Beech Tree News Network

The colors of spring are definitely popping up in every direction. The trees, the flowers, the new lives on the farms.  I absolutely love this time of year. The new life that it brings, the promise of warmth in the air, the magnificent art work that God creates for our pleasure.

We have entered the home stretch.  Settle in.  This is going to be a long one. Today we start with Trimble County, KY.  Founded on February 9, 1837, Trimble’s largest city as well as county seat is Bedford.  The county was named for Robert Trimble, an attorney, judge, and justice of the United States Supreme Court.  Trimble County is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.  Estimated population in 2015, the last census, was 8,769.  

I’ve come across quite a bit of trivia lately. Trivia has been defined as pieces of information of little importance or value. I guess the value would depend on how badly a person needed to know. Recent information that interested me is listed below in no particular order.

•Daylight Savings time starts next Sunday, March 12, and a full moon is predicted for Sunday night as well.

•When asked about responses to the morning alarm, about 57% of Americans admit to hitting snooze at least once. 

When George Bush (the elder) lost the presidential election in November, 1992, George’s wife, Barbara, came into a room of long faces and despair, in their White House living quarters. There was the president, the Bush children, and some of the White House staff. 

They don’t have black walnut trees in Louisiana.  I didn’t realize this fact until this weekend when my daughter, Nikki, and her husband, Thomas, came up from New Orleans for a visit.  I assumed everybody had the little rascals.  I have three trees in my back yard, and they are the bane of my existence. They usually produce bushels-full of nuts, which fall onto the grass and driveway.  I can’t go to the clothesline in the fall without slipping and sliding my way up and down the hill.

Late nights, packed committee meetings, and heated debate marked the fifth week of the 2017 Session. The Senate is quickly passing the remaining Senate bills out and receiving bills from the House for consideration. While there were some contested issues, the Senate conducted itself in a bipartisan fashion. We wasted no time this week and passed over 40 pieces of legislation including:
 
    Senate Bill 9, redistricting of judicial districts in order to better align caseloads with current census data;

When Jesus went to the Temple during His last week on earth, the chief priests and elders tested Him (Matt. 21:23-27). They asked Christ by what authority He had done the things He had done. Jesus then asked them a question: “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?” (Matt. 21:25). The chief priests and elders refused to answer, fearing the people. Thus, Jesus never answered their question.

After the crazy storms, this beautiful sunrise was a welcome sight on Thursday morning. I work in Franklin, so I have a few options for my drive to work. When I know the sunrise is going to be beautiful, I choose the country route of Hwy 240. This always makes for such a peaceful drive, a time to reflect on my blessings and just to breathe and welcome the day.

SHADOW OF DOUBT

The other day I was watching television when a headline came across the bottom of the screen which disturbed me, quite a bit. The people on the show never discussed this particular news item, most people probably did not give it much more than a passing thought, if they thought about it at all (my wife says I am the only one she knows of whom even bothers to read the scrolling messages) but it perturbed me enough that I am still thinking about it a couple of days later so I would like to address the subject in this column.

We’ve reached what I’ll call the 3 week home stretch of our county origins column.  This week, we begin with Scott County, Ky.  Scott County, founded in 1792, was explored as early as 1774.  One of the early settlers was John McClelland of Pennsylvania.  The area became subject to hostile Indian attacks and was abandoned in 1777.  In 1783, Robert Johnson(not the Blues artist) established the first permanent settlement at Johnson’s Station.  In 1786, Maryland Catholics established the second parish at St. Francis, Ky.