Opinion

The 2020 Kentucky General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 15, 2020, several minutes before midnight, as required. You may have heard that term used in the past few days. It is a Latin term meaning “without day.” If a meeting ends with no set day to get back together during that year, it is adjourned sine die. I have had several of you ask about that reference, and wanted to sharing the meaning. There is a date set for the Kentucky General Assembly to return for the 2021 Regular Session but that will be next year on January 5th. As I left my home earlier in the week...

I especially like the cover photo of our 2020 edition of the Community Guide magazine. It features Constable Ron “Bubba” Bowling and Judge Executive Pat White dressed in their garb for the Kayaking for Kids. The cover is comical, but inside the magazine is valuable information. You’ll find telephone numbers and information for emergency services, local government, utilities, churches, businesses and more. It is a magazine you’ll want to keep handy throughout the year. I use it often and I find it easier to find the information I seek rather than trying to find it on Google or asking Siri on my telephone. We have inserted a copy of the magazine in this...

(Letter to the Editor by David O. Smith) Mitch McConnell has been Kentucky’s U.S. Senator since 1984, 36 years. Clearly, he is the most politically powerful senator in the last 100 years.  He is so powerful he had Trump acquitted, he stalled bi-partisan legislation for years, and he has spearheaded the appointment of two Supreme Court Justices under Trump and blocked the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice under Obama.  Impressive, you say. Yet, Kentucky and each of us are rated 1st nationwide in child abuse, 38th  in education,  44th in health care,  39th in economy, 3rd in highest poverty rate,  45th  for number of high school graduates, 47th  for number of...

I have just finished reading a recently published book written by Eric Moyen about Jim Host called, “Changing the Game.” Many of you know who Jim Host is and some of the things he has done. I know Jim from our college days at the University of Kentucky back in the late 1950s. When I was a sophomore at UK, he was a senior and both of us were in working in the Radio Arts department as student broadcasters. Jim was doing the play-by-play of UK’s home football and basketball games. I followed him in that position after he graduated. Over the years I have seen Jim a few times at functions and...

In case the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t real enough for everyone, it really hit home for residents of Whitley and Knox counties Monday, as each county had its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Sadly, we all know that these probably won’t be the last cases of the coronavirus that we will see locally, and the stark reality is that it is probably only a matter of time before we have our first local death from COVID-19. Chances are that it will be an elderly person, someone with a compromised immune system, or perhaps someone with both. There is a good chance it will be someone we know, maybe a friend, or a...

(Dean Manning is a reporter at the News Journal.) While COVID–19 has numerous people, including school children, stuck at home, it has provided the perfect opportunity for those considering adopting a pet. Yes, the Knox-Whitley Humane Association has closed to walk-in adoption. However, shelter employees are continuing to update the shelter’s Facebook page with photos and videos of dogs and cats that are available for adoption. If you see an animal you would like to adopt, you may contact the shelter between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, or 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Saturday to schedule curbside adoption. The shelter is relying even more on local adoptions. It has arrangements with...

(Op-Ed: By Dr. James Finck is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and Chair of the Oklahoma Civil War Symposium. Follow Historically Speaking at http://www.Historicallyspeaking.blog or on Facebook.) There has been a lot of criticism over the President’s use of the term “Chinese virus” and rightfully so. Names have not always been an accurate way of identifying ground zero for any disease. Health leaders have named this current virus COVID-19. You cannot call this coronavirus because that is a blanket term that covers any type of upper respiratory infection. Also, COVID-19 does not mean the 19th Chinese-originated viral infectious disease this year;...

(Op-Ed by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron) In a matter of weeks, the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has changed the way that we live our lives in the Commonwealth and throughout our country. Days spent at school and work have been replaced with online classroom sessions and conference calls.  Homes have become makeshift offices and classrooms, as we all try to retain some semblance of normalcy in a situation that is far from normal. Despite the anxiety and uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentuckians are coming together and proving that our state motto, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall,” is a creed that we take seriously in times of crisis. We’re ordering...

(OP-ED by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell) Every Kentuckian is feeling the effects of the coronavirus. It’s a national health and economic emergency that demands action. The Republican-led Senate answered with the biggest rescue package in history, and Kentucky will see at least $1.25 billion in relief. We’ve already received $39 million to address urgent housing and economic development priorities, and more funding will soon be on the way. Since the beginning of this crisis, we’ve been coordinating with President Trump and Vice President Pence to mobilize a “whole-of-government” response. Right away, Congress delivered billions of dollars on a bipartisan basis to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes...

(Op-Ed by Tom Underwood, who is the Kentucky Director of the National Federation of Independent Business.) Congress on Friday passed a $2 trillion economic stimulus package to help small business owners and employees and others affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, but this federal aid could take weeks to arrive, and small businesses need financial relief today. Fortunately, there are simple things we can do to help Kentucky’s small businesses weather this storm: Go through a drive-thru, pick up a meal, or have meals delivered. Social distancing means we shouldn’t eat out, but many restaurants are keeping their kitchens open so customers can pick up food or have it delivered. Shop local...