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Portsmouth Fights for a Rock |
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Written by Michael Salsbury
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Wednesday, 06 February 2008 |
I
was born and raised in a small Ohio town called Portsmouth. It's
the kind of place that rarely makes the news. Sadly, when it
does, it's usually for something goofy like this...
An
Ohio historian removed an 8-ton rock from the Ohio River. The
rock is covered with a variety of carvings, dating to Portsmouth's
early days, and perhaps even earlier than that. That, in and of
itself, hardly qualifies as news.
What does qualify as news is
that politicians in Frankfort, Kentucky, are up in arms about it.
They're calling it a "raid", as though you could move 8 tons of
rock out of a river in the middle of the night with no one noticing.
As if there were no Kentuckians involved in the "raid".
The
more ridiculous part of the story, crazier even than the fact that the
politicians are up in arms over a rock, is that they're willing to
fight over it in court.
It's a rock, guys. Not only that,
but you can pretty much see Frankfort from Portsmouth. Can't you
guys work something out without a court case?
How about on
even-numbered years Ohio displays the rock in a public place of honor,
and on odd-numbered years you have a big celebration as the rock is
transferred to Kentucky for a display there. You could turn this
into a silly tradition that actually generates tourist traffic and
revenue for the businesses on both sides of the river. No need
for a court case!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 February 2008 )
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