June 2, 2010 —
By-the-drink petition
Editor,
We recently received a petition in the mail requesting our support for an ordinance to allow alcohol sales in the Oakland precinct of Carter County (Grayson) on a by-the-drink basis in restaurants. We responded that we could not support such as ordinance. We replied as follows:
We cannot sign your petition, and wanted to take a moment to explain why. We have no inherent opposition to alcoholic drinks, and in fact indulge occasionally ourselves. Responsible drinking we have no issue with. However, we have an ironclad rule. We will not drive if we've had so much as a single drink. Although progress has been made, there are still far too many drunk drivers on the road, and far too many accidents occur where alcohol is a factor, and the latter is true even when drivers are not over the .08 BAL limit. That limit is simply one where everyone is assumed to be impaired, but many people's coordination and judgement are adversely affected at lower levels.
We have always felt that it was a blatant, hypocritical sacrifice of public safety to craft local ordinances such that people could not legally buy liquor for home consumption, but rather attempted to channel their drinking into a pattern of driving to an establishment, purchasing and consuming alcohol on the premises, and then having to drive home. That is exactly what ordinances do which allow by-the-drink sales but forbid package stores. Such ordinances encourage irresponsible drinking and send exactly the wrong message to our young people. It is an official government sanction to drink and drive.
Should a reverse option appear on the ballot, to allow package stores, but NOT by-the-drink sales, we would be inclined to vote in favor of such an ordinance, but we will actively oppose any by-the-drink option for the reasons expressed above.
Sincerely,
Robert S. & Susie T. Duncan
Grayson
Talking about change
Editor,
My name is Tim Buehring; I am 17 years old, and a foreign exchange student from Germany. I have been living in Grayson since August and will be leaving in the middle of June.
A lot of people have asked me how I ended up in Carter County, because there are so many different places in the United States that I could have landed in that would have been more exciting than this. To be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. The people here are so nice and are always interested in my language and culture. This place has meant so much to me, all its little things that are in and around this town.
During this year, I lived with Darrin and Marquita Welsh and their son Trenton. All of them have been a wonderful host family and have been making this year so successful for me. They have been supporting me a lot, through bad times for my family back home in Germany, and by watching all my home soccer games. They have clearly been great and I can't say how much I will miss them and how grateful I am to have them in my life. I was their very first exchange student they hosted, and I hope I will leave with a good impression that they would always like to remember. I love you all!
Also, while I was here I have made some pretty awesome memories. First of all, the soccer trip to Berea where I got to learn a lot about my teammates and now best friends. Furthermore, the senior trip to Disney World in Florida, where I had one of the greatest times of my life.
I would like to thank the seniors of the soccer team for an awesome year, and that I was always part of their group. Another special thanks to the bros, Jacob, Quinton, Corbin, Caleb Yankey, Caleb Adams, Koty and Troy to such a special year, you have become my best friends within the first month. I love all of you. But especially Troy, you have been such a great support to me and I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I love you man.
I would also like to thank Kayla Adams for all the fun times we had, like hiking the trail at Carter Caves, where I had to carry you most of the time because you were only in flip-flops. But I wouldn't have it any other way, you are just a wonderful person and I will miss you so much! Love you best friend!
Another big thank you to East Carter High School that I attended this year as a senior. Thanks to Principal Donald Damron, who made all this possible by letting me attend his school. Mr. Damron, you weren't only an administrator, but I got to share some of my experiences with you during our Disney trip and it was awesome to see you different than behind that desk, saying “the choice is yours” every morning. More thanks go out to Coach Fritz, who always believed in me and let me be part of his soccer team. You're awesome Coach Fritz! Also, Mrs. Potter, you are probably the coolest teacher ever, you have had some very grouchy days, but in the end you have always been supporting me and teaching me more and more about the language. I'm going to miss your goofy and sarcastic ways that make all of us laugh so much. Thanks also to Mr. Kouns, who has been teaching me about U.S. History and brought the country's culture nearer to me.
I would also like to thank Vicky Barker, my Community Representative, who convinced Darrin and Marquita to host me this year. I really appreciate your work Vicky, and I'm sure there will be more exchange students who will appreciate you.
My last thanks go out to the Oak Grove Church of Christ, where I attended youth group. Bradley, Derek, Justin, and Amy, you all have been such an inspiration to me and brought me closer to God. I wasn't a very religious person when I got here and my faith was not the strongest, but you all have shown me that the Lord is in my life too, and that He is working in and on me every single day. I couldn't imagine a year without you guys and I will miss you dearly!
This journey was the best year of my life and I'm grateful for anybody who shared it with me. I love you, Grayson, Kentucky!
Tim Buehring
Germany
My exchange year in the United States
Editor,
Wow! I can't believe that I have spend almost 10 months in Grayson, Kentucky. Time has gone by and I have to say that this exchange experience has been an awesome journey I will never forget.
My name is Sara Fuchs and I go to East Carter High School as a junior. I have always had the dream of being an exchange student. I wanted to be able to speak better English, learn about a different culture, meet new people and go to a high school in America.
I live with a wonderful host family: Rhonda, Anthony, Blake and his beautiful daughter Kaelie Blake Rogers, who made my stay unforgettable and I want to thank them for that so much. I know that I will always have a home in America and I can't explain how glad I am to be part of their family!
During my exchange year, I made so many wonderful friendships. I want to thank among other friends, my closest ones, Laken, Kels, Megan, LB, Tanji, Lauren, Malyssa, Chris and Sara for being awesome people. I have enjoyed every moment with you guys, which has made my time even better over here!
School was a big part of my life over here. I had so much fun being a part of ECHS. I had great classes and great teachers who made it even more enjoyable. First of all, I would like to thank Donald Damron, our principal, who made it possible for all the exchange students to attend his school. I would also like to thank all of my teachers, especially Mr. Kouns, my U.S. History teacher, who always knew how to be patient with me; Mr. Musick, who was an interesting teacher in Sociology and Psychology class; my great English teacher Mrs. Potter, who knew how to make people laugh and Mr. Tomlinson, the Spanish teacher, who inspired me even more to learn as much about other cultures as possible.
I'm also thankful for Vicky Barker, our AYUSA representative, who helped me through my exchange, whenever I needed help.
I remember how nervous I was whenever Rhonda and Anthony picked me up from the airport in Huntington. I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know whether I made the right decision about going away from my family and friends and living a life in a different culture without knowing anybody.
Now, that I have lived and experienced a life I've never lived before I have to say that I made the right decision about coming here. I've learned that you sometimes have to leave some things behind to be able to begin a new chapter in your life. Everybody who wants to be an exchange student should take the opportunity to learn something about other lifestyles and languages. You are also learning a lot about your self and you are going to be surprised how much you can do on your own. Being independent helps you become confident about your future life. I'm so glad that I didn't give up on my dream!
I'm going to leave Kentucky with a big smile and a lot of tears. It's going to be so hard for me to say good-bye to all those wonderful people I've shared my journey with. But, I know that I will always come back and that I will never be able to forget about this beautiful time I had in America.
Again, thank you for everybody who made my experience so awesome and for those who helped me throughout my year.
Danke,
Sara
Looking for ancestors
Editor,
Recently, my family has been wondering about our ancestors. We have gone back to some of the old documents and found that we have a great, great, great grandfather and grandmother from Carter County.
According to the census of 1850 and marriage certificate 1843, James R. Stewart and Nancy A. Thompson Stewart are our ancestors. If you have any information about their relatives or ancestor's place of residence before coming to Kentucky, please e-mail us at: crste1157@comcast.net.
According to the census James was from Virginia. My grandparents were Walker R. and Ann (Holbrook) Stewart from Ashland. My mother's parents were Christopher Columbus Bradley and Minnie Lea (Jones) Bradley from Morgan County. My father, Clarence Richard Stewart is a retired service man, 32nd degree Mason (El Hasa) and union pipe fitter from the Ashland area. He spent many years working on the new buildings from Morehead State University. He will soon be 88 years old, living in Ormand Beach, Florida. He wanted nothing more than to be able to leave all his worldly possessions to my brother C. R. Stewart Jr., a disabled Veteran.
Thank you for your help and consideration in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Stewart
P.O. Box 9027
Ft. Wayne, Indiana 46899-9027
Phone 260.409.0601
