Columns

Years ago, I watched the movie “The Game” with Michael Douglas, and I really didn’t know what to expect. I think movies, books … experiences in general are oftentimes best that way. No preconceived notions or prior knowledge to color your judgment of them. By the end of “The Game,” I was blown away. It remains, to this day, one of my favorite movies. If you’ve never watched it, do so immediately. It’s great! I had an experience recently that I cannot recommend highly enough along similar lines of the movie, though not quite as elaborate. It’s called an “Escape Room.” When I got the voucher for Breakout: Cincinnati from my sister...

In the classic 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”, Kevin Costner’s character, Ray, is working in his cornfield when he hears a voice in his head that tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” So naturally after hearing the voice tell him that a few more times, Ray decides to plow under a significant portion of his crop and build a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa corn field. Of course, not long after that the spirit of Shoeless Joe Jackson walks in from the corn patch and starts playing baseball there along with the spirits of a lot of other famous ex-big leaguers. It seems as if the...

A word of advice to those who have lived their entire life in their hometown and plan to move after retirement. It can be difficult as well as rewarding. I know because my wife and I moved from Corbin to Henderson, Ky. two years ago to assist our daughter who was giving birth to a third child. She had two daughters at that time, ages four and two. The first year we spent about ten hours a day taking care of the baby and the two little ones. While we enjoyed it to the maximum, it was about too much for people of our ages. The second year, when the...

So you’ve probably heard about the police officer in Ohio who photographed a couple literally dying of heroin overdose while their young child sat in the back of the vehicle strapped in a car seat. It’s very sad. The man and woman are slouched in the car, their mouths hanging open like zombies; eyes rolled back in their heads. Their skin is pallid and their bodies are clearly limp. The juxtaposition of them and the healthy child in the backseat, full of promise and, perhaps, a bright future makes it all the more sickening. We see it, and we just know on a primal level that it’s bad. When you talk about...

Kentucky is proud of its 38 State Parks, but it also likes to pump up its relationship with a handful of significant national park attractions that have become beacons while drawing visitors here. Of course most Kentuckians are aware that Mammoth Cave (270.758.2180) in Edmonson County is one of the state’s biggest draws. Designated as a National Park in 1926, its over 300 miles of charted passage-ways have acted like magnets in attracting tourists. Visitors to the park are often surprised to learn that it is the second oldest tourist attraction in America, following only Niagara Falls. Tour guides, beginning with candles and lanterns, have been taking visitors down under since...

Two weeks ago, Corbin City Commissioner Joe Shelton announced he wouldn’t seek re-election to a seventh term. He was very gracious and complimentary about his time on the commission as he announced his impending departure. I read with great interest our story about some of the improvements and projects that have happened during his 12 years on the board. Sometimes, I think, when we constantly think in the moment we don’t really realize or see all the good things that have happened. All the work and effort that got us to this point. I think Corbin is a better place to live now than it was when Joe Shelton first became...

In 2007, Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison had a problem. His police chief, who two months earlier had been suspended after a failed drug test, resigned after another drug test came back with a diluted sample. A year earlier, another officer resigned prior to a termination hearing after being involved in an on-duty crash where he struck another driver. A toxicology test showed cocaine and Oxycodone in his system at the time of the crash. Harrison needed someone to take over as police chief, who could restore trust and confidence in the department. He needed someone, whose reputation and character were above reproach. His choice was Russell Jones, a 20-plus year veteran of the...

The Highway Beautification Act signed in 1965 is being challenged and Lady Bird Johnson would be highly offended if she were alive. As I was entering I-75 at the south Corbin interchange recently on my way south for a vacation I remarked to my wife about the condition of some of the billboards there. One was falling apart and a couple of others were blank. That started me to notice billboards along our route. I saw many others in disrepair and many with no message on them. There are a few locally that are blank and are an eyesore. The companies that own them should paste some public service ad...

I really like the way the Board of Directors of the Corbin Public Library is handling plans to nearly double the library’s size by expanding into an adjacent building. During a public meeting last Monday, initial plans for the project were unveiled. And, to anyone interested in the library at all, they were exciting. The additional space will be used to house a small theater for live productions, more community rooms, an Internet café and much more. It’s all pretty impressive. When purchase of the nearby space by the library board was announced earlier this year, it immediately brought up some tantalizing possibilities. But it’s been far from a top-down decision making process....

Some post-NIBROC thoughts: • I had a great time at the festival. I saw a lot of other people having fun too — playing volleyball, socializing in the beer garden, enjoying the free music, cruising through the vendors, riding rides at the carnival. I spent so much time at NIBROC that I still haven’t recovered! It’s the most immersed in the festival that I’ve ever been. • I really enjoyed the return of the NIBROC Idol talent contest. Every night I looked forward to hearing the contestants perform. We have so many very talented local people. I thought the judges got it right when they named 17-year-old Courtney Mason, a senior at Lynn...