Lady Raiders deserve better in postseason play

Another stellar season for the Trimble County Lady Raiders has come to an abrupt, premature end at the hands of a strong team of giants from Oldham County.
Take nothing away from the North Oldham Lady Mustangs, they are a mighty team and deserving of their 3-0 win over Trimble. The starters, most of whom stretch above six feet in altitude, would tower over most of the teams Trimble faces in the regular season. In fact Trimble’s only losses in the Eighth Region  this season were to the three schools from Oldham County--twice to N. Oldham. The Lady Raiders had their way with all other schools in the region and in the North Central Kentucky Conference en route to a 21-8 season record. The other four losses were to elite schools in the Class A Sweet Sixteen.
That’s why it is so frustrating year in and year out to see a strong Class A team pitted against three schools the size of some small colleges to try to advance in the KHSAA postseason tournament. Had the Lady Raiders advanced past District competition they could have gone pretty deep into the Eighth Region tournament. But every year Cinderella has to play David vs. Goliath with the Oldham County schools which should be matched up in District competition against the Louisville schools.
Last year, Carroll County was in the same volleyball district so you had two small schools facing the Oldham machine. The KHSAA powers that be decided to move the Lady Panthers to play with somebody their own size this season but left tiny Trimble in league with the Giant Sequoias from Buckner, Goshen and Crestwood.
It is the same scenario in basketball although in recent years Trimble’s cage teams haven’t had the strength of the local volleyball program, which, by the way, promises to be strong for several years to come.
To the KHSAA Powers That Be: Give Trimble County a more equitable opportunity in postseason play! Send the Oldham schools off to pick on somebody their own size!

The wife and I and our granddaughter Lizzie enjoyed a trip back in time to Perryville over the weekend for the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Civil War battle fought there on Oct. 8, 1862.
Although Lizzie (she’ll be 3 next Wednesday) was slightly disconcerted early on by the sound of the cannons she really didn’t get upset until the Confederate troops let out the famous “Rebel Yell” during an infantry charge at the reenactment of the “Battle for the Cornfield.”
Numerous U.S. Army National Guard troops in camouflage were handling parking and crowd control for the event. Every time Lizzie saw one she exclaimed: “Marine!” Her Daddy is a Marine and she has often seen him wearing camouflage so she was convinced they were all Marines. One ROTC Cadet laughed when she called him “Marine” and said, “I’m not quite that tough yet!”
Finally near the end of the day, Lizzie’s patience was gone. “Where’s Daddy?”
Daddy’s coming home for your birthday next week, Sweetie!

A side trip over to Danville following the battle reenactment brought us to the campus of Centre College and the Norton Fine Arts Center where tomorrow’s debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan will bring the focus of the world’s attention to Kentucky.
Danville is spic-and-span for the occasion. The folks there -- and all Kentuckians -- can be proud of their moment in the spotlight.