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Opinion

  • This new gig offers a chance to...

    Some of you will know the name, a few will recognize some semblance of the face and too many will remember things from my younger days I wish you would forget.

    But, for better or worse, I am home.

    You may have read recently that the Sentinel-News was getting a new editor and that the guy was a native who was returning from nearly four prodigal decades in the newspaper business.

    And today I want to re-introduce that man to you: Please meet me.

  • Ovarian Cancer

    September is Ovarian Cancer awareness month. The American Cancer Society predicts 22,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States and that 15,000 women will die from this disease. In Kentucky, new cases of ovarian cancer each year are around 320. It is the 5th most common cancer among women, and it is the most deadly of all gynecologic cancers. The five-year survival rate for all women is approximately 46%. However, survival rates improve greatly to 93% if it is diagnosed at an early stage before it spreads. Many women have not symptoms until the cancer is advanced.

  • Simple is best

    Having just returned from a delightful -- and exhausting -- trip to Chicago, I spent Monday evening pondering the feasibility of temporal displacement.

    Time travel may be the stuff of fiction -- at least for now -- but there is no doubt that the clock is moving too fast.

    As a result, we often try to cram too many activities into a short amount of time, thinking we can "beat the clock." Even if we succeed, it beats us as well.

    "Beat" is an accurate term to describe my physical state when I got home from the airport Monday afternoon.

  • Voting advice

    The political campaign season is in full swing and again I find myself asking that you do your best to elect the best candidate.

    If you have not already, you will soon begin to get calls telling you how you should vote. You have and will continue to be told on TV and by radio how you should vote. You may be told by a family member, friend or most anyone how you should vote. You may even be told by your newspaper how you should vote. I would like to tell you how you should vote, but I won't.

  • Reichert: writer, chicken feeder...

    Walt Reichert has left his post here as the editor of The Sentinel-News to sit on a bucket and feed chickens.

    Some may call it retirement, but Walt would say it's a promotion - a reward for his many years as a teacher, writer and journalist.

    Enjoy it, sir. You've earned it.

    When I came to work here at the paper over four years ago, Walt was already dreaming of the day that he could forsake the daily grind and spend more time tending to the chickens, ducks, cows, and vegetables on his hobby farm near Simpsonville.

  • A special event

    As the grandmother of three granddaughters, Cayla and Caty Hawkins and Devan Brooks, who have or are now playing volleyball for Shelby County, I can say I never enjoyed a volleyball game as much as I did on Aug. 21.

    First was the great response to wearing pink shirts for the Volley for the Cure for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Even the Anderson County volleyball team had pink ribbons in their hair.

    Secondly, was the beautiful voice of George Cottrell singing our National Anthem.

  • A great life skill

    I wanted to take this time to applaud the accomplishments of the faculty, staff, students, parents and PTO members in our community.

    Recently at Painted Stone Elementary School, a new initiative was launched. "Pennies for Pride" offers students the opportunity to collect money to donate each month to charity. Last month the money went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help those in our community and state living with certain blood cancers.

  • Down the yellow brick road

    Regarding letters in the August 13 Sentinel-News entitled, "Thanks Mitch" and "Misleading Ad."

    Reading these two opinions is like following Dorothy down the "yellow brick road." Surely these two authors do not expect anyone to seriously buy this "hoopla."

  • Vehicle of the future?

    This morning as usual I took my first cup of coffee to the front porch and settled down for my wake up time. After I had gained possession of the wicker chair, my attention was called to an amazing sight.

    Across the road my neighbor floated across his pasture, appearing to dance with the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. He was turning, quietly moving forward, turning again. I was mystified.

  • Political choices - Let the games...

    Now we have a field of two front-runners: John McCain and Barack Obama. They are both fine men, I'm sure. I am at a loss; however, regarding how to choose the next president of the United States. I am assured by each competing party that their choice is the better choice. Since I cannot choose both, I am left with comparative shopping. These are some of my observations to help us make informed decisions.

  • Bigfoot in the news

    Remember the story of the little shepherd boy who cried "wolf"?

    The rotten kid made the announcement repeatedly just to stir up the villagers, even though the sheep were fine. Then one day a wolf actually came. When the boy cried out for help, the villagers thought he was full of it and ignored him.

  • Don't trash roads

    I am a resident of Shelby County and realize what a privilege it is to be able to enjoy the beauty of our county. I want to express my disappointment in people that show their ignorance and laziness in how they treat the beauty of the county.

    I don't know who the people are, but it's obvious they are ignorant and don't know the importance of keeping the environment clean for the present and future generations. Dumping and littering items on our land and waterways will have long-term consequences.

  • Leadership Kentucky visit

    Just a note to thank the Sentinel-News for their great support and coverage of the first ever visit of Leadership Kentucky to Shelbyville.

  • What's the motive?

    As all know, energy costs for fuels of every kind is high. It is so elevated that many who must commute to work are dipping into any reserves of cash and reducing such essentials as food items for their families. You would think that such situations would bring our Democratic majority of congressional members to action in order to combat this tragedy to their constituents. This does not appear to be the case! Instead, these misguided legislators divert any action taking place in congress to ineffective and laughable performances.

  • Thanks, Mitch! No thanks, Ted!

    I write to follow-up on Ted Igleheart's 624-word diatribe entitled "Thanks, Mitch" published August 13. While I loved the headline, I think he left a few things out.

    Thanks, Mitch, for your unfailing support of the men and women in uniform who are protecting our nation every day and night. What's sad and unprecedented is the mainstream media's biased and mostly inaccurate portrayal of our military.

  • Put a rattlesnake in your garden

    Interested in growing a piece of history? Read on.

    Just after the Civil War, farmers and gardeners in Georgia developed a big, striped watermelon they called rattlesnake. They called it rattlesnake because the dark green stripes on the lighter green background looked like the markings on a rattlesnake. The watermelon later came to be called Georgia Rattlesnake.

  • The power of a story

    Throughout human history, people have been brought together and have made sense of life through the medium of story.

    From drawings on cave walls to the latest best-selling novel, we understand life through telling, understanding and discussing the stories around us.

    We are story people.

    What grips us, moves us and spurs us on is not raw facts and figures but characters, plot and drama.

    More than just entertainment, these common stories help provide a lens through which we see and understand the world.

  • Enjoyed Kentucky

    We really enjoyed our bus trip to Kentucky. It was such a pleasure to be in such wide open spaces.

    We live in New Jersey, very close to Philadelphia, where urbanization has taken over the natural beauty of our area.

    The rolling hills, extensive grasslands, and lovely gardens of Kentucky were pure joy to us. It was heartwarming to look as far as the eye could see without billboards and towering hotels to obstruct our view.

    We hope Kentucky will always be a beautiful vista for all to come and enjoy.

    Nancy Killian,

    Senior Community Tours of New Jersey

  • Pay the consequences

    In the response to the poem written about Billy Jeffries.

    In assuming Billy Jeffries is guilty of raping and murdering Mrs. McKee, an elderly and defenseless lady, I would like him to ask the McKee family if he is getting the punishment he deserves. Ask any husband, father, son, daughter, relative or friend if Billy Jeffries deserves to be released back into society. If he is truly sorry for his crime, I'd suggest putting him in a useful program (in prison) where he could try to repay his debt to society, and where he'd be safe from the predators in prison.

  • The glory, honor, and (dark side)...

    Regardless of which country walks away from Beijing with the most medals, China will likely be the real winner of this year's Olympic Games: that is, if it can avoid getting a black eye in the media.

    The fact that the games are being held in China is truly quite amazing.

    Just 40 years ago, the thought of China hosting such an event would have been absolutely absurd. At that time, China was a backward, volatile, third world country dealing with starvation and under the reign of a madman named Mao Ze Dong who caused the death of millions of his own countrymen.