.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Opinion

  • Expose the pensions of politicians

    Kentucky Roll Call publisher and American hero Lowell Reese, who was exposed to Agent Orange decades ago while fighting communism as a battalion commander in the jungles of southeast Asia, made the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he boarded his final flight from earth last week.

    Reese took the oath to defend this country and its Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic” seriously.

  • The great bathroom debate

    Rip Van Winkle, the character from an early 19th century story, fell asleep for 20 years and woke to a world far different than the one he left when he fell into a deep slumber.

    He drifted off to dreamland before the American Revolution, and wiped the sleep from his eyes after the new nation had been formed. Needless to say, the sweeping changes that had taken place during his sleep caught him unprepared.

  • Budget tackled state’s priorities

    April 15th was the 60th and final legislative day of the 2016 General Assembly, and we were fortunate to take care of some much-needed business in Frankfort.

  • Kentucky must stand united

    A new day is dawning in Kentucky. For the first time in many years, the winds of financial responsibility have begun to blow briskly through the marble halls of Frankfort. These welcome breezes are ushering in the promise of a fresh start for the Commonwealth.

  • Budget was a bipartisan effort
  • From our readers - Riley did...

    It’s taken me almost a week, but I believe that I can respond to Mr. Higgins’ letter last week now without having a mini-stroke!

    Without going line by line with rebuttal, I am just wondering about how Judge Riley “pulled a trick out of his bag?” Another regularly scheduled Fiscal Court meeting where the Sheriff’s budget was discussed again? That’s a trick out of the bag? Then, Judge Riley kept “delaying the decision?” You even say yourself he kept getting deadlocked votes.

  • Is lake’s tourism drying up?

    I still have a cassette tape of a song Larry Lawson brought me soon after I started working at the Spencer Magnet in 2003. The Lawson Brothers, a local Bluegrass group, had written a song entitled “65 Feet Down.” The song tells the story of communities like Ashes Creek and Van Buren that were covered up by the impounding of Taylorsville Lake back in the 1970s and early 1980s.

  • Teachers and pensions - doing the...

    Lots of retired teachers bared their angry fists at me following my recent column about the soon-to-retire public school administrator who will, if he fulfills life expectancy, collect pension checks for longer than he worked, enjoy annual cost-of-living increases that most workers only dream about and amass a KTRS-funded $5.6 million fortune by retiring at 49 years of age after working 27 years.

    “Please be accurate rather than (highlight) one exceptional pensioner!” one retired emailer scolded.

  • Atheists and the Ark

    A group of atheists is so riled up by the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky that they’ve started a billboard campaign to discourage people from visiting it. The proposed billboard says: “Genocide & Incest Park: Celebrating 2,000 years of myths” and for a gift of $500, donors can have their face among those drowning outside the Ark. It’s an attention grabber no doubt, but the effort amounts to free advertising for the park which is set to open in July.

  •
    Guthrie wants to trim regulations

     

    While the nation’s attention has been focused on presidential politics for much of the past year, business in Washington continues, and Kentucky Congressman Brett Guthrie said much of what occurs is not good.

  • From our readers - Spring Cleaning...

    We have arrived at one of the most beautiful times of the year, with the flowers, trees, and bushes letting us know the bad weather is about gone.  What is left is all the residue from the bleakness of winter, namely cans and bottles, mainly plastic, and the usual assortment of fast food wrappers. 

  • From our readers - Fiscal Court’s...
  • We’re surrounded by water

    Most people are drawn to water. Aside from water being one off the essentials to life, we typically enjoy water for other reasons and it’s hard to imagine summer vacation without some form of aquatic entertainment.

    Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population live in coastal regions. The sand, the sun, the waves and the water are a natural draw and a hub for commerce.

    But even those of us living inland like the water, and most of America’s major interior cities are also located on rivers. Those cities also understand the value of their water.

  • Budget battle rages

    As the 2016 Session of the Kentucky General Assembly comes to a close, I have been hard at work in Frankfort fighting for a fiscally responsible budget and moving priority pieces of legislation on to the Governor’s desk.

  • Variety of bills passed during...

    Long days, heated discussions, and budget negotiations marked the 13th week of the 2016 General Assembly. The Senate was in session three of the five weekdays while the Senate and House leaders used the other two days to work on budget negotiations.

    The Senate is working diligently toward a budget compromise ensuring the people of the Commonwealth are not left without a state budget at the end of the session. We do not want to waste taxpayer dollars by calling a special session.

  • Keep Spencer Co. clean

    I’m not a treehugger. I don’t support PETA, I don’t believe in global warming and the only climate change I know to be real is that it gets warmer in the spring and cooler in the fall, just as it has for thousands of years.

    At the same time, there’s probably nothing that makes me angrier than to see people litter or throw trash out of their vehicles.

  • House continues debate on both...

    As we close in on the final week of the 2016 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the legislature is working day and night to finish conducting the people’s business, which includes passing a timely and fiscally responsible budget.

  • Budget now in hands of state senate

    After over two months of anticipation and debate, the Senate finally received the state budget bill from the House, midway through the 11th week of the 2016 Kentucky General Assembly. We think the upcoming budget will reflect those needs for the betterment of the Commonwealth.
    As expected, many changes were made to Governor Bevin’s budget by the House. Now that we have received their budget, we will comb through the fine details and make our own changes.

  • Critics of religious liberty bill...
  • Get involved in your hometown

    This issue of The Spencer Magnet may have been a surprise in your mailbox, or you may have been a loyal subscriber for years. Whatever the case, we thank you for taking the time to read.

    Picking up the local paper is really the first step in becoming involved in your community. It’s a way to find out what going on, what challenges we face, and what’s being accomplished. More importantly, it provides you with information on how you can make a difference.