Opinion

Over a two-stint period, Elaine Wilson served Bullitt County for 20 years as its director of tourism.

The agency has gone from operating out of a small office to now overseeing a major conference center in the region.

Bullitt County is blessed to have five interchange exits on Interstate 65, one of the busiest roads in the nation.

But tourists don’t just decide to stop on their way to another destination.

Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the U.S.

Here in Kentucky, statistics from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet show that drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in more than 26,000 collisions in 2008, resulting in 141 fatalities. Seventy-percent of those killed were teenagers.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 16-year-old drivers are more than twice as likely to be involved in fatal crashes as older drivers.

While all the numbers are still being assembled, it appears the school district leadership is pretty pleased with the strides made in the latest round of testing.

While the CATS test has been put to rest, the federal No Child Left Behind remains.

The district made a great stride when students with disabilities tested at a level where they were shy of the goal but made significant progress to be granted Safe Harbor.

Few districts can claim to reach this level.

But the district has too many schools which are not reaching their individual targets.

The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about two companies that claim to be Louisville-based businesses, but they are actually scams. Consumers across the country are contacting the BBB of Louisville, Southern Indiana, and Western Kentucky to inquire about these “companies.” 

JC Henning

BBB has received over 100 inquiries on JC Henning, Inc from across the country. These scammers prey on the unemployed. They have a professional looking website at www.jchenninginc.com that features a photo of the corporate

If you enjoy working with young people, volunteering as a 4-H club leader may be an exciting and fulfilling experience for you.

In 4-H, caring, enthusiastic adults are always needed to assist young people in achieving their goals.

Club leaders can positively impact a 4-H’ers life. It is very rewarding for them to watch young people build self-confidence and self-worth and develop new interests as they accomplish goals in various projects and activities.

Club leaders can either organize a community club or a project club.

Today, candy is the central focus of the spookiest holiday of the year.  In fact, the average American consumes 24 pounds of candy in a year, most of which is eaten right after Halloween according to the U.S. Census Bureau.   But for children with diabetes, it can be difficult to enjoy the festivities when all their fellow goblins are in a frenzy to get their hands on mounds of sweet treats.

In my travels across Kentucky this August, I met with many doctors, nurses, seniors, hospital workers, small-business owners, and countless others concerned about their health care and what kinds of reforms government can make.

Everybody had an opinion.

No one claimed the current system is perfect.

But I didn’t meet anybody who thought a government takeover of health care was the answer.

No, what Kentuckians told me loud and clear was that those of us in Washington should take the time necessary to get health care reform right.