Every new beginning

It’s never easy to say goodbye to the ones we love. However, in the same spirit, if you truly love someone, sometimes you have to let them go.

This week, three of our beloved Trib employees took the next step in their lives, leaving those of us here to do the same with the ghosts they leave behind.

Andy Cullen is the sort of kid that, to be blatantly honest, I would have despised when I was in school. A social butterfly, involved in virtually everything, cute, popular and just an all around information guru in the affairs of everyone he knows and sometimes doesn’t.

In short, everything I’m absolutely not.

But Andy, as it turns out, is a little like a fungus. He grows on you. And it was sometime around my second or third month here that I realized I actually liked the little booger (not that I ever disliked him, but you get the idea). No matter how hectic life was or how bad I felt, Andy would find a way to make me smile, even for just a moment.

A smile, as I’ve said before, is a precious thing and far too scarce in the world today.

Perhaps the truest testimony to Andy’s character, however, came when I killed the office fish (which, can I just say, was a terrible accident and totally devastating to me).

My son was deeply attached to Humphrey, and truthfully, so was I.

The next morning, Andy brought in his own fish from home and told my son he didn’t have a name (a lie, but one that salvaged the feelings of a 6-year-old boy and his animally-challenged mother) so that he could name him.

Sharkbait is currently a thriving member of the Trib family and still quite alive, for those interested.
If I’ve never said it before, thanks, Andy. You’ll never know just what that meant to me.

Jess Nall, our reporter-turned-office help, was a tough one to get to know. Often, she worked odd hours, and we seldom saw her.

She was rather quiet, too.

Then one day, something amazing happened: Jess spoke. And from that moment, I don’t think I ever stopped laughing.

She’s an amazingly candid girl, and with just that touch of innocence to remind us all what it was to be young. But the best thing about Jess is her knack for unintentional comedy and wit.

She’s the only person I know to have inspired their own office cartoon.

Jess’ caricature “Haw-Hee” vegetable stand, complete with “country pumpkins” and “hydraulic tomatoes” will be hitting store shelves near you one day. Eventually. Maybe.

And then there was Caitlin.

Caitlin Wardlow is the kind of person that you only meet once in a lifetime, and you can honestly say you’re a better person for having known them.

Caitlin has the uncanny ability to bring a breath of life wherever she goes. In all things she sees, she finds something new and refreshing. As cheesy as it sounds, Caitlin is a little like sunshine.

I am jaded, and I’ve often been known as a pessimist and cynic. Until I met Caitlin, I wouldn’t have had myself any other way. While I wouldn’t say this has changed drastically, I find myself approaching life a little differently at times. I see situations a little more objectively, and I find that instead of getting frustrated at the little things, I feel like I should take them for what they really are: a lesson, and as such, something of a gift.

I guess what it all boils down to is that Caitlin gives people hope somehow, and I think it’s because she blesses all those she knows by having hope and faith in them.

It’s an uncommon characteristic, and one I think we could all use more of. I know the office will be just a little darker once the day is done.

The mark of true friendship is not something that comes easily for me, and of all the people to come and go in my life, I’ll feel her absence more keenly than most.

So kids, the moral of the story is this: When was the last time you really evaluated the people in your life and expressed your appreciation to them for the joy they bring you? Perhaps now would be the time to start, because sooner or later, those people will be exploring new roads, and those avenues won’t always travel the same path as your own.

It’s been my extreme pleasure and privilege to work with these three wonderful people, and I think I’m not alone in my sentiments.

Good luck to you all in your endeavors. I wish you the very best

From your family at the Trib, with love.

Apparently, size does matter

The average clothing size of women in the United States is 16.

Marilyn Monroe, the most prominent sexual icon in the U.S. to date, was a size 14.

It’s a far cry from the rail-thin images we’re all used to seeing plastered on magazine covers and television screens.

So, my question is this: Why exactly is that?

Why do we put ourselves through absolute torture in the name of losing weight to look like people that, quite frankly, aren’t real in the most tangible sense of the word?

We are a very vain culture, and I can’t decide what makes me angrier about that — the fact that we actually allow a plastic world to determine our self-worth by whether or not we can fit into designer clothing, or the fact that we actually buy into that garbage as though it were gospel.

I’m sick to the teeth of seeing shows like “America’s Next Top Model” flashing girls up on the screen as plus-size models in a size eight, telling them they need to lose weight.

The last time I checked, size eight was NOT in the plus-size section of ... well, anywhere.

And we wonder why our kids end up with eating disorders. We wonder why people are stroking out and having massive heart attacks after choking down a bottle of diet pills.

You know what? Life is too short to be so hung up on appearance. How many Barbie dolls do you see walking down the street on a daily basis, anyway?

Hopefully none. If Barbie were a real person, she’d be so malnourished she couldn’t have children, and she couldn’t walk anywhere because her spine proportioned with her chest size wouldn’t allow her to stand upright.

Barbie would be rather grotesque when you get right down to it.

Yet, we’ve been shoving her in the faces of little girls for more than 50 years. Well, guess what, kids? Ken suffers from ‘roid rage and anatomic anonymity.

Maybe it’s time we stop letting the cult of thinness dictate our lives and start getting realistic about things.
When was the last time you looked in the mirror and liked what you saw? If you’re anything like me and the people I know, you can’t remember, either. Until we change the outlook on beauty, what true beauty is, we won’t be able to.

Barbie’s house is broken, kids. It’s time to build your own.

The smallest drop

Every once in a while, we all have that moment of startling clarity. One in which we can put ourselves into perspective with the world around us, and if we are very lucky, realize just how small we are in the grand scheme of things.

Yet, potentially, so very important.

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with representatives of Marshall County’s Caring Needline, an organization in which volunteers donate their time doing what they can to provide for the children, elderly and general population who may be less fortunate than others of the community.

They do it without selfishness and without artiface.

And they need our help.

We’re all feeling the drain of economic slump in these times, but there are others feeling it much more. If we all rally our efforts, give just a little, children of this community won’t have to go hungry.
What can we do for our brethren?

I urge those who have the means at all in Benton to participate in Saturday’s food drive conducted by the Benton Post Office. Even just a little can go a long, long way.

The smallest drop of water will still make ripples in the pond.

Abortion of Justice

Rev. Al Sharpton couldn't have been more correct when he stated that the case involving the slaughter of Sean Bell in November of 2006 was Justice being aborted. Bell was killed after 50 bullets entered his body outside of a nightclub in Queens, NY. Thirty-one of those shots were fired by a single police officer who had to re-load his gun to carry out his masacre. Bell wasn't armed. Both officers involved were cleared of all charges of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in Bell's death. While the issue is being focused around race, I see it as an example of pure injustice.
Whether white or black, who shoots at someone over 50 times and is aquited. Even in self-defense, why would anyone feel the need to annialate someone so many times. I have always been supportive and thankful for all of our officers who keep us safe every night, but they are not above the law. When I read the story on CNN this afternoon and hear clips of the Bell's agonizing cries, it made me sick to my stomach to think that this 23 year-old man was gunned down hours before he was to be married and no one would be punished.
It is easy to watch primetime news and gawk at other countries abuse of power; to sit in awe while police in Afghanistan or Africa beat people in the streets or shoot at unarmed civilians. It is not so easy to see what is happening in your own country, and be able to realize such brutality is happening time and time again in the United States and no one is punished.
I was outraged by the verdict handed down Friday afternoon to the police officers invloved. I can only hope that such devestation doesn't prompt even more violence by outraged community members. My heart goes out to the Bell family and those involved, tonight I will be praying that they find some sort of peace, because the law has failed them.

Community morale takes a beating at the pump

With gas costs escalating closer and closer to the $4 a gallon mark, the effects are felt that much more.
And it’s not just in the cost of groceries and directly at the pump where we’re feeling the pinch, anymore. When the network of local economy starts to fold, the human spirit takes a beating.

Has anyone noticed the general frustration, helplessness and sense of exhaustion present in the overall community morale?

Every time I stop to put fuel in my vehicle I hear it in the voices of those at the pumps, wondering how much they can budget to get to work the next day and still buy groceries.

I hear it, when those around me start cancelling their vacation plans for the year because “gas is just too expensive.”

I see it on the faces of the elderly who never dreamed 10 years ago that they’d have to scrape to get by and to do the things they’ve earned the right to do once retired.

Or the ones that have to fight just to live at all on the fixed income oil companies are doing their best to obliterate.

I’m tired, and I think it’s safe to say that I’m not alone in the matter.

Three weeks ago, I put out the challenge of silent protest in abstaining from buying gasoline, knowing the idea was far-fetched and idealist, at best. We’re a society forever on the move, the effort and organization for such a campaign would truthfully, only hurt ourselves and likely be ineffective against companies that know they have us by the scruff of the neck.

However, we’re not as helpless as they’d like to think, nor as they’ve made us feel. Not while there are local businesses willing to step up.

What we need is simple: A good old-fashioned gas war.

I am throwing down the gauntlet of challenge, and waiting, as are all of us, for someone to accept.
If you start slashing the price of your fuel, people will come. Period. What you lose in profit, you gain in goods sold and sheer volume of traffic.

And even more so in the spirit of the community at large. When was the last good gas war we’ve had, anyway? 1997? And does anyone else remember the turnout? I certainly do.

It’s a whole lot like watching a professional game of tennis ... only believe me, people will be much more interested and involved.

Each week in the Tribune-Courier, we will be conducting a comprehensive study on gas prices across the county in an effort to help contribute to the cause. I encourage all of the local station owners to contribute now, in your own way.

Double the Numbers

Here's the article I wrote for my JMC 597 class about the Double the Numbers demand Kentucky has given the higher education facilities.

Pressures of Double the Numbers demand increase as time passes quickly

MURRAY – The state of Kentucky has been given a job to do. Not just the leaders of the state, or just the adults, or just the presidents of all the universities – the entire Commonwealth.

In an effort to raise Kentucky's standard of living to the national average by the year 2020, the General Assembly passed the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act (House Bill 1) in 1997 that forces the state to "Double the Number" of college graduates living in Kentucky.

According to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the law states that in order to reach this standard of living and quality of life, educational attainment must be reached. This requires the doubling of the number of Kentuckians empowered by a bachelor's degree.

Council on Postsecondary Education Interim President Brad Cowgill said that it is essential that the education and business sectors work together in each region to reach the goals of the plan.

"The goals of this plan cannot be reached through the effort of the postsecondary system alone," said Cowgill. "While our colleges and universities have a vital leadership role in this effort, the goal requires a vigorous effort in communities across the state."

While this is seen to be the social responsibility for all the citizens of Kentucky, Dr. Randy Dunn, the President of Murray State University has taken the demand very seriously.

I knew about it when I came to university as president [16 months ago], Dunn said. "I was aware of it in the fact that this was kind of a policy driver for the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

But there's a problem…

Dunn said that over the past six months to a year, the Double the Numbers push has taken on greater emphasis with an increased level of scrutiny from the Commonwealth, the coordinating agency for higher education and from the universities themselves to kind of reactivate this goal.

"The requirement, the goal, has been there for 10 years," Dunn said. "Everybody knew about it. As we approach the next 12 years leading up to 2020, people are saying 'wow what we've done isn't getting us there, we really need to ramp up if we're going to have any chance of meeting this goal.'"

The Council says progress is being made, but not fast enough. A recent Kentucky Science and Technology Cooperation report said that if Kentucky doesn't increase its efforts, the state won't reach the national average in per capita income for another 154 years.

Dunn said there's a responsibility of the legislature and Commonwealth to help with the budget and funding in order for the universities to meet the Double the Numbers demand.

"We continue to see higher education get kind of squeezed more and more every year by the state budget," Dunn said. "I think at this point in time, the university presidents kind of recognize this and are starting to say – and have been saying – to the leadership of Kentucky, 'if you want us to meet this goal, you're going to have to do something things in terms of resources and funding to assist us and help us out.' We can't do it on our own. We don't think it's fair to do it on the backs of our students' tuition payments."

What good is it going to do?

Keeping up with the national average is not the sole goal of Double the Numbers. According to the Council, civic participation and earnings data have shown why it is so important to Double the Numbers.

"The argument they're trying to make is to reinforce the point that is proven in research time and time again," Dunn said. "It's a given – higher education attainment such as a college degree, leads to higher earned income over the course of a career. A college degree gives you at least a million dollars more in lifetime earnings. More educated people are better citizens, they vote more, they're healthier, and they're better parents. All of these quality of life indicators also come with a college degree. Not just the fact that you'll make more money, it makes Kentucky a better state."

Studies have shown that college graduates earn more. The 2007 Education Pays Update said that the median annual earnings of Kentuckians with only a high school diploma is $24,344 while those with bachelor degrees earn $40,603.

The study also shows that college graduates tend to be more engaged citizens, are healthier, more likely to exercise, less likely to smoke, and more like to have health insurance. Also, states with more college graduates have stronger, more diverse economies.

Murray State has a plan

"We're going to announce [our plan] probably in the next couple of months," Dunn said. "We are going to look at a number of enrollment initiatives to kind of respond to this increased focus. Our enrollment here has been flat or slightly declining for some number of years and we've got to reverse that trend. So we're working both on operational issues and policy issues to help us meet those goals that have been set out for us."

Dunn said the "operational issues" include looking at where MSU is recruiting and making sure the right places are visited. Some "policy issues" include working with senior members of the board to help tie MSU's scholarship dollars to the type of students Dunn said wants to be at the school. He also said the process needs to speed up so it can be determined how it can be tied into tuition.

Just "making the pie larger"

According to Dunn's blog on Murray State's website, "Open Book," several students are concerned with the attention that is being devoted to Murray State campuses that are not the main one.

One student made the comment, "I realize [the city of Murray] is not for everyone and some would rather go to some town with a major airport, a mall, etc, and if they can get the same education at Paducah, they are going to go there. Slowly and slowly, MSU will decrease as that campus gets bigger. Before you know it, you'll have two major universities within 45 minutes of each other, competing for students. MSU just couldn't keep up. I have been very impressed with your presidency so far, but this has just hurt me. Hurt the good people of this town. You were hired to be the president of Murray State University, not to start Paducah State University."

However, Dunn said his intention is not to draw away from Murray State, but to give others, such as the citizens of Paducah and McCraken County, more opportunities to attend and finish college.

"I haven't understood how the argument has gotten started and there's no basis for it," Dunn said. "If we're going to meet these goals, it's clear that we're going to have to get our non-traditional students back in school and we're going to have really reinvigorate our online offerings."

Dunn said that just in McCraken County there are 15,000 adults who have some college credit but no degree.

"We think that there's a need for many of them to come back to school, and finish up their degree," Dunn said. "These are people who are non-traditional – they have families, they are parents, they're working a full-time job if not more. They have many responsibilities and they aren't going to come here to Murray to our flagship campus, get an apartment or move into a residential college and go to school. They're people who have all of these other life obligations, but they always want to finish their college degree."

Dunn said that if the right set of programs can be brought to a facility in Paducah, those people will be in school and getting degrees and the university is in a better position to respond to what the state wants it to do.

"This is not something you would refer to as a zero-sum gain;" Dunn said. "Where if one place gains, another loses. This is about increasing the size of the whole pie, not changing the slices. We're making the pie larger by bringing students into the MSU campus system who otherwise wouldn't be here."

Dr. Mark Wattier is a political science professor at Murray State University and is head of the Quality and Accountability Committee for the Council on Postsecondary Education. He agreed with Dunn in that more adults have to come back to school. Wattier said more people have to go through the "educational pipeline" and more students have to go to college. He also said something else was necessary of which people might not think.

"We have to have 200,000 people move to the state," Wattier said. "We don't have enough people to get there."

Wattier said the biggest dilemma is simply the challenge of achieving a goal.

"It's going to take those many individuals deciding they need to change their lives," Wattier said. "Right now it doesn't look like it's going to happen."

Sharing the responsibility

While there are still 12 years until 2020 and the anticipation of a completed Double the Numbers demand, there is still plenty to do yet. Dunn said the university has to show why MSU is the best place for people to come to extend their higher education.

Dunn wants Murray to take the next step and tell the high school students, community college students, and people who are out of school but still have some college credit in the five-state region to continue their education.

"We need to be making the case in southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, all of Kentucky, northwest and central Tennessee, and southern Indiana," Dunn said, "as well as the large cities that surround our area: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Huntsville, Alabama, Nashville, Memphis, that whole horn right around there."

Dunn said students can help out too, especially those who are come from the areas he described.

"The best thing that could happen is for our students from this larger area who have a great experience at Murray State and feel like they've gotten a good bang for their buck and quality education to carry that message," Dunn said. "We can't recruit everywhere, we don't have enough people. So we need our students to serve in that kind of ambassador role for us as they spread to their region. If that happens and our story continues to get told, we'll be fine."

There's something to be said for snail mail...

I've never understood the phenomena of electronic correspondence.

Seriously, text messaging? I don't really understand what could possibly save time in that. You could call someone and leave a voice message in a tenth of the time spent typing in two sentences on that tiny little keypad.

Someone once told me that in an emergency situation, it comes in handy. Honestly, if you're being mauled by a bear, chances are that bear isn't going to take time out to let you text your BFF and say, "Hey, don't think I'm going to make dinner tonight." ^_^

Besides, I'm entirely too old to be talking in initials.

Or what about myspace? I have so many issues with this one. I'm always getting a lecture from someone about the value of myspace and how it enables the people in your life to keep in touch with you.

Here's a thought: How about a phone call?

The vast majority of people I care anything about talking to, I find a way to do so personally. People have lost touch with one another, no pun intended. Seriously, when was the last time you took a moment to let someone hear your VOICE? I'd rather someone put forth the effort of contacting me personally, not through their blackberry or PC.

Write me a letter! Now that's determination to keep in touch with someone you care about. And it says it with every pen stroke. We are a world where convenience has taken the place of ... well, everything.

I find it a little sad.

It's reasons like this that the corporate world dictates the turn of humanity. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think that the Capitalist machine has any human-kind interest at heart.