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Opinion

  • Here's to a newsworthy 2013

    CKNJ Editorial Board

    From triumphs to deaths, Taylor Countians made headlines in 2012.

    While compiling our annual Year In Review stories, the CKNJ staff has spent time reliving the past year.

    We read about city and county business, business closings and expansions, retirements and hires, crime and much more.

    Read about the Top 10 stories of 2012 on today's front page. The year in sports was featured in the Monday, Dec. 31, issue.

  • Holiday Helpline makes Christmas a...

    CKNJ Editorial Board

    They were piled high and deep, from tabletops to ceilings. Toys were everywhere.

    From baby clothes to toy cars to makeup sets to brand new bicycles and movie tickets, many children in Taylor County have Christmas gifts today thanks to generous donations.

    Toys for Kids and Toys for Tots officials said this year's effort to raise money to buy toys for children who might otherwise not have Christmas gifts generated about $35,000. With that money, toys were bought for about 500 children.

  •
    The true story of Christmas

     

    And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

    And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

    And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

    And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David,) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

  • Tax reform needed now in Kentucky

    If there is a single issue on which lawmakers, business leaders and Kentucky taxpayers can agree, it’s the need for overhaul of the state’s tax code.

  • Solving the special taxing district...

    It’s important to understand a question before formulating an answer.

    State Auditor Adam Edelen made several questions very clear last week about Kentucky’s special taxing districts after his office spent six months developing a report on what it calls ghost governments.

    Among them: What is a special taxing district? How many exist in Kentucky? Who oversees them?

    How does the public get information about how they spend public money?

    What’s the process for dissolving a district?

  • Thanksgiving a time to help those...

    As we celebrate a season of thankfulness this week, many will gather around a table with family and friends to enjoy a meal. As we do this, we should remember that there are others who are not as fortunate.

    Thanksgiving is a time to offer special thanks for all we are blessed with throughout the year, but it should also be a time when we think of those who are not blessed with a hot meal or may not have a roof over their heads.

  • A better way to appoint judges

    For the sake of the people of Clinton, Cumberland and Monroe counties, here’s hoping the good David Williams shows up as circuit judge — and not the petty partisan bully whose ego frequently got the best of him as president of the state Senate.

    Gov. Steve Beshear, who thrashed Williams in the race for governor last year, used his appointment powers to rid the legislature of his Republican nemesis.

  • If you don't vote, you can...

    Do you like to complain? A lot of people do and they will especially do it when it comes to politics.

    There’s an old saying that goes, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”

    That saying is very true and if you don’t care enough to get out and cast your vote on Election Day, why should anyone care to hear what you have to say about the state of politics, whether it be on a local or national level?

  • Be aware of signs of child abuse

    Child abuse is an unspeakable injustice that doesn’t discriminate against race, religion or socioeconomic status.

    In recent years, Kentucky and Indiana have ranked among the worst states in the nation for deaths and near-deaths resulting from child physical abuse.

  • Good Samaritan teaches a lesson we...

    It only takes a moment to do some good for someone else. Often we might find ourselves too busy to stop and think about the well being of others, but one person in Taylor County recently did just that, and we should all stop and take notice of his heroic actions.

  • Celebrate Homecoming at...

    On Saturday afternoon, there will be excitement in the air as friends, visitors and alumni of Campbellsville University arrive on campus. Some will be there for the first time, while others will return after years away from a place that has always had a special spot in their hearts.

    Homecoming is about celebrating and Campbellsville University deserves to be celebrated. Not only does the university educate students from Taylor and other counties, it also has a massive economic impact on the community, which totals more than $93 million.

  •
    New reporter joins CKNJ staff

     

    There is a new face in the Central Kentucky News-Journal office.

    Leslie Moore, a Taylor County native and recent graduate of Lindsey Wilson College, joined the staff last week as our newest staff writer.

    As part of her duties, Moore will be covering activities in some of our local schools, as well as city government and other beats. She will also be working on feature stories about you, the people of Taylor County.

  • Caring for veterans should be our...

    There is a lot of talk out there about percentages. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, the percentage of Americans who pay no federal income tax, the percentage of voters veering left or right on any given day.

    Here’s another one. One-half of 1 percent. That’s roughly how much of the U.S. population has been active duty at any time during the past decade, many now included in the overall veteran population, about 13 percent.

  • Kentucky's cigarette tax needs...

    Here’s hoping Kentucky shared in the national decline in teen smoking reported recently by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    USA Today attributes an “historic drop in smoking,” not just among teens but across all age groups, to a 62-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax in 2009.

    Raising the federal tax to $1.01 a pack has brought in about $30 billion in new revenue to the U.S. treasury.

    Meanwhile, some 3 million fewer Americans smoked in 2011 than in 2009, even though the population has increased.

  • Stop texting and save lives

    Some Kentucky high school students recently got a better idea of how dangerous it is to text while driving when AT&T brought a simulator to their schools. Students got into a car, put on simulation goggles and attempted to text. Wearing the goggles, the teens saw a virtual road with other drivers and pedestrians.

    While texting, the young drivers ran off the road, hit other cars and even killed pedestrians, all in a virtual situation. But the scary truth is the virtual damage and loss of life mirrors reality.

  • Arresting children not the answer...

    Last year in Kentucky, youth status offenders were booked 1,335 times into a juvenile detention center. It cost about $1.48 million to keep them locked up for a total of 7,191 days and their home counties paid $663,640 of that expense, according to report from Kentucky Youth Advocates.

    Was it money well spent? Many juvenile court authorities and groups that promote child welfare say no.

  • School supply lists asking too much...

    Roger Cook has hit the nail on the head.

    Cook, superintendent of Taylor County Schools, sent out an email earlier this week to teachers, board members and others in the school district, and we here at the CKNJ are also on that mailing list. The message addresses what is a growing problem with school supplies in our public schools.

  • State needs to give shoppers a...

    When it comes to taxes, almost everyone would say they pay plenty on everything these days.

    And when it comes to sending a child to school, there’s no doubt it can be an expensive process with all of the necessities on that back-to-school list.

    To help ease the pain of parents as they send children back to school, Kentucky needs to join a growing list of states that offer a tax-free shopping week or weekend in preparation for the start of a new school year.

  • Use caution with fireworks during...

    Weeks without a good rain and days of 100-plus degree temperatures have left Taylor County and many others in Kentucky parched.

    Still, as of the writing of this editorial on Monday, Taylor County is not under a burn ban and the county’s annual fireworks display is still scheduled to go on as usual. Many residents will also take the opportunity to enjoy their own fireworks displays at home.
    While it’s legal to use a wide array of fireworks, even in these dry conditions, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

  • City should rethink its new social...

    The way social media has taken over society today, it’s understandable that an organization like the city of Campbellsville would feel the need to have a policy related to its use by employees. However, we believe the policy could have been handled much differently.