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Columns

  • Something to sink your teeth into

    Getting a child to read is sometimes difficult, I've been told. Teenagers might rather play video games, go to the movies or spend time with their friends. But a surprising phenomenon has taken over recently ... one that's drawing today's teenagers in droves to book stores. And I have to admit, without any embarrassment at all, that I've been bitten by the phenomenon, too.

    It seems today that if you want to make it big, you need only to write a book or screenplay about vampires, and you're set.

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  • Will you help me cheat?

    Shhh ... I'm cheating, but you can't tell anyone.

    The New-Journal sponsors several contests throughout the year that readers can participate in - but those of us who work here, and our families, are not eligible.

    And that's only fair.

    So, you'll see in the coming weeks an advertisement in the News-Journal about a pet photo contest that is raising money for the News-Journal's Newspapers in Education program.

    It's a contest just for CKNJ employees' pets, since we didn't get to participate in the recent contest that was open to the community.

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  • Teens, get ready to have your say

    In just a few weeks, a group of energetic Campbellsville and Taylor County high school students will give Central Kentucky News-Journal readers a peek into the world of today's teenagers.

    The News-Journal's Teen Editorial Board will soon begin work on its sixth consecutive year of "Insight," our monthly teen page.

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  • Weighing in on minimum wage

    You may have noticed something missing from our recent round of economy stories - the minimum wage raise.

    Minimum wage recently increased 70 cents to $7.25 per hour, a well-deserved raise I'd say. However, in attempting to include local information about the increase, I ran into brick wall after brick wall.

    Unless they are making lots of it, money is one thing few in this town want to talk about. I'm sure it's the same everywhere. Because I work on more than one story at a time, I had to give up pursuing the story and move on.

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  • Why advertise in a newspaper?

    Some people say newspapers are going the way of the dinosaurs. They're outdated, old and not the way most people get their news these days.

    Of course, I'm a little biased on this subject, but I have to argue that these people are woefully misinformed.

    Yes, we do hear about the "big" news on television, radio and the internet before we read it in the paper. However, TV and radio tidbits - or even the internet - can't match the in-depth coverage with a different twist that you'll get from a hometown newspaper.

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  • The time has come for health care payment reform

    For the last six years I have worked with a non-profit organization providing the patient's voice in improving access to, and reimbursement for, high-quality health care through regulatory and legislative reform at the state and federal levels.

    Currently, I am the Kentucky policy liaison for the National Patient Advocate Foundation.

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  • High school coverage stirs memories

    I went back to high school a few weeks ago.

    Well, technically, I went to Campbellsville and Taylor County high schools to get some information and photos for stories I was writing.

    But while I was there, I couldn't help but think back to my high school days, which were now eight years ago.

    First, I went to CHS to see the new marching band. I was excited to hear that the band would be back this year. If you have read my previous columns, you may know that I was a member of the CHS Marching Band for five years.

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  • A parental responsibility to raise kids

    It's another school year and teachers, after a short summer, are already reporting for duty, preparing classrooms and materials for the influx of children.

    In addition to teaching the three "Rs" of reading, writing and arithmetic, teachers are now, more than ever, finding themselves trying to build character into students' lives.

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  • Guide will help you "discover" community

    It's time to "discover" our community.

    This Is Taylor County is the free community guide we have published each year in cooperation with the Campbellsville/Taylor County Chamber of Commerce.

    And this year, the guide is getting a facelift and a new name ... "Discover Taylor County."

    The community guide is for those of us who live here - as well as those who don't. That's why we're changing the name.

    Click here to read more...
  • The private lives of public officials

    As happens every so often, we have recently been through a spate of embarrassing reports about the lives of prominent public officials. Adulterous affairs by Nevada Senator John Ensign, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, and former presidential candidate John Edwards, entanglements in prostitution by Louisiana Senator David Vitter and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer - these are just the latest in a long line of dismaying revelations about people in whom the American voters once put their trust.

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