Tax collectors among several who deserve a little praise

A few notes of praise this week.

* Kudos go to those in charge of tax collection at Corbin City hall for getting this year’s tax bills out earlier than I ever remember. Last year, the city took a drubbing because its 2007 bills did not reach property owners until February of this year. I’d wager people in Corbin were the last people in the state to get those 2007 bills.

This year was a much different story. I got mine in October. Normally, the Corbin bills, when they are on time, don’t come until late November or December. The improvement is noteworthy and welcomed.

I also think Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge made a shrewd move by sending tax bills on more compact, and MUCH more readable, postcards. I am told it saved the county quite a bit of money on postage, and quite a few calls from people who could not read the old dot matrix version of their bills.

* Even though Election Day turnout didn’t reach the 65 percent projections made by officials, it still was higher than normal. I vote early, and I don’t ever remember seeing a line going out the door at my precinct polling location. I was happy to see so many people participating in the political process this time around. Maybe next time we can work to hit that 65 percent mark.

* I had the opportunity to make TWO trips to Eagle Falls in the past week – the lesser known of the two falls in Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Both hikes were invigorating and the falls, and surrounding area, is breathtaking. You can read more about why I went TWICE, and even see a photo, by visiting my online blog at www.thenewsjournal.net.

* Speaking of our Internet website, I must say it is shaping up nicely, though not as quickly as we would like. These things take time, I suppose. We are now able to offer readers more of a web presence than ever before. First and foremost, for a limited time, you can view the Electronic Edition of the entire newspaper just by registering on our site. This is a great feature that will be particularly useful for those subscribers who live out of town and often have to wait quite some time to get their News Journal in the mail. Now they can have it the day it hits the newsstands.

The new website is under construction and will change considerably over coming months, so don’t mistake what you see now for the final product. We plan on having exclusive content that you can only see on www.thenewsjournal.net in form of photo galleries, stories, video clips, important documents, breaking news, blogs and more. Check back often to see what we’ve come up with.

* I complain often about how are local courts are inapproachable for the average citizen who just wants to go and see what is going on. Even though he lost his bid for District Court Judge in Whitley and McCreary Counties, I think Judge Fred White deserves praise for the changes he instituted during his short stint in the position. The times I went to court and he was on the bench were a refreshing change from what I see elsewhere. You could hear what was going on. All parties involved in a case had to be there before any plea agreement was taken. He was kind and explained things well to defendants. Judge White, you may have lost, but what you tried to do is significant. I hope new Judge Jason Price adopts some of those same practices.