MARK MAYNARD: Rough weekend for teams in area

Reason to give thanks
Next Thursday I’ll host Thanksgiving dinner in my home.

Mark Maynard: Gollihue's passion shows in her work: 11/19/09

Cathie Shaffer: Lend a hand, please!: 11/17/09

AARON SNYDER: And then there were 3 11/16/09

MARK MAYNARD: Cats still have job to finish 11/15/09
Kentucky did what it needed to do on Saturday against Vanderbilt: It won to become bowl eligible.
Now comes the hard part.

Lee Ward: 11/15/09 – Why do we eat liver?
A friend recently told me his cousin ate a cow’s heart. It wasn’t a dare; he just considers organ meat healthy.

KENNETH HART: Ashland needs a bookstore 111509
Back in the days before I lived in Ashland, I always enjoyed making trips here for shopping, work-related matters or whatever.

TIM PRESTON: Great food in Grayson, dog news 111509
We ended up in Grayson on a misguided mission Monday evening and decided to take advantage of the situation and have dinner at a place I’ve been hearing good things about for a couple of years. We were not disappointed.

A piece of the wall
There’s a fundamental rule in my business about freebies: journalists don’t take them.

Mike Reliford: 11/12/09

MARK MAYNARD: Me and The Mick back in 1989
One great thing about this job is the chance encounters we have with the celebrity world.

John Cannon: Needing a piercing like a hole in the head: 11/11/09

MARK MAYNARD: Yankees have big fan in Genung

Cathie Shaffer: Smashing the competition: 11/10/09

TIM PRESTON: Fast pizza, charm school and leftovers 110809
I spoke to Larry Pennington, owner of the new Zanzi’s Pizza To Go at 3301 13th St. in Ashland, and he reported excellent business during the restaurant’s first days in business.

KENNETH HART: Bye-bye, Bardwell 110809
Well, it was about time, don’t you think?

Concert karma

Lee Ward: 11/08/09 — Puppy problems plague parents
I thought my dogs were trouble. Well, they are. But I’m thinking they’re not as much trouble as my mom’s dog.

Mark Maynard: Tank was memorable to many: 11/05/09

John Cannon: Musings about faith and the national anthem: 11/4/09

MARK MAYNARD: Time to give back to Putnam Stadium 11/01/09

Lee Ward: 11/01/09 — Panning for magnesium, not gold
Magnesium is one of Earth’s most precious and rare minerals.
To me, it is, anyway.

MIKE JAMES: ‘They’ have given much 10/30/09
A correspondent on The Independent’s editorial page Tuesday posed an interesting question. He was critical of a presentation made last week at an educational conference at Ashland Community and Technical College.

JOHN CANNON: What I didn’t do on my vacation 10/27/09

Payback can be sweet
Halloween is Saturday and trick or treat is ... well, whenever it is. The old custom of going out on Oct. 31 has become passe for the most part, with cities setting whatever date they decide they like.

Lee Ward: 10/25/09 — Thumbs up to Manny
Usually I complain about my boy dog, Manny, but today I give him some credit.

KENNETH HART: Up, up and foul play 102509
I’m beginning to think that the mental-health field is going to have a whole new subspecialty in the not-too-distant future.

TIM PRESTON: Home cooking, glowing golf, ‘Aha moment’ 102509
Oddly, the lost note mentioned at the top of last week’s column was for a business I had already decided to track down for more information.

Mike James: Real people, real history:10/23/09

MARK MAYNARD: Veteran teaching patriotism 10/21/09

MARK MAYNARD: 'Friends' come in multiple varieties 10/22/09

Cathie Shaffer: To tell the tooth: 10/20/09

Lee Ward: 10/18/09 — Painting bigger job than expected
Still in recovery mode, I have made some progress toward cutting back on my activities.

TIM PRESTON: Lost notes, hidden shops and safe treats 101809
I know someone sent a note regarding a new cafe or restaurant (it specifically mentioned vegetable soup), although I’ve searched my files and e-mail and can’t seem to find it. I suspect the information is hiding in plain sight, but it has eluded me after a thorough search.

KENNETH HART: 101809
I’ve been keeping a wary eye on the filming of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s quote, unquote reality TV show in Huntington.
I’m having some fairly mixed feelings about it, too.

Carrie Stambaugh:The spell autumn casts:10/16/09

Mark Maynard: Bear Watch creates a stir: 10/15/09

John Cannon: No party to celebrate explorer: 10/14/09

Time to go to Plan B
You read it here first — I’m giving up playing the lottery.

Lee Ward: 10/11/09 — Four rules to live by
For a long time before I was admitted to the hospital, I was sick with digestive problems.

KEN HART: Bad bikers still out there
The so-called outlaw biker culture, it would seem to me, has become ingrained with and assimilated into American popular culture over the past several decades.

John Cannon: Changing to survive: 10/7/09

Cathie Shaffer: A touch of the ol' magic: 10/6/09

Another crown awaits Yankees
Baseball has taken a back seat to football the last few weeks, but it’s back in the spotlight.
The one-game playoff is a beautiful thing. It’s one and done. That’s why the NFL and college basketball are so popular, especially come postseason time.

Lee Ward — 10/04/09: Equine life is not for me
Horses are beautiful animals, but we are not close.
Although I gave it a good try, I have never been much of an equestrian.

Cats can't hang with big boys
Kentucky was right on the verge. Not of winning the game, necessarily, but of taking the lead and the ball on a play that could have changed the outlook of the remainder of the game.
A second failed opportunity by the UK offense in Alabama territory set up a second punt by Ryan Tydlacka to inside the 5-yard line.

MARK MAYNARD: How to improve on 20-0 10/01/09

TIM PRESTON: Time some for soup, Ashland imagery and a surprise menu 100409
I’ve been practically fantasizing about homemade vegetable soup for the past few days after a close encounter with the fall and wintertime favorite at Jim’s Hot Dogs & Spaghetti in the Camayo Arcade Building on Winchester Avenue in Ashland.

KENNETH HART: Mind music can be ‘hell’ 100409
The other day, during a somewhat slack period in The Independent newsroom, myself and two of my esteemed colleagues, Mike James and Tim Preston, had a rather interesting conservation.

Mike Reliford: He was the age of his son when I first met him: 10/2/09

Mark Maynard: Going over Hill and Dale: 10/1/09

John Cannon: Just the news, please: 9/30/09

Cathie Shaffer: A little music for the soul: 9/29/09

KENNETH HART: Display of poor taste 092709
I don’t consider myself to be an uptight person. I’m far from it, in fact.

MIKE JAMES: My game, my rules 092509
I invented a really cool game this week and immediately knew I’d have to write about it in this spot.

LEE WARD: Passing the time with some television 092709
Being off work for a few weeks, I’ve found it difficult to pass the time.

TIM PRESTON: Gearhead art, fashion, home decor 092709

Mark Maynard: The day Jesse Owens raced here: 9/24/09

MARK MAYNARD: Tomcat victory rekindles rivalry 9/22/09

AARON SNYDER: Keeping Bluegrass rivalry alive 9/21/09

MARK MAYNARD: Armstrong defies odds with 38 lifetime aces 9/21/09
According to USHoleInOne.com, which insures hole-in-one contests, the odds of getting a hole-in-one on a par-3 are 12,500 to 1 for an amateur.
Jim Armstrong has done it 38 times.

MARK MAYNARD: This was one to cherish
They will be talking about this one years from now.

TIM PRESTON: Value menus, gifts and guitars 092009
A lot of people are starting to identify me as “the guy who writes about the restaurants and stuff.”

KENNETH HART: Case shows need for more victim protection 092009
I have been simultaneously shocked, saddened, engrossed and repulsed as details have emerged over the past few days in the murder case involving former Kentucky lawmaker and gubernatorial candidate Steve Nunn and his ex-fiancée, Amanda Ross.

LEE WARD: Let’s talk about some humiliation 092009
During my weeklong hospital stay, I came face to face with some of my fears.

Browns are still scary — scary bad
I’ll admit it. I was a little scared to support my team with a jersey or even a hat in Cleveland’s season opener on Sunday.
Now I’m ashamed I didn’t.
Before you start to think I’m just another embarrassed but loyal Browns fan, I should do a little explaining.

Mark Maynard: 'Birdseed' memories still sweet: 9/17/09

John Cannon: Required reading for life: 9/16/09

Cathie Shaffer: Am I too young to be old? 9/15/09

The lottery question: What about the money?
As a structured settlement consultant, I go to mediations and settlement conferences with people who anticipate receiving large sums of money.

LEE WARD: There is no place like home 091309
Sensory deprivation works. As I write, I am one day out of a six-night hospital stay.

TIM PRESTON: Many salons, fireworks and feed
This has been an unusual week in the sense that I could write this entire column about nothing but new hair salons.

MARK MAYNARD: One more link to Ashland 9/10/09

MARK MAYNARD: Another history lesson 091009
Jack Crist called the other day and asked me why everyone in recent stories was referring to the building on the corner of Winchester Avenue and 17th Street as the Sears Building.

Brooklyn never looked better
One week ago today — Sept. 2 — my wife, granddaughter and I took an unscheduled but not unplanned trip to Brooklyn.

MARK MAYNARD: Former Fairview star joins elite company

Cathie Shaffer: New season, old plans: 9/8/09

Today’s the day to cut up your credit cards
CNBC superstar Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business News host Dave Ramsey and myself have one thing in common.
None of us have credit cards.

TIM PRESTON: Tough times, guitars, a party 090609
I enjoyed a late dinner at Rajah’s Family Restaurant at the Meade Station along U.S. 60, and spent a few minutes talking with owner Ron Elliott, who is convinced the nation’s economic problems just might be too great or any single president to overcome.

Mark Maynard: Weather watchers gear up: 9/3/09

John Cannon: Congress likes Mondays: 9/2/09

Cathie Shaffer: Finding a taste for science: 9/1/09

MARK MAYNARD: An Ironton Invasion? 8/31/09

The simple health insurance solution
Former CIGNA insurance executive Wendell Potter was on Bill Moyers Journal a few weeks ago and cited a stunning statistic.

MARK MAYNARD: CP-1 movement not at stopping point just yet 8/30/09

Lee Ward: 08/31/09 — Return to school brings mixed emotions
I have been out of school for a very long time, but I still have seen the inside of a classroom now and then.

TIM PRESTON: A meal at Rosie’s, the return of Country Charm and Labor Day 083009
After several failed attempts, we finally made our way to Rosie’s Restaurant on U.S. 60 near the Boyd and Carter County line for a Saturday afternoon lunch. There were two homegrown tomatoes ripening in the sun on an ice freezer in front of the restaurant when we arrived, and something told me we were going to enjoy our meal.

KENNETH HART: Guns, idiocy a bad mix 083009
I never ceased to be amazed, and, yes, amused by the stupid stuff that people do.

Carrie Stambaugh: What's race got to do with it? 8/28/09

MARK MAYNARD: 'Dreams' tidbits and reminders

John Cannon: The highways of childhood: 8/26/09

Cathie Shaffer: I'm keeping the clunkers: 8/25/09

Search for economic innovation
For the past decade, our leaders decided that the rules of economics didn’t apply. It got us into a financial crisis.

MARK MAYNARD: Host offered the most 8/24/09

TIM PRESTON: Race Days, guitars, gas and kid stuff 082309
I missed most of the action during Race Days in Raceland and don’t believe I did much of a job when writing it up for the newspaper.

KENNETH HART: Trouble in Riverdale 082309
He’s 67 years old and getting married for the first time.

Mike James: Fair kids know their stuff: 8/21/09

MARK MAYNARD: Predicting for the fun of it 8/20/09

Lee Ward: 08/23/09 — Housework too dangerous to continue
Even though I like things neat and organized. I’m mostly just organized.