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Columns

  • No government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’ when it comes to expansion of gambling

    On Lincoln’s birthday, when we remember his heroic words at the Gettysburg battlefield, that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth, the members of the Kentucky House of Representatives serving on the House Licensing and Occupations Committee are acting in direct contradiction to those great words.

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  • Mother Nature tests our resolve

    For the second time in just six months, Mother Nature has again tested our resolve. The destructive winds that swept across Kentucky in September have been replaced by snow, ice and bitter cold. Although very different storms; the end result is much the same.

    A record number of Kentucky families are again without power, homes are damaged, lives have been lost and Kentucky is in a state of emergency. My thoughts and prayers are with the more than 600,000 families who lost power in the wake of this devastating winter storm.

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  • It's hitting us where it hurts

    I'm not sure where it started, but I'll be glad to see it end.

    The downturn of the economy has everyone tightening their pocketbooks and pausing before we spend our hard-earned paychecks.

    I have discussed this very issue with several people, who all, like me, seem to have no idea just where the economy went sour. What exactly happened that has trickled down to making people fear they won't have a job much longer?

    Why have property sales slowed? What caused the stock market to plummet?

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  • Raising the minimum wage in hard times

    The federal minimum wage was not enacted during good times, but during the extraordinarily hard times of the Great Depression. When it was established in 1938, the unemployment rate was still 19 percent.

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  • Let's not go there ... on Sundays

    I voted "no" last year to alcohol sales in Campbellsville. I was, and will likely always be, against the sale of alcohol in our town.

    I understand the reasons people have given to approve the sale of alcohol in our town, but I honestly think the reasons against it are more convincing and protect the sanctity and peace of our community.

    But that's not really what this column is about.

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  • Reading group chooses next book

    It's been almost a year in the works. And the CKNJ Bookmarks are well on their way.

    The Bookmarks are a group of community residents who like to read. And to discuss the books they've read.

    Our first book selection was "Marley and Me" by John Grogran. The story of a family and its neurotic dog, the book was a great read and many of us also enjoyed the movie, which was released in December.

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  • Not a good week to be a Roberts

    I wasn't too proud of my last name this past week. Perhaps for the first time in history, an incoming president had to be sworn in twice. The reason? A guy named Roberts.

    Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the oath of office when swearing in Barack Obama on Tuesday. He tried to correct himself but never recovered.

    It was a minor goof, but it was enough to prompt the New York Times to refer to Roberts as the "Oaf of Office" and necessitate a second swearing in.

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  • Friday is deadline for sweethearts

    "But now remains faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

    -I Corinthians 13:13

    We all have someone special in our lives that we think about when we hear the word "love." Perhaps it's our husband or wife, a child, a parent, a boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe it's a best friend from our kindergarten days or that one person who's been there for us in good times and in bad times.

    But have you ever taken the time to tell that person exactly why you love them so much?

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  • One in six children lives in poverty

    On the day he died, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called his mother to give her his next Sunday's sermon title: "Why America May Go to Hell." In his 1968 call for a Poor People's Campaign, he warned, "America is going to hell if we don't use her vast resources to end poverty and make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life."

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  • Diversified economy has sheltered us

    The troubled global economic climate continues to have an affect on our local economy.

    While we are very concerned and must not forget about those who have lost their jobs, Taylor County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in our labor market area.

    Our November 2008 rate was at 5.9 percent. One nearby community is at 9.6 percent. The December 2008 rates will not be released for several more weeks.

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