“You are Loved” is a social media campaign the Graves County Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention/Policy (ASAP) Youth Council created for Mental Health Awareness. By using social media, public school signage, and electronic billboards, the group aims to spread the message letting the commun…
Community was key to ‘Haunted Graves’ success
Each year on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we set aside the day to pay our respects to the men and women who served our great country. On Veterans Day — November 11 — we thank our veterans for their courage, dedication and commitment to serving. While Congress officially establishe…
In Washington, President Biden and congressional Democrats are pursuing a multi-trillion dollar spending bill which, if passed, would further derail an already struggling economy.
With the seasons changing, it truly is a beautiful time here in Kentucky. The air grows crisper, weather chills, and a warm array of colors blanket our communities. I, for one, enjoy the time-honored traditions that the cozy season brings.
Throughout the past 18 months, I joined fellow legislators, constitutional officers, and many local officials across the state in calling for the Governor to stop acting alone in adopting policies to address this pandemic. On Saturday, Aug. 21, his autocratic approach came to a screeching ha…
Over the past 12 months, it has been my privilege to be the President of the Mayfield Rotary Club. Honestly, could I have picked a better year to be president of a civic club? For sure, but that wasn’t in the cards. Like everyone else, 2020 and the first half of 2021 has been an experience l…
We can all agree that our current labor shortage has to be addressed if we are going to grow our economy and make a successful comeback. After all, there are more than a hundred thousand available jobs across our state.
With less than 200 days until we convene the 2022 Regular Session, we just wrapped up the third week of this year’s Legislative Interim with committee hearings on issues ranging from rare pediatric health conditions to economic development opportunities. I thought it might interest readers t…
Over the past couple of months, I have used this column to share information with you some of the legislation we passed during the 2021 Regular Session, as well as some of the issues that our state is facing now. This week, I would like to take a break from policy and legislation to reflect …
Shame, addiction, and stigma — what do all these have in common and at the end of the day what can we do to help addiction in our community?
Travel back with me to the first Pentecost and join the apostles, staying behind secured doors and trying to get their heads around all that had happened in recent days.
The past year has been brutal for many Kentucky families, but particularly for those who have lost a job because of the pandemic. As a legislator, I receive more calls about unemployment insurance from our district than I do about any other issue. Sadly, many come from constituents waiting f…
We, at the Graves County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, are dedicated to protecting our community from crime and from the criminals who commit them. The prosecution of felony drug crimes is vital to this mission. Substance abuse issues have been known to have a positive correlation with all…
A courtroom is not a place where you expect to find scenes of celebration and tears of joy. Unless, of course, it is drug court.
The Graves County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office strives daily to hold criminal offenders accountable for their conduct and seek justice for those victimized. We do so in accordance with state and federal law, while respecting the constitutional rights and protections granted to every citi…
This week, legislators returned to Frankfort to conclude the last two days before the veto period begins. During the veto period, the Governor will consider legislation that passed the House and the Senate and either sign or issue a veto. If the Governor chooses to veto, the House and the Se…
This week, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would eliminate barriers to educational opportunities for Kentucky children, no matter their economic status or where they live. The bill, HB 563, contains two major provisions as well as funding for full-day kindergarten across the state.
As we begin March, it is hard to believe that this will be our last full week of this year’s session. Last Wednesday was the last day lawmakers could file new legislation and though this is considered a short session, nearly 900 bills have been filed for consideration in both the House and t…
As you know by now, the first votes taken when we returned to Frankfort earlier this month were to override the vetoes of six bills passed during the January portion of the session. The bills vetoed include pro-life legislation, a measure that changes an archaic law that limits where Kentuck…
Severe winter weather here in the Commonwealth has left thousands without electricity and some without heat. It is my sincere hope that you and your family remain safe and warm.
The old adage is that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Trash along — and sometimes in — our streets and roads have not made a good first impression for any one who happens to be passing through.
One of the greatest honors of serving as Commissioner of Agriculture is the opportunity to travel around the state, put the tailgate down on a farm truck, and have a conversation with a farmer about how the year looks.
Random thoughts of sugar plums, end-of-year bills, mask-wearing, exhaustion, virtual learning, peaceful transitions of power, basketball, and Time’s stupidly-picked Person of the Year for 2020 ping-ponging in my grey matter …
Of all the things we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving, let’s not forget that American farmers are selling rice to China.
I try to do something each Thanksgiving to highlight certain things people are thankful for. Last year, I wrote about Graves County basketball coach Josh Frick who would be soon starting a new basketball season after a heart scare earlier in the year.
Veterans Day is coming at a very good time. As we are still engaged (as of this writing) in a contentious campaign for votes to determine our next president, we all should pause to take time and remember those men and women who served, fought and died so that we could be free and have the fr…
Across the nation and around the world, the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise. This alarming trend has raised concerns that the economic lockdown from the spring could return. Leaders in Frankfort can and should be creative in using available resources and developing guidelines to p…
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited inner-city Louisville recently, bringing a declaration sure to refire Kentucky’s charter-school movement.
Have you ever locked yourself out of your car or your house? What a frustrating, helpless feeling! “What will I do now?” “I have someplace I need to be or someone to meet.” “It’s too cold outside or someone won’t be home for hours.”
It is hard to believe there are only a couple of months left before we convene the 2021 Regular Session, but we are making progress on the issues we must tackle in January. Some of the challenges we face existed well before the COVID-19 pandemic but the pandemic also provides us with an unpr…
This bizarre presidential election year has suffered from acute shortages of both wit and wisdom, a fact that was highlighted for me by the passing of Roberta McCain, the remarkable 108-year-old mother of the Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
Data can tell a story but not the full story. It might be a good starting point but often there is more than meets the eye.
In this age of uncertainty and crisis, American voters have been given the critical task of choosing their leaders through the democratic process. The growing number of COVID-19 cases and the economic ramifications of the pandemic, have taken center stage. In our own commonwealth, we have en…
In February of 2018, Amanda and I hiked Abrams Falls trail in the Cade’s Cove region of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is a beautiful five mile round trip hike which is highlighted by Abrams Falls; a 20 foot waterfall with high water volume. The hike involves going up and over th…
In communities across the country, children are taught from a young age about the importance of getting out on Election Day and voting. The right to vote is the cornerstone of any democracy and an important tool for making our voices heard in the political process.
As if this year hasn’t been fun enough, we are now less than three weeks from Election Day, with the presidency and other offices on the line.
Animals are interesting and mostly predictable in their behaviors. You can count on them to behave a certain way based upon what kind of animal they are. You would be surprised to find a cat who didn’t at least swat at a mouse that ran by. You would be amazed if a dog never sniffed around as…
As we approach a crucial election, it’s time to think about the sort of leaders we want and need at all levels of government — especially when strong leadership is badly needed to help save lives in a pandemic.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s abundance of executive orders — more than 150 since COVID-19 surfaced — is matched only by the largeness both of his good intentions and the unintended upheaval wrought by those edicts.
If we live 65 years, we have about 600,000 hours at our disposal. Assuming we are 18 when we complete high school, we have 47 years, or nearly 412,000 hours to live after graduation.
Most people want one thing above all else when it comes to dealing with the criminal justice system: fairness. But fairness only comes when both sides start out with an equal footing. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t the case for victims of crime in Kentucky who are not provided the same lev…
We don’t want to be judged by others, yet we can be guilty of constantly comparing ourselves to others.
Over the course of the year, Mary and I have seen new neighbors move in on both sides of us and behind us.
What are the qualities of a good Supreme Court Justice? The question is relevant since Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the nation’s highest court last weekend.
In Luke 7:11-17 we read the remarkable account of what happened when Jesus encountered a large funeral procession. A grieving widow was on her way to bury her only son. Feeling compassion for the woman, he spoke to her, touched the coffin, and commanded her son to rise up out of the coffin!
I just signed up to be a mentor at my law school, and did something that is atypical for me: Display a preference for female law students. It even surprises me when I look at that sentence, since my entire career as a columnist has been dedicated to the proposition that gender, race, sexual …
When President Donald Trump demands that we “get rid of the ballots,” everyone knows exactly what he means. Since last spring, the aspiring tinpot dictator in the White House has spit out daily tweets full of falsehoods about mail ballots, which he calls “awful,” “terrible” and “ripe for FRA…
