Opinion

By CARTER DYSON

When I tell people I work for the Kentucky Career Center – Lincoln Trail, I’m often rewarded by their familiarity with the organization’s services. However, I am occasionally met with a look of uncertainty, and it’s almost always because someone has long referred to the career center as the unemployment office.
While unemployment insurance assistance is a vital service to many of the job seekers who visit our center, it is just one of the many offerings available.

For more than a quarter-century now, Kentucky Youth Advocates has taken an in-depth look at the well-being of the commonwealth’s children, giving us a valuable year-to-year comparison in such critical areas as health, education and economic security.

Many of you may recall an issue the Kentucky General Assembly discussed in the 2016 Session, known as “REAL ID,” which requires Kentucky to meet modern federal regulation standards on the issuance of identification. Known as Senate Bill (SB) 245 in the 2016 session, the bill passed both the Senate and the House but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Bevin because of concerns will the bill’s future implications.

By Carter Dyson

Using robots they designed, built and programmed, more than 200 Kentucky students will compete in the VEX IQ Challenge on Saturday at the Hardin County Schools Early College and Career Center (EC3).
There’s no doubt this upcoming regional event — with more than 50 teams from the Lincoln Trail region and other areas of the Commonwealth — and the growing number of schools that are developing new robotics teams present unique opportunities for individual students.

Editor’s note: This editorial was published recently in The Advocate-Messenger in Danville. It’s being reprinted with permission through the Kentucky Press News Service.

I love this time of year.
People seem happier.
Food tastes better.
Work seems a little less stressful.
(The election is over. Need I say more?)
But, there is one thing I really dislike about the holiday season - the stress we inflict on ourselves about buying Christmas gifts.
Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves? Why do we care so much? What has created this materialistic monster that seems to take over the real meaning of the season? Our society is so obsessed with things, money, buying, etc.

It may not have generated much publicity, but Kentucky’s economy hit a high-water mark in October, when our civilian labor force saw its biggest one-month gain in at least 40 years. It grew by almost 15,000 during those 31 days, putting us just shy of two million people who are either working or actively looking for a job.

This week, our families and friends will sit down at the dinner table to celebrate Thanksgiving, the oldest of the American-based holidays.

Nearly 400 years have passed since the most famous of these harvest feasts was held by the Pilgrims and Native Americans.  It didn’t become the holiday we recognize today, though, until President Washington and then President Lincoln helped solidify its place on the calendar, which Congress finalized in the 1940s by declaring it to always be on the fourth Thursday of November.

I might not be married.
I probably am. But Emily and I aren’t exactly sure.
Don’t get me wrong, we said our vows before God and a crowd of witnesses. We sealed our promises with a kiss. The music played. People cheered. But a small discovery we made about three years ago might mean the two of us didn’t quite tie the knot as recognized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Emily was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen. Neither one of us could keep the tears in as she walked down the aisle toward me.