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Opinion

  • Christmas is merry and bright...

    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.

  • My Word: The saga of a Santa Claus

     Growing up, my family had dueling Santas with the Goldblatts across the street.

  • What we think: New bypass date isn...

    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.

  • The ghosts of Christmas teach us...

    On a cold, blowy, darkest of nights, I was awakened with a start by a presence in my room, not that of a child or a pet or even a Japanese beetle but of something the likes of which I’d never seen, sort of an eerie being that seemed to loom.

    He arrived not in Victorian bedclothes but in a work uniform with his name on his breast, his face creased with hard work and palms rough but strong, many muscles rippling in his chest.

  • Christmas shopping brings Joy to...

     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.

  • My Word: This is what it means to...

    When you rob a small business – when you rob ME – you are doing more than just taking the cash necessary to acquire your fix.

    When you rob a small business you are, first and foremost, violating a sacred space. This shop is built on my dreams and, literally, on my blood, sweat and tears. This shop is my child. I have created it, grown it, nurtured and fed it. I love it. And you hurt it – which makes me angry and also hurts me.

  • EARLIER: What we think: Harley deal...

    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.

  • The making of a cereal killer --...

    Psychologists have long debated the root causes of our behaviors. There are some who say that our actions are primarily the result of the genes we have inherited from our parents, while others contend that they are mostly the result of our environment and the way we are raised.

    This is often stated as Nature vs. Nurture.

  • EARLIER: What we think: Harley-...

    Though the idea that Harley-Davidson may build a large plant in Shelby County to replace its operations in southern Pennsylvania is for now just that – an idea – those of us who live in Shelby are feeling a jolt of excitement that such a respected, stable company is considering our proud homeland for a new facility.

    With unemployment hitting 11 percent statewide, many of the employed losing salary and benefits, with dozens of houses falling to foreclosure and many others sitting unoccupied, this ne

  • EARLIER: What we think: The bid for...

    Shelby County Fiscal Court continues to make bold statements to try to improve the position of the county’s recruitment of Harley-Davidson’s largest plant.

    Likewise, we continue to commend that action as being the sort of creative thinking and aggressive process that are important to land the big fish of the manufacturing world.

  • Neihof: Help us 'Close The...

    School children swarm the downtown area like bees to honey each fall when the Fountain Committee volunteers describe historic sites. The field trips have been going on for more than 15 years and provide hands-on, real-life connections to the core content about community or state history.

  • We congratulate: Fiscal Court for...

    The final words of rejection and consolation barely had been spoken in the county’s pursuit of Harley-Davidson when Shelby County Fiscal Court proved that it could squeeze some lemonade out of that batch of lemons.

    The court went into special session Monday morning and rescinded its request for a zoning change on acreage near the Shelby County Industrial Park.

  • Songs of the season, Shelby style:...

    With Christmas season on full furry-red-suit fury, our radio airwaves are full of the carols, melodies and parodies that brighten our days and help us carry holiday themes all year round.

    Starting on Thanksgiving, they’re there, 24/7, at any of a number of spots on the dial, varying versions and spectacular spoofs along with just the first-sung hymns of the holidays.

  • What we think: Courtship of Harley...

    For nearly a week now Shelby County’s leaders most likely have been feeling like the loser on a romantic reality show or – worse – a jilted groom left at the altar.

    They had put forward their best effort and wooed long and hard to win the hand of the lovely Harley-Davidson only to see that she couldn’t go through with the marriage.

    She loved the proposal – she loved us – but the move to Kentucky was just too much for her.

  • What we think: Strong DUI report...

    If you believe that statistics don’t lie – and even the most circumspect among us surely do to some extent – then you have to be amazed at the recent report on Shelby County’s efficiency in disposing of DUI cases.

    That better than 92 percent of those charged were convicted during a 4-year period is a significant statement both to those who consider driving after drinking and for those who make sure such drivers are caught when they do.

  • Thanksgiving is tradition of much...

    Thanksgiving is our truest and most intrinsic holiday, with a simple, shared message created from the pioneer spirit and carried forward by loyal generations: to join hands,   share a meal and say thanks for each other and all our blessings.

    The pilgrims and the Native Americans got it right in the first place, and with its position after Halloween and before Christmas, Thanksgiving has been allowed to be wonderfully obscured and its noble mission preserved without the clutter and clatter of c

  • It’s time for...

    Asked to write a composition entitled "What I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving,” 7-year-old Timmy wrote, "I’m thankful that I’m not a turkey!"

  • We congratulate: The progress (?)...

    You may not like what you read, and you may be, like us, getting tired of the rhetoric, but surely you see this as a time to congratulate our congressional leaders for finally doing something that needs drastically to be done: overhaul our health-care system.

    We are a couple of miles from the finish line, it would seem, but the tape on what has been a decades-long run is in sight.

  • EARLIER: What we think: Zone change...

    The walkover victory and rubberstamp approval Thursday night by Triple S Planning & Zoning for the property that may one day be a home for Harley-Davidson’s largest motorcycle factory was a wonderful moment in Shelby County’s development.

    That unanimous approval by the commission and the absence of acrimony from the public sent a loud, clear and distinct message to the leaders of that corporation: We are behind this bid 100 percent.

  • It’s a good bet not to...

    So my wife and I spent an afternoon at Churchill Downs last Friday. Nice, breezy fall day, small crowd, lots of elbow space, and it was my wife’s first visit to the cathedral of horse racing.