Published: March 20, 2009 01:07 am      

TIM PRESTON: Appreciating Ashland, Stella’s stuff 032209

I love the Ashland area during the first warm days of the year. I rolled past Central Park on Tuesday evening and saw people walking hand in hand, others jogging, a high number of moms and dads keeping their eyes on 2.5 kids and a couple of dog owners waiting patiently for their pooches to do their thing. Kids were playing baseball in the immediate background and the whole thing was just a nice “slice of life” view of the city.

For me, one of the best parts about this place at this time of year is the appearance of the cool old cars and motorcycles people have had under wraps all winter, making their return to the road. I saw an old Camaro on Wednesday morning, which looked and sounded so incredible, I had to give the driver a thumbs up.

If you’re a fellow car watcher, tell me if you agree or disagree that the folks with the Ohio tags seem to be driving some particularly fine vehicles on this side of the river. If the last few days have been any indication, we have a fine summer ahead for watching wheels on Winchester.

Annoyed at slow way

I’m not alone on the road as the owner of a gas guzzler. For many of us, filling the tank to the top is a ritual with an almost always unknown answer to the question of “How much money do I need for this?” I also understand the need for some businesses to insist on a please-pay-before-pumping policy.

At a convenience store where I tend to buy gas because it is located strategically along my path, however, an unappreciated new process has developed. If you want to fill up and pay with cash, you have to take your money into the store, make a guess at how much gas you need and give the clerk more than that amount, go back out and pump your gas then come back to collect your change.

A friendly clerk tells me they hear literally hundreds of customer complaints about it each and every day. Store managers should talk to their corporate folks about this and do something before customers with gas guzzlers get even more annoyed and find another gas station I can easily point them toward.

You might find ...

Stella Jones giggled and admitted her guilt recently when I asked if she is one of the many among us who deals with an extreme fondness for old glass, antiques and furniture. I think we used the word “addicted.”

Jones is the “woman in charge” at Rachel Annie’s Home & Apparel Consignment Shop at 807 Seaton Ave. in Greenup, across from the Greenup County Health Department. The shop is owned by her husband, Virgil. She tells me they have recently started accepting clothing and have a limited selection of prom dresses, and they accept consignment items daily, to be sold on a 50/50 share.

The shop opened last fall and has quickly filled with “mostly antiques, furniture and glass items,” along with primitive American items, Jones said, ultimately concluding, “It’s hard to tell what you might find in there.”

The shop, which is named after Stella’s grandmother from Johnson County, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information call (606) 393-5126 or 585-2194.

True, but unnecessary

I don’t want to get too deep into this, but I offer an apology to anyone I offended in Carter County with last week’s column.

What I wrote was absolutely true, but it served no purpose putting it in print the way I did.

There were same really nice people who also made those calls asking about the airline flights, including a woman who is a “quiet little legend” in Lawrence County and kept me smiling through our entire conversation. I can’t always answer questions about the stories I write, but I will make a point to renew my efforts to make sure any contact names, numbers and Internet information are included near the end of anything I report about.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.