Beech Tree News Network

Over the weekend I made a grocery trip.  The difference on this trip was that my husband went with me. Usually it's me and Tucker, but this time both the kids stayed with their aunt. So, it was just me and the hubby. No list was prepared, which meant over spending was very probable! 

House Passes Bare Boned Budget

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The top duty of legislators was taken up this week as the House passed a new two-year budget for the Commonwealth by a vote of 78-17.  The best way to describe the biennial budget for 2012-2014 is bare boned.

Transparency not only makes government smaller, less costly and more responsive to its constituents. It saves lives, too.

The downside: It can embarrass government agencies and the bureaucrats who run them.

But ask me if I care more about assisting efforts by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services – which is shut up tighter than a pair of vise grips – to save face or finding out what really happened to Amy Dye, a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl.

Sometimes the most beautiful sights are just right around the corner. The gorgeous town of Woodbury is one place that I enjoy photography every chance I get. This gorgeous Saturday morning the sky couldn't not have been more vibrant. It just relaxes me looking at this photo.

I hope everyone has had an incredible week and I wish you the same for next week.

While eating pizza and drink RC, my favorite, one Sunday night, I wondered about the origins of the cola.  RC Cola was originally launched in 1905 by pharmacist Claude A. Hatcher of Columbus, Georgia.  Customers first knew of the cola as Chero Cola.  In 1934, Chero Cola was reformulated and rereleased as Royal Crown (RC), a brand admired even more today for going against the grain (see what I did there?) of other American colas.

Our Butler County ‘snowbirds’ are returning home. Of course, I’m always happy to see the return of friends and neighbors, especially since I’m not a snowbird – yet.

The word snowbird is often used to describe those people from the U.S. Northeast and Midwest and from Canada who spend much of the winter in a warmer region such as in Victoria, British Columbia (for Canadians), in the south or southwest United States, in Mexico, or in the Caribbean. Snowbirds are typically retirees or business owners whose business is easily moved.

You can rent a casket now in some places. 'Course it goes without saying only if you plan to be cremated. Three days rent on a casket is cheaper than buying one.

I traveled to Murray on Thursday to see my sister, Marsha.  We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas, so I had a box full of presents for her family.  I gave Marsha and my niece and nephew’s wife some of the bottles I’d slumped into cheese and cracker trays.

High Court Ruling Means Legislators Stay in Current Districts

FRANKFORT, Ky. – It appears the debate over redistricting, which has gripped much of the 2012 Legislative Session, has come to a conclusion at least for now.  Last Friday’s ruling by the Kentucky Supreme Court throwing out new district boundaries passed in January ends what has been a roller coaster of a ride for legislators and those of you we represent.

What's on your plate? If you do not eat locally grown, raised, and/or produced food, then more than likely, you are eating food that is not real. This “food” has been chemically processed and refined while adding artificial ingredients to produce it in different shapes, sizes, tastes, colors, and forms. And since our government allows genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be consumed by humans and farm animals, our “food” may contain foreign genes, which have been spliced together in laboratories.