Despite growing up here, John and Laura Gallaher hadn’t interacted with people in north Lexington until about seven years ago when he became the youth pastor at The Rock/La Roca United Methodist Church on North Limestone Street. That’s when the couple began reaching out, getting to know area youth and their families and learning to [...]
June 19, celebrated as Juneteenth in many parts of this country, will mark the 149th anniversary of Gen. Gordon Granger’s march into Galveston, Texas, freeing what is considered the last group of slaves in America. Other slaves had been freed at various times beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation which set Jan. 1, 1863, as the [...]
For two years, Vanita Allen was filled with guilt and frustration over the behavior of her granddaughter, Asia Mitchell. Allen shed her addictions 12 years ago so she could care for her six grandchildren after her daughter was murdered. Because of that, Allen blamed herself when Asia ran away from home several times and was [...]
There is no doubt in my mind that after my death there will be hordes of people in line to recount my many faults and misdeeds. But that is because I am not Joan Neal Taylor. By all counts, Taylor was ever ready with hugs, encouragement and a broad smile, all of which could lift [...]
My youngest child was out of work recently for about two months. At first, he beat the pavement every day, thrusting his résumé into hands of anyone who was hiring, or sending out information online. After about three weeks, he knocked on fewer and fewer doors, and applied less and less often online. It was [...]
When I attended the 10th Annual Nehemiah Action Assembly back in April, I found myself wondering why the faith community continued to push for social change that politicians weren’t delivering. The assembly is the mega event at which members of the Building a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct-Action group bring constituents together to hear elected [...]
There were more than 2,100 students graduating from the Bluegrass Community & Technical College on May 12, having earned a certificate, an associate’s degree or diploma that they hope will lead to a better future. Among them will be honor graduate Megan McCormick, a highly motivated woman who will be receiving an associate’s degree in [...]
Since 2004, Cindy Turley hasn’t had many mornings when she could roll out of bed pain free and full of energy. In fact, to varying degrees, Turley’s day is enveloped in a cloud of pain and fatigue that she fights off through shear determination. “The fatigue is unexplainable,” she said. “It is not just being [...]
Either because they are unaware or because they don’t consider themselves worthy, a lot of veterans don’t take full advantage of programs available to them through the Veterans Administration. That is just wrong. If the men and women who joined our armed forces can serve this country, then surely our country can serve them. And [...]
For more than 14 years, Dr. Antronette “Toni” Yancey tried to get America to move more. Yancey created a program called “Instant Recess” in which workers in corporate America and people in churches, neighborhoods and schools take about three 10-minute exercise breaks during the day. Last fall, Yancey and other public health researchers at the [...]
I am a native Kentuckian, and I have worked at the Lexington Herald-Leader for nearly a quarter of a century. I've been a columnist for almost 20 of those years, dispensing my opinions about anything and everything. Born in Owensboro, Ky., I'm old enough to have lived through racial segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, protests against the Vietnam War, and the break-up of the Beatles. That means I am "old school," and my thoughts emanate from that perspective.