The picnic sponsored by the Nelson County Democrats was an enjoyable shindig that lacked just one element -- voters.

If you subtracted all the Democratic candidates, their immediate and extended famlies and close supporters, you would have had a rather smallish crowd. And that's a shame.

In a conversation with Nelson County Clerk Phyllis Mattingly, she told me she remembered when Democratic picnics of the past would bring in crowds from all over the county. "Where are the people from New Haven, Bloomfield and the other parts of the county?" she said.

Mattingly said part of the change over time may be credited to the advances in communications technology. "Back in those days we didn't have cell phones, cable television and the Internet," she said.

People seem less engaged in local politics ... or maybe they've always been that way.

Regardless of attendance, the picnic was a good start for what may become an tradition for the party. I'm sure if the tables were turned -- and the primary ballot was full of Republicans -- there would be a Republican rally and picnic too (the local GOP isn't quite at that level, but they're working on it).

As someone interested in politics, I wanted to hear the Democratic judge-executive candidates speak, along with other candidates who will face-off in the May 16th primary. I also wanted to hear what state Rep. Mike Weaver had to say.

Weaver was recruited by state and national Democrats to challenge Rep. Ron Lewis' in Kentucky's Second Congressional District. Weaver has been serving as a state legislator from Hardin County since 1997.

The Democratic party seems to be serious about challenging Lewis for his congressional seat. Former Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark was in Kentucky a few weeks ago stumping for Weaver with stops in E'town and Owensboro. According to a recent story in the Courier-Journal, Lewis still has a significant cash advantage, reporting a cash balance of $750,000 vs. Weaver's $177,558.

Weaver and Democrats are looking to the fall, even though the May primary is only three weeks away. Weaver faces James Rice, a factory worker from Campbellsville.

After listening to Weaver speak at Saturday's Democratic picnci, I have to wonder if Weaver really has the "fire in the belly" to mount a successful congressional campaign.

He opened his statement Saturday by saying he shouldn't be in Bardstown campaigning, he should be somewhere fishing or on a boat enjoying his retirement and his grandchildren, etc. The impression he gave me is that he's only running for office because the party recruited him for the job (the Democrats who faced each othe in the May primary four years ago were an embarrasment to the Democratic party, which apparently didn't offer much financial support to the winner in his campaign against Lews).

During his stump speech, Weaver painted vivid mental images with descriptions of his mother's death when he was a child, his work on the family farm and the poverty he endured. The crowd sat quiet as he told about carrying a comrade's lifeless body off the battlefields of Vietnam.

Maybe its too early to expect Weaver to speak specifics since the real campaign -- the one against Ron Lewis -- isn't going to happen until after the primary. Weaver spoke well, but was short on specifics about what he would do if elected. Weaver's promise to "ask the hard questions" really doesn't mean much, but this early in the campaign it's makes for a good stump speech.

One of the most bizarre events at the picnic was when state Sen. Dan Mongiardo employed Bible verses in his attack on the GOP.

While Dr. Dan did not offer book-and-verse references in his comments, he told the crowd at the picnic that Bible prophesy foretold the Republican "deceivers" coming to power. He implored the Democratic faithful to "read their Bible" and confirm his comments.

I've heard candidates employ various methods to impugn their opponents reputation, but this was the first time I've heard a Democrat quote Bible verses in a political attack. Amazing.

I thought it equally nonsensical when Dr. Dan floated the theory that Republican policies are promoting -- and increasing -- the number of legal abortions peformed in the country.

Mongiardo said abortion rates fell under the Clinton administration, and have climbed under Bush. According to Mongiardo, American incomes have dropped and the number of good paying jobs have fallen under the Bush administration. More Americans are now uninsured that during the Clinton years, he explained.

Since women are making less money and more of them are uninsured since President Bush was elected, more women are forced to seek abortions because they can't afford to have children, he explained.

Mongiardo said Democrats are pro-life by their policies and Republicans are pro-abotion by theirs. Or in short, "If you're pro-life, vote Democratic." (I hope radical feminists don't find out about Mongiardo's theory, or the Dems may see a mass defection of pro-abortion voters to the GOP -- something I'm sure NEITHER part wants to happen.)

All in all, it was a still a great picnic, and a tradition that I hope -- for the sake of the Democratic faithful -- will take root and grow.

Better yet, how about getting the local Republican and Democratic organizations to cooperate on a joint political picnic in the Fancy Farm tradition (sans the disrespectful conduct -- or most of it anyway). We're all neighbors and co-workers, and perhaps it would promote political participation among young and old alike.

While I'm wishing, I say we move the picnic to the grounds of historic Spalding Hall, invite the beef and/or pork producers to come and cook, and let each party conduct it's silent auctions and what not. It would be a great picnic and quite a hoot! Now let's start that as a tradition! All in favor signify by saying "aye."

Date:	2006-04-15 03:14
Subject:	It's been a while since I've updated here ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy

Over at The Nelson County Gazette, I've just completed another installment of what a former editor used to call "The World According to Brooks," her term for a column filled with observations from your reasonably faithful scribe.

In this latest installment, I examine Kenny Fogle's candidacy for judge-executive: Will the outcome be different than four years ago? Despite the rapid spread of his candidate signs, I'm skeptical he can beat incumbent Dean Watts ... but that's subject to change in the next 30 days.

Visit The Nelson County Gazette for more.

-30-

It's a cold, cloudy night from atop my hill overlooking Cox's Creek tonight ... not that I've looked outside much lately. Or done much of anything other than be thankful for many, many things ... one of which is a prescription for pain medication.

I'm recovering from an emergency appendictomy from last week ... what day? Heck, the days have all run together on me, like sidewalk chalk in a thunderstorm. I think I got home on Friday. The appendictomy was a day or two earlier.

What I thought was a bad turkey sandwich on Monday turned out to be a really, really badly gangrenous appendix. I was whisked by ambulance from Flaget's ER and admitted directly to the OR at Baptist East.

It's been an interesting experience for me -- physically and spiritually. The spiritual part? Faced with increasingly bad odds for a high-risk surgery at 4 a.m., I found myself alone in an OR fulll of people I did not know. Standing at the precipice of Eternity, my only act is humbly ask God to let me stay on the Earth awhile longer.

I don't have time for revisions of this prayer. I feel the anesthesiologist's warm IV fluids rush into my forearm and spread across my body. I'm engulfed by blackness before I can even think "... amen."

There's no out-of-body experiences for me to report -- no ghost orbs, no dazzling lights or voices from beyond -- not to say that I wasn't wondering if a dead relative wasn't going to pull me aside and read me the Riot Act for one transgression or another. In all seriousness, I wasn't sure which set of family members would greet me when I next opened my eyes -- the live ones or the dead ones.

It was neither.

I blinked in the bright lights of my room at Baptist East's ICU. My nurse was there talking to me, helping me know where I was and how I was. A ventilator? Yeah, I remember hearing about that. I find that I am on one now, and they can't take me off the thing, my breathing is too bad. Damn.

Having been warned that this might happen, all I could do was rest until my wife was allowed to come in the room. Using a letter board, my fingers pointed out my first message: a jubilant "I AM ALIVE".

Morse code would have been much faster than pointing at the letters, but you make do with the tools you have. I was full of questions.

How are you?

Where did you wait?

How am I breathing?

How do I breathe with this thing?

I received an envelope with no return address recently. It was addressed to me (my address was printed on a peel 'n' stick address sticker), and contained but a single sheet of ivory colored paper.

I don't have the letter on my desk, but the text of the letter posed a question regarding my satisfaction with the quality of instruction at Cox's Creek Elementary. The letter was meter stamped from Louisville, and the stationary appeared to have been trimmed of its letterhead.

The letter urged parents to contact the state's Office of Education Accountability (with a link to the OEA's Web site, www.lrc.state.ky.us/oea/.

The letter closed with a call to action, urging parents to take control of our children's education.

There was no signature on the letter, and no indication of who paid for it or even who mailed it. It sure raises a few questions in my mind, the first of which is: What's going on at Cox's Creek that I need to know about?

The letter doesn't spell it out, but it indicates that something is amiss, and there are parents unhappy with their children's education. There weren't enough clues in the letter to determine much more, but I'm hoping to scratch around and see if there's more to it.

If I find the letter, I'll scan it and post it here, and report what else I might hear on it. Reports are welcome! If you know something, let me know!

While I'm hunting-and-pecking here at my keyboard, snug and sheltered from the blustery return of seasonal weather, brides and grooms-to-be (and their families) are checking out the 20th annual Bridal Show sponsored by The Kentucky Standard.

Putting on the show is primarily a function of the paper's advertising staff, though it really encompasses the entire Standard Communications operation. It's a wonderful event for those preparing for marriage, or for anyone planning an event that might use the services of vendors and shops who participate. It's a Herculean effort, but always well executed.

You know you're getting old when you see so many of the children of your high school classmates in the engagements section. In the bridal tab's 2006 wedding announcements I found a former babysitter and my cousin's oldest son among others whose family I know. Wasn't it just yesterday that Mary Ellyn Hamilton was telling me the story of her son taking turns riding in the clothes dryer?

I thought it was a poor choice of acronyms to give show organizer Joan Hardin's mug shot on page 2 a name line that read "BS Coordinator." I know it probably is the source of some good-natured ribbing inside the Standard office. Speaking from the perspective of the average reader, it makes the paper look silly.

And speaking of the newspaper, I was thrilled to see an old friend's face in today's Standard. Mary Alice Holt from The News-Enterprise in Elizabethown was in the features section with a white chili recipe.

Mary Alice was newsroom clerk at the N-E, and was nicknamed "Mom" by the newsroom employees. She kept track of birthdays and made everyone their choice of cake (her Coca-Cola cake was my choice). She's an excellent food writer and cook who handled not only her usual news clerk jobs, but also answered phones for the newsroom, coordinated her weekly food-related feature front page, and helped keep a group of copy editors in line. Welcome back, Mom!

For my comments on the local GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner, visit the Nelson County Gazette Web site.

That's the way it looks today from my wind-chilled vantage point overlooking Cox's Creek.

Date:	2006-01-26 02:18
Subject:	More than a blog ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

After some fooling around with trying to change the layouts here on Blurty, I decided to design a weblog that I can better control. The result?

The Nelson County Gazette.

It's part blog, part news, part political analysis, and part commentary -- sprinkled with observations and general complaints.

I'm not sure where Blurty will fit into things, but I'll keep the account alive. This is certainly simpler to maintain, and in most cases, simple is good. Time will tell. The latest updates will be on the Gazette -- or that's the goal.

That's it for tonight from my hill overlooking Cox's Creek. G'night!

Threat of bankruptcy filing may cancel local Louisville Orchestra performance

Bankruptcy rumblings: Bargaining ploy or fiscal necessity?

General Assembly takes aim at Wal-Mart

Big Labor financing liberals' attack on retail giant

Rice comments on natural gas spat spark 'unusual' response

Alternatives for US31E receive positive reception

A slide illustrating how a roundabout would work if placed at the intersection of US31E and KY509. The roundabouts are designed to improve traffic flow and safety (click to enlarge). State Rep. David Floyd talks with constituents at the conclusion of Wednesday night's US31E public hearing (click to enlarge). Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts talks with Gary Raymer, chief engineer of state highway District 4 in Elizabethtown. Watts is a proponent of keeping US31E along it's original route where practical (click to enlarge). Two Cox's Creek residents point to their homes, both located along US31E (click to enlarge). Frankie Cambron, left, and political hopeful David Shields, right, talk with another participant at the US31E public hearing Wednesday (click to enlarge).

US31E hearing set for Wednesday

Change allows 2 alignments to be reconsidered

New alignments are viable

Why the late notice of the change in federal law?

• Exempts projects with minimal effects on historic sites, parks, recreation areas and wildlife refuges from review with the concurrence of resource-agency officials, and exempts the Interstate Highway System from designation as an historic site, with some qualifications.

Will the state object?

Hat throwers, car tag seekers crowd county clerk's office

High winds and the relocation of utilities along Louisville Road between KY245 and Nazareth have created havoc for businesses and residents in the served areas.

A power surge that was apparently created by crews relocating power lines created havoc for a number of computer users. One business owner I was talking to said two computer servers were damaged by the surge.

Businesses along Louisville Road reported seeing the lights get dim, then suddenly brighten to nearly twice their normal intensity. My wife reported that at least one computer workstation where she worked crashed after the power surge.

High winds were also causing problems for local utility crews. Windy conditions yesterday pushed power lines together along KY245 between Newcomb Oil and the state garage. The Bardstown-Nelson County Volunteer Fire Department responded, but it was not really needed after the cause was determined. Utility crews were called to look at the problem.

---
In a follow-up to a post in this journal back in late October, the classic Chevrolet Camaro that was sitting on blocks on Court Square disappeared earlier this month.

On the evening of the local Christmas parade, I noticed the owner of the Camaro was talking to someone as they stood in front of the vehicle. The Camaro had two or three rims and tires on it -- some nice rims and tires, too. In fact, the car was looking good! The hood was propped up with a stick, and it appeared that the Camaro's days on blocks were about to end.

The Camaro disappeared from that spot within the next couple of days. I haven't seen it around the Square since. It's tough to bet the classic lines of the first-generation Camaro. I'm glad the owner got it going -- and I'm sure downtown merchants are pleased that a car on blocks no longer graces the Court Square.

The car was sitting in front of what used to be the entrance to the garage that was once located there. It's unfortunate that the owner couldn't have worked on the car inside, as I can personally attest that working in the cold weather is no fun, even if it's a classic Chevy!

----

The byline of one of the Kentucky Standard's new writers was scrambled on the newspaper Web site exactly as if I had typed it myself.

For some reason, every time I attempt to spell the name "Brian", my fingers spell "Brain". I seldom get to type it all the way through without backspacing to fix the transposed letters.

The same malady apparently struck the person who posted staff writer Brian Walker's opinion pieces on the newspaper Web site. The mistake doesn't appear in the print edition (at least in this week's column). I think if my name was Brian, I wouldn't mind a nickname of "Brain" -- other than the high-expectations it might bring with it. And naturally, as typo-ridden as this journal is, I'm not about to start tossing stones!

That's it for now from my hill overlooking Cox's Creek. I'll be back soon with my reflections on 2005.

Holiday get-togethers are great for catching up on what's going on in the family. It's also a great time to get some juicy news tidbits as well.

At a family shindig today (Christmas Eve Eve), a relative of my wife's -- a Nelson County High School student who also took part in the recent walk-out to protest the firing of football coach Bill Mason and a list of other gripes -- had some interesting views on the brouhaha.

According to my source, though Mason was fired as football coach, he retained his job as biology teacher. My source said the real reason that kids were quitting the football program had less to do with Mason's coaching skills, and more to do with the mandatory random drug testing for student athletes and others who take part in extracurricular activities.

My source said a number of the football players were afraid of being selected for random drug testing, and quit the program rather than have their use of recreational drugs detected.

What sort of drugs are used at NCHS?

According to my source, who has good information and is a person I consider reliable, marijuana is commonly available, but other drugs are also easy to obtain. Of course, alcohol is prevalent in local high schools, and has been for years. "You can get pretty much any type of drug you want," he said.

If you wanted to do an excellent enterprise reporting piece, how about a look at the effect random drug testing in school districts like Nelson County is having. What other districts are doing it? Is it pushing participants away who fear their alcohol or drug use will be detected? What about other districts across the state? What's been their experiences? Even if the claim that random drug tests are impacting the football program are bogus, it's still an interesting concept -- particularly given the ease with which drugs can be obtained by high school kids.

My daughter went through random drug testing both last year and this year (6th and 7th grades). She's in chess club, dulcimer and a few other programs. I'm not sure that random drug testing of just those who take part in school activities is going to do much to catch drug users. It will only mean that students who do try drugs won't put themselves in a position where their drug use will be detected.

Is random drug testing working in the local school districts? How many positive "hits" have the schools had on their drug tests? And I would like to know how many 6th grade dulcimer students tested positive for drugs (just kidding, of course).

School superintendents tend to be rather touchy when members of the press come snooping around. Would Joey Downs at Bardstown High School agree that random drug testing of athletes has had an impact on who he can get to try out for football? Positive impact or negative? It's an interesting question.

Public schools can't legally require all students be drug tested, but you have to wonder if that wouldn't be best for kids in the long run. Ducking high school sport teams and other extracurricular activities is an easy way to avoid detection. I've thought it ironic that members of the 7th grade chess club are random drug tested, while high school dope-smoking slackers escape detection by not doing anything outside the state-mandated classroom attendance.

I'm probably not alone as a parent of a child subject to random drug testing who believes if it's fair for my kids, its fair for all.

Of course, that's just how things look tonight from my hill overlooking Cox's Creek.

Date:	2005-12-23 02:34
Subject:	US31E meeting notice has a slightly different take on "alternatives" ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious

In today's mail I received a full-color brochure from the Transportation Cabinet Highway Department District 4 office in Elizabethtown regarding the upcoming public hearing on the US31E project (my scans of the brochure are posted below; click on the images to enlarge them).

As reported earlier in this space, Judge-Executive Dean Watts confirmed recently in an interview with PLG-TV 13 that a change in federal law means that the route for the newUS31E could now follow the existing highway from Nazareth to KY 509 in Cox's Creek.

This change is significant because it meant that the new road would not cut through two subdivisions -- Greear Estates and Creek Pointe developments located between Sullivan Lane and KY 509. The change would also apparently spare the need to relocate the Cox's Creek post office and the In & Out Market.

While the "change" Watts was referring to may be shrouded in engineering consultant mumbo-jumbo, the mailing I received today does not clearly indicate that a rebuilt US31E will follow the existing highway to KY 509.

What it does say, under the header "Project Alternatives Being Reconsidered," is that a change in federal law allows two alternative routes previously eliminated to be reconsidered. The alignments were excluded by federal law because of conflicts with historic properties.

The alignments up for reconsideration -- S2 and M2 -- both travel more closely to the original route of US31E.

S2 runs the same as S1 (the route recommended in October) with the exception of its path north of Sullivan Lane. Instead of veering west like S1, S2 stays along US31E from just south of Sullivan Lane all the way to the intersection of KY509.

Alternative alignment M2 follows the exact path of M3 (the recommended alternative) except for a portion of the alignment along the area by Whitney Stables. Instead of traveling east of the existing roadway like M3, M2 would pretty much follow the long straight stretch by Whitney Stables on past the Cheek dairy farm.

The alternatives to be "reconsidered" certainly take advantage of straighter alignments. The encroachment on historical properties doesn't look extensive on either alternative.

On S2, the state would need to encroach on the historic property just south of the North Nelson Water District in order to pass between that property and the one directly across US31E from Cox's Creek Elementary School.

On M2, the new US31E would need to mostly encroach on the road frontage of Cheek's Dairy Farm.

The brochure makes it clear that the new alternatives are just that -- alternatives. It also lists the "Current Preferred Alternatives", which are the routes revealed in October.

The brochure also has some interesting notes that appear to be evidence the state is hoping to let property owners and members of its own Citizens Advisory Group know their input and comments are being heard.

Included in an informational graphic titled "Safety Features" is an explanation of some features which will be discussed -- including roundabouts and raised medians.

The suggestion of roundabouts was put forth by Creek Pointe residents Kurt and Wilhelmina Hassell during early meetings of the Citizen Advisory Group. In an interview in July, the couple expressed dismay that their suggestions weren't being heard or acknowleged by the state's engineers.

The Hassells previously lived on the West Coast, where they witnessed first hand how roundabouts could improve both traffic flow and safety. Wilhelmina Hassell said her comments regarding roundabouts were routinely ignored. She and other CAG members said that comments that didn't go along with the state's suggestions often were left out of the minutes of group's meetings.

The real question: Does the hearing mean the preferred route will change?

The brochure mailed by the Highway Department mentions something it has used for several years in its arguments against reconsidering alignment S2 -- it will require the use of a 45 mph design speed with 5 lanes, curbs and gutters. This will slow speeds for the length of the highway. Using roundabouts will also necessarily slow speeds along US31E. Is this a bad thing? Depends on how quickly I need to get to town!

The state has previously stated that staying along US31E from Sullivan Lane to KY 509 will mean higher right-of-way and utility relocation costs.

Despite the change in federal law allowing reconsideration of the alignments, if using them is more expensive will the state push for these alignments -- even when the Highway Department still prefers its previous recommendations?

It's too early to tell. And until the public hearing on Wed. Jan 11th, there's no way to get a true feeling of which way the state's looking to go on this.

Clearly Judge-Executive Dean Watts believes this is a chance to put the highway where most people want it. I suspect the state will have some additional input on this, making it clear that reconsidering S2 won't be a painless decision for a group of property owners elsewhere along Louisville Road.

We had a group of upset property owners at July's public meeting, and I suspect we'll see a different group of upset property owners next month -- making very similar arguments regarding NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard.

That's how it looks tonight from my moonlit hill overlooking Cox's Creek.

The phone rang this afternoon while I was repairing my kids' computer. Having just fielded a call from my son's school regarding lunch money, I expected it to be something else school-related.

"Hello?" I answered.

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

Whirrr ... click ... Just as I'm about to punch the button to hang up the phone, a recorded voice greets me. I ddn't catch the name of the group who sponsored the call. Let's just say the content of the call indicates it wasn't from the Republican National Committee.

The recording was short and sweet. After the greeting, the speaker began the pitch, something along these lines:

"You've see in the news of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's resignation from Congress after admitting to taking $2.4 million in illegal bribes from lobbyists and defense contractors ..."

During this past week I've been following the alleged controversy over conservative speaker/author/political pundit Ann Coulter's appearance at the University of Connecticut earlier this week.

Coulter was invited to speak by UConn's College Republicans, who have been bringing conservative speakers to campus this year.

Coulter's speech at UConn was interrupted by raucous protestors who played loud music from a boom box and began screaming at her and chanted "You suck! You suck!" after she referred to former President Bill Clinton as an "executive buffoon."

Clearly agitated by the protestors, Coulter ended her speech and moved to a question-and-answer segment with the audience.

Who were the main protestors who did the screaming and yelling? The liberal campus groups Progressive Students' Alliance and Students Against Hate. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that anti-hate groups who promote tolerance, acceptance, and freedom of speech were themselves intolerant and unwilling to allow Coulter to speak? It sure makes these groups look hypocritical.

Admittedly, Coulter's wit and sharp tongue are the primary main tools of her trade. You just have to "get" Ann Coulter to separate her opinions on policy and her comments in jest aimed at setting hardened, radical liberals into reactionary spasms.

If you read the press reports, particularly those associated with UConn, it's funny how college kids view conservative points of view. And it's interesting how the radical left can show total disrespect to opposing viewpoints, then claim it's the conservatives who broadcast hate.

The UConn student newspaper, the Daily Student, published an editorial opposing Coulter's appearance on campus after her appearance was approved. Editor-in-chief Tom Gaffey told the Hartford Courant he was concerned Coulter's talk would be "inflammatory."

Ann Coulter, inflammatory? Get out of here!

Why would you invite a best-selling conservative author like Coulter to speak and not expect her to fire off the verbal left hooks she's famous for? I would be disappointed if she didn't.

Ann's a big girl who can take care of herself, and for those liberals who don't "get it," her style of political punditry is her schtick. It keeps the lights on and puts food on the table. If she agreed with everything Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton said, what fun would there be in that? It's funny that feminists can take issue with a bright, sharp-witted, educated woman who's certainly an independent thinker (and speaker) and nobody's fool.

But campus activists tend to need things to protest. I was at Western Kentucky University right before the first Iraq war, and the students who protested were an interesting lot. One of them wanted a job on the college paper. He was passionate about his cause du jour, but he had no time to actually report and write stories he was assigned. No, he had to travel to Washington DC to beat a drum for peace on the Washington Mall for a few hours. He blew off his story assignments, saying he couldn't do that kind of low-level "grunt" work, he had to have a spot on the opinion page. Even that didn't work, as he had trouble expressing his angst in print in fewer than 3,500 words. Beating a drum was certainly an easier outlet.

I don't really hold these college protestors responsible for their actions. College is a time when all kids challenge the ideas and traditions they've been taught since birth (in the case of UConn's liberal students, that includes old-fashioned and outdated values like courtesy and respect).

Most college campuses are liberal. That's not news of course, and I'm not saying its necessarily a bad thing. In ideal terms, the independence that young adults find at college should foster personal growth. Maybe protesting "the man" is still a part of that experience for college students today.

Everytime I read about college protestors, the lyrics to a song come to mind. You may not know this singer's name, but you'll recognize the two songs he had hits with back in the 1960s, particularly this time of year.

Alan Sherman was a successful TV producer who dabbled in song parodies. He was the Wierd Al Yankovic of the 1960s, and his stuff was clean, witty and good for a laugh. One of his songs you'll hear this time of year is his spoof of "The 12 Days of Christmas" ("... and a Japanese transistor radio ..."). The other is his ode to camp life, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh."

The song I'm referring to is his tribute to the student activist, "The Rebel." The lyrics are kinda spoken in what was the typical beatnik style at the time.

The Rebel

He stood 4-foot 8, and wore a beatnik beard,
He had big thick glasses, that looked real weird.
He weighed 98 pounds, but a whole nation feared
The Rebel.

He had a chick named Rhonda, a college prize.
Her long hair hung down over her eyes,
Kind of half Barbra Steisand and half Joan Baez.
She dug the Rebel.

Well they met one day at a pop art bash
Between a painting of a can of succotash
And a high-camp sculpture of a pile of trash.
It was groovy.

Rhonda dug the Rebel and the Rebel dug Rhonda.
So she grabbed her guitar and roared off on his Honda
To a discotheque called the Anaconda.
With the Rebel.

When the frooging was over at the discotheque,
The Rebel was a-trying to pay his check
But his pockets they were empty, so he yelled "Oh heck!"
"Heck!" said the Rebel.

Well the Dean walked by just as that occured.
He said "You can get expelled for what I've just heard.
Don't you realize "heck" is a four-letter word,
You Rebel?"

But the Rebel said to his old adversary
"Just as long as that word's in the slang dictionary
I swear by Peter, Paul and Mary
I'll use it!"

"Furthermore," said the Rebel "I won't let the issue pass.
The whole student body's gonna sit down en masse,
Besides, that way we don't have to go to class.
We're gonna cool it!

Well the sit-in started about 7:15
The whole thing was covered by Time magazine.
They even took "Batman" off the TV screen
To show the Rebel.

Along came the captain of the State Police,
Arresting lots of students for disturbing the peace,
Including his own son, his daughter and his niece
And the Rebel.

Someone called the governor to see what he could do.
The governor said "Sorry but I cannot talk to you
Cause I'm a-sittin' in at the State House too,
Just like the Rebel.

Soon the secondary schools began to rebel.
Kindergarten kids were sitting during show and tell,
Then the older generation started sitting down as well.
Man, what a protest!

Doctors sat, firemen sat, teachers wouldn't teach.
People sat at home and on the street and on the beach.
Just a-sittin' and a-waitin' for freedom of speech.
Nobody was talking to anybody.

The Nation was in trouble, there wasn't any doubt.
The President went on TV to try to pull us out.
And the President shouted "What the heck's it all about?"
"Heck!" said the President.

Soon everyone was saying "heck," they said it everywhere.
And the Rebel said to Rhonda, "This is terribly unfair.
Being hip is getting middle class - let's you and I be square."
And they did, they squared it up.

Rhonda got a haircut, the Rebel shaved his beard,
They were married and had children which they subsequently reared,
They moved out to the suburbs and they really disappeared.
Wow, did they conform.

Folks built a statue of the Rebel, just to prove the people's love.
But the public soon forgot. Just the pigeons up above
Seemed to know the right location, they've all found that statue of
The Rebel.

I was saddened to learn in today's Kentucky Standard of the loss of Sr. Mary Rachel Rooks SCN.

Known to my era of Bethlehem students as simply "Sister Mary Rachel," she was one of the few adults who could span the whole range of teen-aged emotions, connecting with nearly every student she spent time with.

One of the first incidents that made me aware of Sr. Mary Rachel's quiet authority was when I was a "greenie," a freshman student. The senior class boys had what they called the "goon squad" -- which was a group of boys who doled out abuse to freshmen boys. This was verbal and physical abuse, most notably cracking us on our heads with their senior class rings, wedgies, red bellies, and the like.

The Goon Squad were an intimidating bunch. For a kid just out of 8th grade at St. Joe Elementary, it was terrifying that I now had to worry over my personal safety. The goon squad guys roamed the halls between classes, assaulting any freshman guy in reach.

As nasty and intimidating as the goons were, guess who I saw call them down? Sr. Mary Rachel. She knew the boys were good young men, and like caught little boys, they would "aww shucks" Sr. Mary Rachel. With a hard-as-steel look in her eye and clenched jaw, she didn't need to say much. But she didn't dwell on it, and the incident was over. I was surprised to see the same "goons" laughing and carrying on with her on a regular basis.

My freshman locker was on the second floor of the original school building, and it was just a few feet from Sr. Mary Rachel's music room. Inside she had a large, black grand piano. Before school, I usually hung out near my locker (there were benches in the hallway), and frequently talked with Sr. Mary Rachel when she was coming to her room in the morning.

Having already taught more than 30 years at this point, Sr. Mary Rachel told me that many of my cousins and my sister were all her former students. She was quite a veteran teacher by the time I hit the front door of Bethlehem, and I suspect there was little mischief she hadn't seen.

While all the kids had some sort of respect for the teachers (based usually on fear), Sr. Mary Rachel didn't have to instill fear to earn respect. Newer kids like to make fun of her size and dress (she was short and round, and the fact that she still wore the traditional habit prompted many comparisons to a penguin). In the end, she won over the friendship of even her toughest critic.

I think it was my junior year, a group of guys -- as a joke -- signed up to be part of the school's chorus group. The chorus had been primarily an all-girl affair prior to this. This group of boys who signed up were some of the top mischief makers. They figured they would be bounced out on their ears.

Sr. Mary Rachel was in charge of chorus, of course. She was absolutely delighted to have this group of young men. We thought it was quite a joke -- a group of cut-ups singing with the angelic voices of Bethlehem's chorus group. What a hoot!

Sr. Mary Rachel didn't bat an eye when they guys signed up. As it turned out, the "joke" became a wonderful addition to the chorus group. She used their voices to great effect. In the end, I think the guys were surprised by how much they enjoyed themselves. Those of us who were ready to razz them about their singing were left to grow up a little bit. Somehow, I always believed Sr. Mary Rachel knew how it would all work out -- the joke was on us.

After graduation I seldom saw Sr. Mary Rachel or any of my teachers. In recent years, during her work with school alumni groups, she would periodically send a nice, handwritten note. When my byline began showing up in the pages of The Kentucky Standard, she wrote several times, offering words of kindness and support. I don't know how many students she taught over the years, but she seemed to remember evey one of us. I'm sure she was proud of all of us. I'm proud to have been counted as one of her students.

During 12 years of Catholic education, I was taught by many teachers, both by lay teachers and those who belonged to religious orders. Sr. Mary Rachel was one of those rare teachers who led by example and reflected Christ's teachings in the way she lived and interacted with her students, goon squads and all.

The residents along US31E between Sullivan Lane and KY 509 have received an early Christmas present -- an opportunity to keep their homes and property more or less intact.

That's because tonight's PLGT-TV 13 news with Tom Isaac confirmed the memo posted at the In & Out Market was true -- the route of the southern part of US31E has been changed.

The road will stay mostly along the existing route of US31E, and it will not cut through the middle of Creek Pointe and Greear Estate subdivisions as announced in September.

In an on-camera interview today, Nelson County Judge-Executive Dean Watts confirmed that the route will be changed. An additional public hearing will be announced for early January in order to comply with federal law.

Watts said following the existing route made sense because the section from Sullivan Lane to KY 509 is one of the longest, straightest sections of US31E north of Bardstown.

Federal requirements require avoiding any impact on historic properties. It appears that the regs have either been loosened, changed or waived in this particular instance.

The problem with staying along the route has been the placement of two historic properties nearly across the road from one another adjacent to the Cox's Creek Elementary School. One of the homes is built close to the existing roadway. The required right-of-way makes it nearly impossible to "thread the needle" to get that much right-of-way without hitting either property, which was one of the main reasons the announced route was chosen in September.

The next public hearing will be very interesting. Stay tuned!

Date:	2005-12-03 17:11
Subject:	Ch-ch-ch-changes ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	curious

Cox's Creek exclusive: US31E plans changed, says judge-exec.