Roberts, Everly and Nortonville among other things

• Watch for Shaun Roberts to make a run for the 5th District magisterial seat in next year’s election. The seat is now held by Wilma Rogers, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of her late husband, Larry Rogers. Roberts, a former Central basketball star, was a vocal opponent of the Board of Health’s involvement in the smoking ban issue. The Spin Doctor asked Roberts if he is going to run. He said he has been encouraged by people to go for it. Roberts said it was an honor to be asked and that it’s a sign people want a “fresh approach” to local government. He said he’s considering running at this point.

• Another man who may be jumping back into the political arena is former Earlington Mayor Steve Everly. In a letter to the editor that was critical of that city’s handling of customer complaints about water bills, Everly closed it out with, “The current administration may want to hold off on re-ordering that city stationary.” The Doc took the statement as an indication he would be on the ballot next year and asked Everly if that is the deal. “I’m not going to commit one way or another right now,” Everly said. “I’m mulling it over. A lot of things can happen between now and then.”

• It turns out that cash and tools weren’t the only thing taken in the Nortonville City Hall robberies. An undisclosed amount of checks were also taken. Police Chief Tim Vaughn was very helpful in our first story about the thefts and pointed out that there were no signs of forced entry and the front door was found unlocked. He acknowledged checks were stolen, but didn’t know the amount. Mayor Jamie Noel basically told the Doc to buzz off when asked about it. “I don’t think The Messenger needs to be writing this,” Noel said. “… I don’t have to answer questions. This is city business.” That won’t be the end of the story. The question remains — who stole from City Hall without having to break into the place to get to the goods?

• Happy trails to Billy Clyde, a.k.a. “The Warrior,” who left the Texas heat and found the bluegrass to be a much hotter environment.

• The Clorox Company has put up a $5,000 reward and a year’s supply of toilet cleaning products for help leading to the arrest of San Francisco’s “portable potty pyromaniac.” The Associated Press says two dozen construction site toilets have been set on fire since November. It has caused $50,000 in property damage and left “a trail of foul-smelling evidence.” Doc says release the hounds.

• Happy birthday Tuesday to the lovely Carole Perryman. Don’t know how she’s put with the Doc all of these years.

• When are your birthdays? Send them in to the Doc at dperryman@the-messenger.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

White Week

• A reader sent the Spin Doctor a copy of a story about a storm that sounds eerily familiar. “White Week,” an excerpt from the book “Paducah, Portrait of a River Town” by Richard Holland, describes a storm that produced two inches of snow and ice on Jan. 26, 1902 in the town. That was followed by a heavy rain. The result was similar to what occurred in Madisonville 107 years and one day later. Telephone poles and lines, electric poles and lines and trees came crashing down. “… the town woke up on Thursday morning to a magnificent but wrecked city as everything outside was covered with snow and ice,” Holland wrote. Electrical power was restored by Feb. 4. Damages were estimated at approximately $200,000 in the city.

• State Transportation Cabinet officials say that more than 1.5 cubic yards of debris has been cleared off roadways in District 2, which includes Hopkins County. Apparently that is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopkins County has produced approximately 33 percent of the debris. Clean-up in the county is estimated at just 20 percent complete.

• The Spin Doctor has an eye on Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo who is heating up his run for Sen. Jim Bunning’s seat inside the Beltway. Dr. Dan just launched a Web site www.Dr.DanforKentucky.com. According to published reports, Mongiardo claims that after a close loss to Bunning in 2004, his job as lieutenant governor gives him more visibility and will help his candidacy.

• Meanwhile, his opponent continues to stumble along. The good senator has apologized for cursing at reporters during a conference call earlier this week. Bunning cursed while telling the 5th Estate he wouldn’t release the results of a poll conducted in February. “It’s none of your (the Doc can’t use the phrase here) business.”

• Many of the patron’s at the Doc’s favorite watering hole (and unofficial Worldwide headquarters for the Spin Cycle) say Billie Clyde will not return as UK’s hoopmeister. Doc wonders what you think.

• Happy 123rd birthday (Wednesday) to Everett Edward Horton who narrated The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, the smartest cartoon show of all-time.

Idle thoughts from a mind gone haywire

Kudos to Mayor Will Cox and his team at City Hall. It was refreshing to see how upfront he and his staff were during the ice storm recovery. As we wrote early on in his administration, one of the first things he did was open the curtains in his office. They have remained open ever since.

Here’s a Bronx Cheer for the folks at Kenergy. No one could have been prepared for the storm of the decade. But Kenergy was slow to react and even slower to provide information.

Another Bronx Cheer to AT&T who asked The Messenger during the recovery to publish a press release concerning the number of people they had working in the state to get phones back online. When a Messenger reporter asked her to be more specific about numbers of workers and outages in Hopkins County, an AT&T spokeswoman wouldn’t answer the questions. We declined to run their press release.

Madisonville has once again been named a Tree U.S.A. city. The honor must have been bestowed before the January ice storm. Wonder if there’s a Treeless U.S.A. award.

The Spin Doctor would like to thank the folks at RMC for the way he was treated during a stay there last week. The nurses who worked in room 357 were pretty and smart, although I think they had a fetish for sticking needles in a feller.

“Comedian” Rush Limbaugh, as Keith Olbermann refers to him, has challenged President Barack Obama to a debate. Limbaugh challenging a president to a debate? Pretty arrogant if you ask the Spin Doctor. Mr. Limbaugh if you want to debate the president, put your name on a ballot, you just might get your wish. But, be careful what you wish for …

Sen. Jim Bunning, a fire-baller in his heyday, had a curve thrown at him when the Republican National Committee met with state Senate President David Williams to see if has the mettle for the national spotlight. Bunning has threatened to sue his brethren at the RNC.

The Messenger had a call from the Associated Press today looking for a picture of Madisonville-North Hopkins hoop star and UK-bound Jon Hood. The AP plans to announce the recipient of its Mr. Basketball award today (Monday) at 5 p.m. Hmmmm.

UK will play Tuesday’s NIT game against UNLV at Memorial Gymnasium. The state Sweet 16 tourney has taken over Rupp Arena.

Happy 258th birthday (Monday) Mr. James Madison. The Doc thinks you’d like your namesake town.