Opinion

We like the fact that Triple S Planning & Zoning is flexing a bit of muscle in trying to remove junky cars and substandard images of Shelby County from the gaze of our citizens and visitors.

We like that the commission is not only setting and communicating standards but also is enforcing them consistently and stringently. That’s what we expect of this commission – to preserve the best parts of our county – and enforcing the codes is equally as important as setting them.

Today, please hold my hand, sing “Kumbaya” and come along as I jump wide-eyed and lucidly into the shark-infested depths of discussing health care and its potential reform.

Yes, this is a discussion that has been evolving for decades.

Yes, it is moving at a pace that only the 3-toed sloth can appreciate.

“Ladies and gentlemen, stand and cheer, your state representative, Brad Monteellllllllllll.”

If we were going to announce the name of one of our elected leaders in an introduction before a sports event, it might sound something like that, depending upon the sport and the venue.

Or how about this?

“OK class, let’s take roll…. Mr.  Montell?”

“He has a game today.”

“Oh, Mr. Montell is absent.”

Last week, as I was considering what to write in this week’s column, I thought perhaps I should write about the merits of KY Senate Bill 142, which encourages Bible literacy classes in our public schools.

Then I opened last Saturday’s Courier Journal and saw its predictable editorial denouncing the Senate’s passage of the bill and lamenting the fact that it would likely also pass in the House.

There is a continuous struggle faced by many Kentucky Community and Technical College students. These students take lower-division level transfer classes  taught by highly qualified faculty who have an expertise in teaching and learning, only to discover later that that the degree requirements have changed at the other institution.

 Determining which community college classes will transfer to a 4-year university shouldn’t be so difficult for students.

This was a sad week for Shelby County, because we lost two people who had devoted so many years to improving the lives of our young people.

Mary Simmons and Mitch Bailey served in different ways, but their impacts were felt by generations of students who needed a little additional inspiration.

Ms. Simmons devoted herself to the Dorman Center, where students with special needs of all types were given a chance to be loved and to learn.

Here’s an upfront promise: There will be no use today of that four-letter S-word. Not a chance.

And I mean the one that rhymes with grow.

I can avow that because of a phone call I received from an old buddy in Florida the other day, a call that warmed my heart, brought sunshine to my foreboding sky and probably melted a little of that white precipitation beneath my feet.

The recent announcement that Jewish Hospital Shelbyville and Masonic Home Shelbyville both were rated 5-star nursing homes was a significant moment for our community.

You surely know that nursing homes are among the most scrutinized and criticized of our health-related facilities. There is a terrible legacy of neglect and corruption in homes across America, and we as citizens always are concerned that our loved ones are well taken care of in their moments of greatest need.

Next year, students will benefit from the opening of Martha Layne Collins High School. While many new opportunities will await students, the community is concerned about a lack of support for the Agriculture Program.

According to Shelby County High School Principal Eddie Oakley, “The community wants to see more emphasis put on animal science and a transition away from agriculture mechanics.”