Opinion

Back in the 1960s, tattoos were not the popular body art that they have become. In the upstate New York town where I grew up, I knew of no one who had a tattoo; that is, until my boyfriend – now my husband – got one in the Marines. I was shocked. How could he mar his body with something so permanent? He thought my efforts to persuade him to have it removed were nuts. The tattoo stayed, I got used to it and married him in spite of the large off-kilter anchor on one arm.

Speed bumps are a traffic control device that is specifically regulated by statute. There are many illegal speed bumps within the city of Eminence. The city officials know they are illegal. The city attorney knows they are improperly installed. they are there because the “people wanted them,” just as in Pleasureville. The city attorney for these two towns (the same person) should make the city officials aware of the statutes and ensure that the cities comply with what is legal.

Ron Marlow

Eminence

An important birthday passed Monday, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a little something about it.

Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel would have been 105 on March 2. Geisel’s impact has been felt across generations now, instilling a love of reading into countless children — and I count myself among those.

I know most insurance companies are reliable and that sometimes a reasonable increase in insurance premiums is justified. I don’t like it when it happens, but I understand that it can happen. Even the most reasonable person would agree, however, that three increases over a six-year period, cumulatively totaling more than a 100 percent hike in premiums, would be unjustified, harmful and unconscionable.

Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 26, the Henry County Local will no longer be located at 1378 Eminence Road.

Instead, we’ll be operating out of our new location at 18 S. Penn Avenue in Eminence, next door to Shroyer Insurance and a couple doors down from Chat ‘N Nibble.

Though we’ve allotted two days for the move, we should be up and running again Friday morning. But our first ‘official’ day of business at our new home will be Monday, March 2.

On the prairies of eastern Kansas, the early spring is when ranchers do their annual burning to allow the new spring grass to emerge with full vigor. I used to love to watch the flickering horizon on the prairie from my front porch. But every once in awhile, the Kansas winds would pick up or shift direction so that those “controlled” fires became a potential menace.

Thanks to the Henry County Local for reporting on a very important issue pertaining to our county politics in last week’s paper. As reported, it appears the momentum of the 2010 election has started and many Henry County residents and Kentucky state representatives have taken an interest in the future of Henry County and it’s political status.   Last meeting, Secretary of State, Trey Grayson provided information and direction at the last Henry County Republican monthly meeting.

When Governor Beshear took office in December 2007, he joked that he knew the cupboard would be bare, but that he didn’t expect it to be gone.

Since then, he has overseen more than $430 million worth of cuts, all without touching Medicaid and our classrooms.  Unfortunately, with the nation’s economy showing no signs of improvement, he and the General Assembly learned in November that this would not be enough.  Our state economists told us that another $456 million would still need to be trimmed by the end of June.

When Eminence High School English teacher, Cara Puckett, offered me the opportunity to be a guest judge for her students’ Poetry Out Loud competition, I eagerly accepted.

I like poetry, I like teenagers, how hard could it be?

Then I checked out the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Project website and started to appreciate the complexities.

Participants were to choose two poems from a list of thousands spanning hundreds of years and representing all the different types of poetry.