p.m., sometimes it seemed like dad would just be gearing up for work. During the summer months it was come home, gobble down supper and head straight to the tobacco field or garden.

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    Company’s coming ... hide the deer

    A few weeks ago, I had a conservation with David Morgan and Holly Bowling about the upcoming Fan Fair and some other projects they are undertaking to promote Owen County.
    The Visioneers group, to which they belong, has worked tirelessly to organize this event and it should be pretty amazing.
    One issue that we discussed is the need to clean up some parts of the county that visitors will see on their way to the Sprint Cup race in Sparta or to our own Fan Fair.

  • Registration deadline for wet/dry...

    Don’t miss the “must-attend” event of the year July 26, 2011, at your voting poll.
    Last month on May 17, Primary Election Day, only 14 percent of the registered voters in Owen County went to the polls and voted. How to get citizens to vote is a question for people more knowledgeable about this than I.
    As your county clerk it is my responsibility to make sure that on election day the machines are ready and supplies available for the precinct workers.
    My staff and I have been busy getting ready for the special July 26 election.

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    Strawberry Fields Forever and ever

    It’s hard to imagine that a group popular a couple dozen years before I was born — and disbanded long before I was thought of — could make such an impact on the person I’ve become.
    I was about 10 years old the first time I heard a Beatles song. From the opening harmonica in “Love Me Do,” I set out on a never-ending quest of Beatles knowledge.
    In a short time I collected all of their albums, even some on long-playing records — a format not too many kids my age even recognized at the time.

  • Letter to the Editor: Arts in the...

    Yet again, the people of Owen County have shown their true colors.

  • One giant step ...

    The economy has caused hardship for many people this year. Lots of people are feeling the crunch in the gas tank, the grocery store, and practically everywhere else. But right now the state of Kentucky is working with Adult Education Centers to help those who need the GED to take the test free.
    Director of Owen County Adult Learning Center Veronica Gayle said education will be even more important in the future.

  • One giant step ...

    The economy has caused hardship for many people this year. Lots of people are feeling the crunch in the gas tank, the grocery store, and practically everywhere else. But right now the state of Kentucky is working with Adult Education Centers to help those who need the GED to take the test free.
    Director of Owen County Adult Learning Center Veronica Gayle said education will be even more important in the future.

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    County Clerk's Corner: Tax and...

    It’s no surprise to anyone who has spent time in and around the county clerk’s office that the clerk and staff have been busy. We are preparing for both the Primary Election May 17, 2011, and for the Delinquent Real Estate Tax Bill Sale.
    On May 17, voters will go to the polls to vote on candidates for the state offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, Commissioner of Agriculture, and State Treasurer.

  • Letter to the editor: Is there no...

    If some were disappointed in my less than patriotic reaction to the death of bin Laden, I ask you to remember that I am 80 years old. I had just turned 11 when the Japanese had the effrontery to attack the sleeping giant and forced Roosevelt to declare war on the Axis.
    I lived with our news media — at the time, the movies — vilify the Japanese race, put Japanese Americans in internment camps and confiscate their property. Now the Japanese are our best buddies and own most of America.

  •
    Justice finds bin Laden

    Like most Americans, I hadn’t really given Osama bin Laden much thought in recent years.
    He had become the bogeyman that still lingered in the shadows from years ago.
    He had become an embarrassment that frustrated Americans who wanted to see justice.
    He had became a punch line in the movie “The Hangover.”
    “Thanks a lot, Osama.”
    That sentiment barely changed for me Saturday afternoon when bin Laden popped back up when I was looking through a stack of old newspapers stored in my garage.