Opinion

My name is Patty Barnes and I have been on dialysis for almost a year.

Three times a week I travel to northern Kentucky to receive dialysis treatment. I also see Dr. Mital, a kidney specialist in northern Kentucky.

If the dialysis clinic had opened here in Owenton, I could see him more, instead of traveling.

For 37 years, I have made Owen County my home. It is a home by choice, having decided all those years ago to leave the home of my childhood and the home of my young adult life. From New York to Owen County – followed by many instances of having to address the question posed by all of my family and each of my friends in the North, “Why Kentucky?” And from my new-found friends and neighbors in Kentucky the question, “Why here, why Owen County?”

A wise man once uttered four words that have changed my life. While talking to him about his life and the successes he had enjoyed, he offered me some marital advice that I try and live by. Notice I said “try.” He said, Brian, if you want to find happiness then you need to remember this phrase: “Happy wife, happy life.”eeBefore I go any further let me just say, I love you, honey. eeSaturday night was my 20-year class reunion from Campbell County High School.

I would like to commend the Owen County Board of Education in its choice for interim superintendent for Owen County Schools.

In the course of my tenure at Grant County Schools, Mr. Don Martin was an exceptional superintendent for that school district.

I’ve always had a bit of a jaded attitude toward the world we live in.

My parents, both part of the baby boom era, were older than the parents of the other kids in school. Both grew up on farms where work was something you did if you wanted to keep food on the table and clothes on your back.

From the stories they’ve told all my life, neighbors were an integral part of day-to-day life. You shared what you had with your neighbor, though it may not be much, and you helped each other in whatever way you could.

Today we no longer express our feelings, thoughts, or do daily work at our place of employment on the written page.

We now tend to communicate in new ways. We have been swallowed up by technology. We e-mail, copy on disc, text abbreviated messages, or talk on the cell phones. In these paperless times, writing letters, lists, or paper work is nearly a lost art.

In some circumstances, however, things written down can be more effectively used. I found this to be especially true involving the delinquent tax list for 2009.

You may have heard of Tona Barkley because she and her husband, John Harrod, are local musicians who perform throughout the region. Another reason you may know her is because she is on the ballot to serve as a director of Owen Electric Cooperative.

We have known Tona for over 30 years. She is an intelligent, hardworking and honest person. She retired from KET in Lexington and has the time, energy and interest to serve the members of our electric co-op and help Owen Electric as it moves into the future.

One of the lessons we all should have been learning through the last couple years is that large corporate enterprises can run extremely askew from the public interest. We have even seen them operate against their own best interests as their executives helped themselves to personal financial rewards while steering their companies into devastating circumstances.

My name is Ann Bond and I have served on the Owen Electric Cooperative Board of Directors for eight years. In that time, our cooperative has increased our renewable energy to 8 percent, more than any other utility in Kentucky. I have always been available for questions and concerns from our members. During my service, I have worked hard to keep the price of electricity to a minimum for you, our members, and I would like the opportunity to continue serving you.