JOHN CANNON: No fun in the middle
Many years ago when I was a member of a different denomination, I asked the minister why many of the views expressed by the national denomination seemed so different from the views of the people who worshipped with me on Sunday morning.

Cathie Shaffer: Caffeine fix still required: 05/13/08

Lee Ward: River critters give her the jitters: 5/12/08

AARON SNYDER: Who’s got a title shot?
It’s been seven seasons since the 16th Region produced a state champion, when Boyd County won the State Tournament in 2001.

TIM PRESTON: Gas prices impacting more than wallet

KEN HART: Price of gasoline making for tough times
When I was a youngster, my family owned and operated a small country store on U.S. 60 in western Carter County, near the Rowan County line.

STAN CHAMPER: Our history battles with overgrowth of its own
Among those of us who write for newspapers, telling readers at the beginning of a piece that most of them won’t be interested in what follows is a Cardinal No-No.

ADAM VANKIRK: We’re round-tripping 16th Region baseball
With just a week and a half of 16th Region play remaining in the regular season, the story-line pieces are falling into place like a breaking ball on the outside corner.

JOHN CANNON: Honor thy mother and thy father
As a child in Sunday school, the importance of the Fifth Commandment — “Honor thy father and thy mother” — was drilled into the minds of the little children.

Cathie Shaffer: A new pet in the mix: 5/6/08

ADAM VANKIRK: Horse racing: It’s not for me
Saturday’s Kentucky Derby cleared something up for me when it comes to horse racing. I just don’t care for it.

Lee Ward: Being ready for anything is her bag: 5/5/08

TIM PRESTON: You have the power

KEN HART: Best Kentucky film? It’s a no-brainer!
I have a question, Gentle Reader, that I would like to pose to you on this fine post-Kentucky Derby Sunday:

STAN CHAMPER: The day that ‘cool’ rattled, clanked
When I was a junior in high school, I took the savings from my part-time job to supplement a trade-in — my old ’50 Plymouth for a used but sharp looking ’56 Ford convertible.

Mark Maynard: Recalling a day at the Derby: 5/1/08/08

ADAM VANKIRK: Need some golf?
If you’ve got the golfing itch, you’ll like this news. Eagle Ridge Golf Course at Yatesville Lake is set to reopen Thursday after it was forced to close down last fall.

JOHN CANNON: The man he came to respect
It was a frigid Saturday morning in January 1979 the day I first met Paul Sierer, the man who would be my boss for the next decade. I had arrived at what was then known as the Ashland Daily Independent that morning for a job interview that had been twice postponed by winter storms.

Cathie Shaffer: Making money by the yard: 04/29/08

Lee Ward: Man did leave an impact: 4/28/08

TIM PRESTON: Paula isn’t coming

KEN HART: It’s time to end the OC plague

Stan Champer: In eyes of old patriot how would we fare?

Mark Maynard: The mask equals zzz for me: 4/24/08

John Cannon: Spring cleaning finds

ADAM VANKIRK: On the MLB big stage
Arizona has picked up this season right where it left off last year — atop the National League standings. And the fast start has once again propelled the Diamondbacks into the national spotlight.

Cathie Shaffer: Maybe the lost shouldn't be found: 4/22/08

Lee Ward: Leaning toward a move: 4/21/08

Stan Champer: Spring on the wing and music in the air: 4/18/08

KEN HART: A julep that costs a mint
I have lived or work, or both lived and worked, in Kentucky for the majority of my 47 years.

TIM PRESTON: Tell me where to go
My list of “staycation” suggestions is growing rapidly, although I still need more before I can assemble that information into a story.

Mark Maynard: 'Marshall' rules in festival: 4/17/08

John Cannon: The past came calling: 4/16/08

Cathie Shaffer: Dog's day at market just fine: 4/15/08

Lee Ward: Pressed into service for dream assignment:4/14/08

Tim Preston: Broadband automotive opera 4/13/08

Kenneth Hart: Guess it's a 'gang thang': 4/13/08

Stan Champer: Odd maybe, but it made life richer, so it did: 4/11/08

Mark Maynard: The list went on and on: 4/10/08

John Cannon: Eclectic taste in books: 4/9/08

Cathie Shaffer: Nighttime snack attack: 4/8/08

Lee Ward: Let the sane do their part: 4/7/08

TIM PRESTON: Tickets, tires and exercise

KEN HART: A month for many birthdays
Well, once again the calendar has rolled around to April.

STAN CHAMPER: The big day passed and a lesson was learned
Some of the guys I know still laugh about it. If the subject comes up now on those rare occasions when we’re together and reminiscing, they’re right there to remind me: “Buddy, you were this close to being a basket case.”

JOHN CANNON: Cinderella wins heart
During an all-too-rare visit with her grandparents Sunday afternoon, my granddaughter excitedly rushed into the home office where her grandmother was working.

Arrival of new season special
Even for the most diehard of baseball fans, Opening Day isn’t about who wins or loses. It’s everything but that in fact.
On Monday, the Cincinnati Reds played in their 132nd Opening Day game, hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Great American Ball Park.
The winner? Who really cares?

CATHIE SHAFFER: Trip of troubles
The chaos began with five little words: “Let’s go to the cemetery.”

TIM PRESTON: Spring car problems
Is it alternator season?

KEN HART: An evening with the E Streeters
You may recall a few weeks ago I mentioned in this space I had purchased a ticket for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s March 24 performance in the Schottenstein Center, on the campus of The Ohio State University.

Life choices over soup
I can’t remember when it passed from the scene, but if you turned back the clock 30 years and some change, it’d be on a lot of people’s lists of the best eateries in the Tri-State area.

Mark Maynard: Spotlight bright with politics, basketball
It’s interesting when national events intersect with Our Towns.

Cathie Shaffer: Wishing for the impossible
My mother came down to visit last week, and in the process of a chat over dinner, she posed one of those questions grown children hate to hear.

STAN CHAMPER It's odd the way ties seem to play 03/21/08
It’s been one of those weeks when it seems everything is interconnected, perhaps not in terms as stated centuries ago by eastern philosophers, but uniquely interesting nevertheless.

TIM PRESTON: Red and yellow caught my eye 032308
It just looks bad.

KENNETH HART: Another spin with marriage 032308
If you are one of the regular readers of my weekly column (and thank you very much if you are), you’ve probably seen me make numerous references in this space to my fiancee, Shari.

Mark Maynard: Check local ties in NCAA: 3/20/08

John Cannon: Boom has gone bust: 3/19/08

Cathie Shaffer: Getting to the hat of the matter

LEE WARD: Know your heritage 03/17/08
For many years, I felt left out of St. Patrick’s Day because I was not Irish.
In fact, I didn’t know if I was Irish. I was adopted and had no idea about my heritage.
I knew my adoptive family wasn’t Irish, just British and Dutch. And probably a little Native American, too. They didn’t really know themselves.
For the last 15 years or so, I have known more about my background. I learned that I am mostly Italian and Romanian. It might have been easy to guess that about me, judging from my coloring and some might say judging from my behavior as well.

KENNETH HART: Good side of people still there 031608
Here at The Independent, and at most newspapers, reporters have what are known as beats, which are the subject areas they are primarily responsible for covering.

Stan Champer: Awaiting spring and a friend: 3/14/08

Is medical malpractice on state legislature’s table ?
n 2004, insurance companies pushed to cap medical malpractice awards. Kentucky was one of the few states to resist.

John Cannon: Body still on standard time: 3/12/08

LEE WARD: Keep an eye on your body 03/11/08
Last month, I interviewed a woman, only 31 years old, who was battling colon cancer.
There was no colon cancer in her family, yet at an unusually young age, she had it.
Because she was aware of her own body and took responsibility for her own health, she was diagnosed and treated and is making great progress toward becoming cancer free.

KENNETH HART: Think before you forward 030908
Here’s a little tip for anyone whose e-mail list my name might be on:

Stan Champer: 3/7/08

TIM PRESTON: Looking for more responses 030908
I certainly got an education in local politics, grudges and attitudes last week in response to a request for reasons why many people consider Ashland’s downtown business district to be doomed, while others see it as an area of nearly unlimited opportunity.

MIKE RELIFORD: Spring isn't fun and roses 3/5/08
It was in the spring that I got thrown out of the honor society. And it wasn’t for grades, either.

John Cannon: Testing the testing system: 3/5/08

CATHIE SHAFFER: Scary girdle flashback
This one’s for the ladies:

Chimes in the wind
The windy season approaches and I am prepared to annoy my neighbors for hours on end with various sets of wind chimes.
Truthfully, there are several sets of wind chimes on my property and have been for years.
The neighbors aren’t close enough to be bothered by them, if that sort of thing even does bother them.

TIM PRESTON: How about a little help? 030208
Someone please clue me in.

KENNETH HART: Getting teed off at Cracker Barrel 030208
I have something to confess to you today, Gentle Reader.

MIKE RELIFORD: Keeping the family together 2-28-08
Tomorrow is Leap Day, Feb. 29. It comes around every four years.

John Cannon: Good ideas that won't be realized: 2/27/08

ADAM VANKIRK: One icy layer left to thaw 022608
I guess it’s fitting that Old Man Winter would spray a coat of ice over the closing of the boys high school basketball regular season last week, leaving us with a familiar yet slightly distorted view of the teams in 16th Region.

CATHIE SHAFFER: The cat’s personality rivals all
My daughter has a cat, Belle, who thinks I’m, well, the cat’s meow.

MARK MAYNARD: Blame it all on those Blue Devils
Who out there was among the hundreds — maybe thousands — like myself who were left watching the opening minutes of St. John’s-Duke on Saturday instead of the closing seconds of Kentucky’s hog-wild win over Arkansas?

LEE WARD: Have your cake and eat the batter, too
My cousin David took on a multitude of life changes all at once.

TIM PRESTON: Time to stop the bug 022408
Any suggestions?
I know we’re not alone. Practically everyone in our office has been dealing with some kind of a bug for what seems like an eternity. It’s obvious we’re just sustaining this thing and passing it back and forth, and I personally want to break the cycle.

Stan Champer: All the better to not see squat: 2/22/08

KENNETH HART: Winter weather: It’s time 022808
Some years back, I wrote a column on the subject of how otherwise rational people can turn into blithering, panicky nitwits at the slightest hint that winter weather might be forthcoming.

MIKE RELIFORD: Script writers save the day
The script writers have ended their strike and Hollywood is back in action.

John Cannon: Fuel for thought: 2/20/08

CATHIE SHAFFER: Packrat no more, almost
Over the years, by various means, I have collected an assortment of objects for which I have no earthly use.

Lee Ward - 0218 - Celebrate diversity this month
February is full of special days, but there is a little-known special day this month that I hope others will begin celebrating this year. It is International Mother Language Day, designated as such by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1999 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

KEN HART: Old Man Winter can drop dead

TIM PRESTON: Healthier alternative is on the horizon

STAN CHAMPER: When you just don’t feel like chuckling

MIKE RELIFORD: Secrets can be tough sledding 2/14/08

John Cannon: A more mature kind of love: 2/13/08

CATHIE SHAFFER: Hooked on reality television

LEE WARD: Valentine’s Day brings memory of new love

STAN CHAMPER: Wonderful moments: Pecan pie, chips, dip

KENNETH HART: A good year so far for hopes 021008
Wow, this is getting a little weird. Scary, even.

TIM PRESTON: ‘Not a bad place to be’ 021008
When you live in the area, it’s sometimes easy to forget how good we have it. A recent trip to Lexington, for example, forced me to say out loud, “Ashland isn’t a bad place to be.”

Don McNay: Could Fletcher have stayed in the big race?

John Cannon: Taking advantage of a 2nd chance: 2/6/08

Cathie Shaffer: Piano lessons worth it: 2/5/08