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Opinion

  • Loretto is a place to reconnect

    The Loretto Motherhouse will be featured on Kentucky Life on KET1 May 16 at 8 p.m. and May 17 at 4:30 p.m. and on KET2 at 7 p.m. on May 17. The description in my email reads, “The program visits the sisters of Loretto’s Motherhouse, a community of active and retired nuns, who farm, host retreats, maintain an art gallery and conduct tours detailing the history of one of the oldest convents west of the Appalachians.”

  • Bible-reading is a success, and a...

    Last week, our community was fortunate enough to host the fourth-annual Bible-reading marathon on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse.

    This event, while a blessing to those who get to read the word of God in public over this 90-hour event, is also a blessing to our community. Some folks who never hear God’s word get the opportunity to sit on a quite, cool evening and listen, while others might just drive by and hear a few words in their cars.

  • A late Mother's Day story

    Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

    - William Makepeace Thackeray

    Being a parent is a tough and frightening job at times.  But being a mother is always twice as hard as being a dad.

    Listen to my story.

    Before I married Cindy, we talked about many things.  Most was about our future together and what we wanted from life.  I came from a big family and I wanted a big family.  You know, that’s not a very popular choice these days.

    We all know why.

  • Professor opposed to death penalty

    There is an ongoing debate about the merits of capital punishment in Kentucky.

    For me, the debate ends just as soon as one brings up the morality of the death penalty. Is it right to kill another human being, regardless of what that human being does? For me, the answer to that question is a resounding “no,” unless it is a matter of self-defense.

  • Readers Write

    Dear Editor,

  • Making the right decision can be...

    Miss California Carrie Prejean expressed an opinion during the April 19 Miss USA contest based on her Christian faith, and it probably cost her a beauty pageant crown, endorsements, fame and fortune.

    Prejean, a student at San Diego Christian College, said she saw the question from contest judge Perez Hilton about whether every state should legalize same-sex marriage as a test of her faith.

    Prejean replied that she is opposed to gay marriage, and her answer may have cost her the crown. She finished second to Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton.

  • Kentucky's carbon footprint:...

    A climate change has been developing over the last few years that could dramatically affect the life of every Kentuckian. The “climate” is not atmospheric, but political and social — growing sentiment toward reducing the role of coal in electric generation. Whatever its ultimate course, this climate change carries enormous implications for Kentucky, including price increases that could outpace any seen in our history.    

  • Readers Write

    Dear Editor,

    Thursday afternoon when I came out of the Wal-Mart in Bardstown, my car would not start.  A wonderful lady by the name of Lanette, who was parked front-to-front with me, offered her cell phone so that I could call home and AAA.

    While I waited for AAA to arrive, Lanette went into the store and did her shopping.  When she returned she had a Pepsi for me.  Two other women and one man also stopped by and offered to help.

  • 'Deadeye Begley'

    It’s an embarrassment to say that I’ve never been a good shot with a rifle and I come from Washington County.  

    I don’t know about Abraham Lincoln, but his Uncle Mordecai was lethal with a musket.  He once shot an Indian off Abraham’s father, Thomas, when he was a kid.  Needless to say, Mordecai was always Abraham’s favorite uncle.  

    In addition, this is the land where I routinely see kids in the paper with rifles taller than they are, standing next to a deer they just shot.

  • Vacation's coming!

    It won’t be long before it’s vacation time.  

    I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I need a vacation after a family vacation any more. Young people with all their energy will flat wear you out.  Still, young kids and funny incidents seem to go together, and can make things “interesting.”  It may not always seem funny at the time for the parents, but later, after you’ve settled down, it can bring a smile.

     Here’s an example.  

  • Technology will help us spread...

    It’s 2009, and the world just keeps on changing.

    The way we do things these days is not the same as it was 20 years ago, or even 10 or five years ago, for that matter.

    Our TVs are now digital, our phones are now almost all cellular, and our news comes at us from every direction, 24 hours a day.

  • The driving lesson

    My second oldest came to me one evening and said with all the courage she could muster, “Daddy, I’m ready to learn how to drive.”

    I looked up from my Lazy Boy recliner and said, “Really.”

    I was actually standing up next to the recliner when she spoke.  My reply came after I was revived.

    I enjoy teaching teenagers how to drive.  

  • Calipari salary is ludicrous

    President Obama, trying to jump start the economy, is using a series of stimulus packages in an effort to save banks and the major auto companies.

    President Lee Todd, trying to jump start the Big Blue Nation, is using John Calipari as his stimulus package to save what? Basketball bragging rights?

    This hiring move doesn’t have even the patina of hope and encouragement that Kentuckians need to get through the next few years.

    In this day of economic turmoil, paying a basketball coach nearly $32 million over a period of eight years is ludicrous.

  • Be not afraid

    “Be not afraid.”

    GOD

    It’s pretty scary out there, isn’t it?

    You know what I mean.   

    It doesn’t matter where you work.  It’s like everything has dropped off a cliff.  Most families are nervously waiting to see what happens next, if it hasn't already.

  • Don't let child abuse ruin...

    Dear Editor,

    Since this is Child Abuse Prevention Month, I wondered if you might like to hear from a victim.

    I’m a resident of Springfield. My family is well known. One of my parents is still living, and so to protect my innocent siblings, I wish to remain anonymous.

    By the age of 5, I was called a whore. I didn’t know what one was, but I knew it must be bad.

    From the beatings I received, I learned to run really fast, and I have never let myself get caught in a corner of a room.

    I learned never to trust anyone.

  • Make a difference in child abuse...

    In 2008, more than 88,292 children across the Commonwealth were reported as abused or neglected to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

    In Washington County their were 734 reports involving 864 children - 48 reports substantiated and 67 children substantiated. Last year in Kentucky there were 25 children whose death was the result of abuse or neglect.

  • How to get college scholarships

    “An ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood.”

    General George Patton

    The same quote can be used for college scholarships.  Work hard in high school and prevent paying off college student loans for decades to come.

    Let me stop you right here.

    If you’re a high school senior, or the parents of a high school senior, and are just now thinking about college scholarships, then you are going to be sorely disappointed in the rest of this column.  

  • Local schools continue to improve

    Before the education reform act of 1990, Kentucky was ranked near the bottom of the list when compared to other states.  Now our state has become a model for reform and has made significant jumps in almost all rankings related to education and student achievement. All Washington County schools have made significant academic progress during the past several years.  This progress has been documented and measured by increasing scores on both state and national assessments.

  • Teach your children well

    It’s comforting to live in a small town, where there’s little crime and few problems in the community when compared to larger cities. There are certain things you don’t have to worry about when it comes to your day-to-day life, simply because certain things just happen in big cities, while they typically aren’t a problem in smaller towns.

    That’s how I feel, and it’s what I have thought for most of my life. But recently, the problems in our community that are rearing their heads are simply amazing to me.

  • Preacher man and four suitcases

    “Then I turned and saw two little boys there with their mom and dad.  It was so sad it almost made me cry.”

    Heather Parrott. after visiting a homeless shelter in 2007

     

    My favorite article of all time was not written by me.  I put it together two years ago when some then 13- and 14-year-old St. Dominic kids spent a day at the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope in Louisville.  This facility feeds and has sleeping facilities for the homeless.  It was a trip to the hopeless, hungry, desperate side of life.