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NOVEMBER 10, 2011 • BOONE COMMUNITY RECORDER • A15
COMMUNITY
RECORDER
Editor: Nancy Daly, ndaly@nky.com, 578-1059
EDITORIALS | LETTERS | COLUMNS | CH@TROOM
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Love Alive Montessori Preschool students enjoy the playground their first week back. From left are Paige Pence of Independence, Annie Kunkel and Audrey Huey of Walton. Love Alive Montessori Preschool is located at Richwood Presbyterian Church in Richwood. THANKS TO MARCY THOMPSON
Thoughts on a grateful nation I am the daughter of a World War II Navy veteran. It was a crisp cool morning with a strong breeze that caused the flag on the hill in the veteran’s section of the cemetery to snap back and forth. As we gathered graveside, two U.S. Navy seamen stood just off to our right, one played Taps, then the seamen slowly approached us, handed me the neatly folded American flag that had been draped over my Dad’s coffin, and said, “On behalf of the president of the United States, the admiral of the Navy and a grateful nation, thank you for your father’s service...” “A Grateful Nation” defines why we take pause on Veterans Day. As a nation, we have prospered and been blessed with liberty, because we’ve always had citizens willing to answer the call to serve in hours of need. From the very first patriots to those serving today, defending the ideals of freedom and protecting the foundation of liberty, responding to the call, come ordinary individuals from every walk of life, willing to step forth willing to give of themselves and do extraordinary things – willing to serve a cause that is greater than self. Veterans Day has many names; Armistice Day, Remembrance
Day. It began following World War I, the Great War that shook the nations of the world for four years claiming 20 million lives. The Addia Armistice was Wuchner signed at the COMMUNITY 11th hour, on the RECORDER GUEST COLUMNIST 11th day, of the 11th month. The day that began as a celebration of the silencing of the cannons of World War I, Nov. 11 is now a day to commemorate not only that event, but a day we take pause and hold in our hearts and minds the brave men and women – willing to do the extraordinary, who believed in and fought for a set of ideals and a cause that is greater than self. On our behalf, they have endured great hardships, separation from family, and drastically changed living conditions. Many have experienced horrors of war that we cannot even imagine. All sacrificed something so that we could enjoy the liberty and freedoms we hold dear. It is our veterans and their families, that we, “a grateful nation,” remember and thank, for they
have fought for our extraordinary country and preserved the liberties set for in our Constitution. Brave men and women, they are also sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. They come from extraordinary families, who have also made extraordinary sacrifices for our country. So to our veterans, to the fallen and to their families – to every patriot who first sought our shores and fought to form our nation, and every brave soldier who has every put on a uniform willing to defend our liberties and our freedoms, we owe our deepest gratitude. It is the magnitude of their sacrifice and their willingness to serve a cause greater than self, that calls us as “a grateful nation” on Nov. 11 to take pause and remember those brave men and women who have fought to defend our freedom and tranquility. As a grateful nation, say thank and for your noble sacrifice. May God bless you for serving our country, for defending the foundation of liberty, and keeping alive the American dream for all our children. State Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Florence, is a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Know the facts about disability What would happen if one day you could no longer work? How would you pay for fixed expenses? Would you tap into your life’s savings or rely on other family members? If you believe disability cannot happen to you, you may want to think again. In most cases you are considered disabled if: » You cannot do the same work that you did before. » Your disability has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year. » Social Security Administration decides that you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition. “Studies show that a 20-yearold worker has a three in 10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age,” according to the Social Security Disability Planner, 2009. During your working years, you have a greater chance of becoming disabled than dying before age 65. With the advances in medical technology, people are living longer. So what would happen if you were not able to care for yourself or to provide
for your loved ones due to a disability? Would you turn to savings accounts, credit cards, a second mortgage, a family memBob Beatrice ber or friend, COMMUNITY or wait without RECORDER GUEST COLUMNIST income until Social Security Disability was approved? How long could you count on any of these to take care of your increased expenses, or provide for you family? Keep in mind; with the onset of a disability, expenses typically increase. Unless you are willing to roll the dice with your income, you may want to consider protecting your income through longterm disability insurance. Policies can be purchased on an individual basis or through an employer-sponsored plan. An individual policy tends to be more expensive, but can have a stronger contract, providing greater protection. With an individual policy you are also the owner of the policy, paying the
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premiums with after tax dollars, so that in the event of a disability, the benefit is tax-free. A group disability policy sponsored by an employer can be employer-paid or voluntary, or employee-paid. Group policies are typically offered as a guarantee issue basis, meaning you do not have to medically qualify (unlike an individual policy). In addition, group disability policies are often not as strong, but are frequently the least expensive route to purchase disability policies. If the employer is paying for the premium of the long-term disability policy, the benefit is taxed. Keep in mind; it is better to have some coverage than none at all. The worst way to learn about long-term disability is after the fact, when you need it the most. To properly protect one of your most important assets, your income, takes proper planning and education. Knowing the facts about long-term disability is an important place to start. Bob Beatrice is a benefits consultant in Fort Mitchell.
Kentucky’s hunting heritage
The answer to that age-old question “What’s in a name?” is trophy deer, if you are talking about the name Boone. Boone County was founded nearly 100 years before the Boone and Crockett Club – a big game management and wildlife conservation organization founded by Theodore Roosevelt in the late 1800s – but the two entities have become linked due to Boone County’s growing number of trophy whitetail buck. Boone County was the only county in the state to have three Boone and Crockett trophy buck in 2010 out of around 50 Boone and Crockett trophy deer taken statewide last year, and many hunters expect to have similar luck in Boone County during this year’s deer hunting season. Boone County is a welcome home for large-body, large antlered buck for a number of reasons, say the experts at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The county has really good deer habitat, for starters. Food is abundant even among a dense deer population in the county. Low hunting pressure is also beneficial, allowing trophy buck in Boone County to reach an average age of 3 ½ to 5 ½ years, according to officials at Fish and Wildlife. Still, finding trophy deer in a county like ours is unusual, say the experts. Boone County has a high density deer population, and trophy deer are usually found in areas with a low density deer population. Conditions appear to be right for trophy deer to thrive in Boone County in spite of the large deer population, which says a lot about hunting in Boone County and Kentucky. We should see quite a few
John Schickel COMMUNITY RECORDER GUEST COLUMNIST
hunters looking for trophy deer in Boone County and counties in other deer hunting zones in the commonwealth during the 2011 modern gun, crossbow, archery and deer hunting
muzzleloader seasons. Saturday, Nov. 12, is the start of modern gun deer hunting season in Boone, Kenton and Gallatin counties, as well as other counties in the northern part of the state. That season will end on Nov. 27. Archery deer hunting season began Sept. 3 and will extend through Jan. 16, and crossbow deer hunting season is being held this year from Oct 1-16 and Nov. 12-Dec. 31. Muzzleloader deer hunting will be allowed from Dec. 10-18. Kentucky was not always flush with deer like it is today. In fact, there were fewer than 1,000 deer in Kentucky about a century ago. Now our state has more whitetail deer than in the time of Daniel Boone. Wise wildlife management practices sustained over the course of years brought the population back to the point where Kentucky is, today, a top location for trophy whitetail deer. If you would like to learn more about deer hunting in Kentucky, please view the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Web page at http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/ State Sen. John Schickel, RUnion, is a member of the Kentucky Senate.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Boone County, many of you missed an awe-inspiring event on Oct. 29. A group of our children participated in a competition that was the culmination of hundreds of hours of work. These kids gave up three weeks of their summer, putting in 60 hours of work for one of those weeks. Each one sacrificed at least 20 hours of work after school perfecting their skills. They spent time lifting each other up when they were down and celebrating one another's joys. Bonds were formed that can only be equated to that of family. On Oct. 22 Ryle Marching Band performed the "Beauty Within You" program at the KMEA quarter finals in Lexington and were chosen to move on to the KMEA semi-finals in Bowling Green. Although their journey this season ended in this competition, we parents saw something incredible. We didn't see just our sons and daughters demonstrating a skill. We saw 129 young men and women become a single unit and perform with a level of grace and power that was overwhelming. So speaking for myself and un-
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doubtedly many others, I want to say how proud I am of our Ryle Marching Raiders. To the people of Boone County I want to say that you should look upon our band and know that everything they do is done “With Pride.” Andy Hyett Union
Boone Community Recorder Editor Nancy Daly ndaly@nky.com, 578-1059 Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday See page A2 for additional contact information.