Opinion

As we promised on Dec. 29, we offer to you today our vision for the most important initiatives facing our county in 2010. Some of these concepts are under way, and others need new and continued care and feeding.

You can expect that as the year unfolds, we will continue to offer our perspective in how well leaders and citizens are addressing these concepts and embracing their themes.

From one retired military officer’s perspective, here are three easy steps for the United States to lose in Afghanistan.

Step One: Assume that the conflict in Afghanistan is its own war and not part of a larger global or world war.

• When was the last time you heard the term Global War on Terror? We now simply deploy soldiers on “contingency operations.”

For many people – and certainly for my children – Christmas is all about the presents.

It was no different for me when I was their age. I fully remember going to bed on Christmas Eve in anxious anticipation of waking early to discover what treasures Santa had left.

The tragic intersection of the fates of Jason Stinson and Max Gilpin has occurred too many times on the roads traveled by coaches and players.

Stinson, a football coach Pleasure Ridge Park High School, was doing what he knew it would take to build strength and character, and Gilpin, a young player, only was trying to have his built.

Both of them pushed, and, sadly, one pushed too hard.

Attorney General Jack Conway’s ruling last week that Triple S Planning & Zoning Commission had operated in violation of the state’s open-meetings law is a troubling revelation.

Disputes about meetings and public notifications are routine. Journalists and special-interest groups keep watch, and they sometimes blow the whistle about whether the law is being followed.

OK, so if you ever have known me – or even picked up on the vibes written here – you probably understand that the Christmas spirit is part of my DNA.

We were pleased to read last week that state transportation officials now believe the Shelbyville Bypass likely will be completed by Labor Day of 2010.

We would not have believed that forecast if it had come from the project’s contractors, Kay And Kay Contracting. That company’s owner – Bill Robinson – told us in August that its work was about 80 percent complete.

 A man was walking down the street when he saw a sign outside a shop that read, “Talking Dog for Sale.”

Intrigued, he entered the store to learn more. Though he was more than a bit skeptical and felt very foolish for doing so, he addressed the dog directly. “So, what have you done with your life?” he asked.

Much to the man’s amazement, the dog replied in fluent English.

If you have been following closely in Shelby County’s recruitment of Harley-Davidson, you most likely found last week’s headlines slammed on the brakes of our emotional ride.

But please don’t let go of the handlebars. No matter what Gov. Steve Beshear says, we don’t see anyone locally giving up on making this deal.