Opinion

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts for their generosity in painting the playground equipment at our school for their community project. They, along with their parents, spent many hours on weekends and after school to paint swings, monkey bars, etc… beautiful vibrant colors. “Wow! Who did this? Our playground looks beautiful!” was the reaction by students and staff alike. We are fortunate to serve a community that supports our school. Our students are learning life lessons of the importance of giving back to the community.

At the end of each legislative session, there are always several issues that remain unresolved, often because others dominate discussions or time simply runs out.

The 2009 Regular Session was a textbook example of both of those in action. With less than two dozen days to debate bills, the General Assembly focused most of its attention on overcoming a sizeable budget deficit; significantly reforming the testing system that measures school progress; enacting a major highway plan; and implementing a better, more cost-effective approach to treating non-violent drug offenders.

Music on Main is this Friday night. The City of Eminence wants to invite everyone to attend. This is a night full of fellowship, food, fun and live music. The live music will be provided by another local band, the Sugarfoot Band! The night will start at 5:30 with a great selection of food — Eminence Christian Church will have a fish fry and Wesley Morrison will have some Hot Diggity Dawgs! The live band will take the stage at 7, and will play until 11. There will also be some fun for the kids.

In the past the City of Pleasureville has had no luck in retaining a police officer. They complain there is not enough “action” in Pleasureville. Since the city cannot afford to pay overtime, an officer would only be allowed to work 40 hours.  That leaves 128-hours per week the town is not covered.  We have more protection day and night when we don’t have an officer; through the Kentucky State Police and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.  There are only three women at our Commission meetings that complain of not having an officer.

People the world over are governed by rules and regulations – far too many in my humble opinion. The ones that irk me the most are those aimed at protecting us from our own actions – like the mandatory seatbelt law, or, in many states, the mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists. I know, I know – many of these laws save lives. But I believe folks ought to have the right to act unwisely in matters affecting only themselves. The Bill of Rights should have had a clause to the affect that people have the right to be dumb about their own welfare if they choose.

While there are still a few reports of the H1N1 (or swine) flu being diagnosed across the state, it is looking more and more likely that our fears of a more serious outbreak will thankfully not come to pass.

But that, of course, does not mean we need to let our guard down.

Fortunately, that is even less likely to happen after the recent announcement by the University of Louisville that it has received a $2.3 million federal grant to help communities prepare for any possible large-scale public health outbreaks.

When he first came into our office, Bob McGee told me about Molly with a tear in his eye.

His faithful companion, with whom he walked nearly every day for as long as they were friends, had died.

McGee and Molly had a long relationship of master and loyal pooch. I understood the tears in his eyes.

Over the years I’ve had countless dogs —and cats — and seen them come and go. Koko the German Shepherd mix was one of my best friends when I was a child.

My daughter and her husband recently brought home a tiny black puppy for their five children. All the kids immediately began fawning over him except Ellie, age 6, who harbors a desperate fear that he might bite her. She leaps onto a chair or to the top of the couch whenever he’s around. While this reaction may sound reasonable, the truth is that this little creature weighs all of six pounds. The other morning I watched from a distance as she slowly and cautiously stretched out her little arm from the top of a riding toy to try petting him as he dashed around.

Henry County’s Reigning Biggest Loser

“Matter cannot be created or destroyed.” As a seventh-eighth grade science teacher I know that this is true. If you exercise to burn off more calories than you consume, you have to lose weight. As the reigning Biggest Loser of Henry County, I challenge Henry County Local readers to join the next Biggest Loser Contest.