Opinion

After five years of war in Iraq, it has become strangely common - and even expected - to see flags flying at half-staff around the community.

While most of us would like to block the war out of our minds, the flags hung at half-staff should serve as a strong reminder to us of the severity of war.

In honor of the men and women from Kentucky that die in Iraq and Afghanistan, the governor's office sends out a notice to all state agencies to fly flags in front of state buildings in the position of mourning.

I hate spiders.

I realize that people use the word 'hate' when they don't really mean it.

However, I use the word emphatically in this instance.

I know that spiders have their niche in the global ecosystem and they probably look good to each other.

But in addition to being totally obnoxious, scary and disgusting, they are UGLY!

A missing person is, mercifully, a rare event in the community. Perhaps that explains the exemplary response of community organizations to the baffling disappearance of Maxine Ethington. She disappeared May 25 in her vehicle and has not been seen since.

It is heartening to see the community's law enforcement, churches and service organizations rally around the Ethington family as they continue the brave search for their mother.

With gas prices on the rise, grumbling is becoming a national past time.

One of the most inane I have heard goes something like, "There's plenty of oil. Those companies are just exploiting us!"

Plenty of oil? Time was, we Americans thought there was plenty of forest, plenty of buffalo and plenty of passenger pigeons. And plenty of whales to produce whale oil - the fuel commonly used before we discovered black gold.

On May 27, fiscal court had the opportunity to put all businesses in Shelby County on the same playing field. The issue before them was an ordinance that would allow nine businesses in the county (but outside the city limits of Shelbyville) that are licensed to sell alcohol by the drink to serve their customers on Sundays. There are 72 businesses with the same license, but those inside the city limits are allowed to serve on Sundays. The city council approved an ordinance allowing them to do so, because of economic reasons.

Well, Kentucky had its chance to vote and have it mean something. Hillary Clinton won the vote by 35 percent over Barack Obama.

Pain is an unavoidable part of life. And now that Shelbyville has a skate park, that part of life has become a whole lot harder to avoid for the more than 100 local kids who can now commonly be seen there launching themselves into the air.

If you haven't been by the skate park next to Daniel Field you should stop and check it out. It's pretty awesome. The park is a young daredevil's dream - full of obstacles, rails and ramps that seem to make gravity a bit less binding.

This is one of those "By-the-time-you-read-this" columns. I don't usually find much need to write those; however, these are By-the-time-you-read-this times we are living in.

By the time you read this, we will know who has won the Kentucky primaries. I will have voted and had my say in the good old American process.

The unexpected loss of Tim McClure over the weekend was not only a blow to his family and friends, it was a hit to the lovers of plants, trees and gardens in the county and across the state.

Tim trained dozens of Master Gardeners in the county while Extension agent for horticulture. Tim was the kind of guy who could work from his books and behind his desk, then go out in the field and show how it's done.