New Hampshire

Petty Officer Second Class Taylor Gallant, 22, of Winchester, passed away Jan. 26 during a training exercise with the Navy off the coast of North Carolina.  He was a 2008 graduate of George Rogers Clark High School and member of The Vineyard Community Church in Lexington.  Taylor enlisted in the United States Navy in 2008, and was assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 in November 2010. He was awarded the following medals: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Expert Pistol Shot Medal.  He is survived by one son, Ethan B. Gallant of Virginia Beach, Va.; mother, Elizabeth “Beth” Taylor Gallant of Winchester; brother, Kyle William Gallant of Winchester; father, Joseph P. Gallant of Richmond; maternal grandparents, William C. and Barbara C. Taylor of Winchester; paternal grandmother, Bernadette Gallant of New Hampshire; three maternal aunts, Karen T. Taylor of Lexington, Amy (James)

Lt. Junior Grade Travis M. Douglas, 32, died Dec. 10 as a result of a car accident in New Hampshire. He was the son of Juliana Cecil and Doug Stallard. Arrangements are pending. Vivian Sanders, wife of Roger Sanders, of Lexington died Sunday. Arrangements are pending at Alexander & Royalty Funeral Home, Harrodsburg.

Juanita Gaines, 86, formerly of Stanford, died Sunday, Feb. 26 in Hamilton, OH. She was born Jan. 11, 1920 to the late William and Aretha Helton. She was a homemaker. She was also preceded in death by several brothers and sisters. Survivors include sons, Bobby Gerald Noe of Milford, OH., and Donnie Lee Gaines of New Hampshire; four daughters, Dorothy Statham of Somerset, Charlotte Burmmett of Goshen, OH., Watha Lean Roark and Willia Dean Isaacs both of Groseback, OH.; 11 grandchildren; 25 great grandchildren; and six great, great grandchildren.

It's time America stopped letting a bunch of cob cultivators and sap suckers decide who our presidents are going to be. It's time to let a bunch of booze distillers and burley growers get in on the act. Iowa produces great corn. But why should a state of only two million, mostly white people, have such a big say in our presidential elections? And when you get down to the real numbers involved in Iowa's caucuses, only 10 percent of the state's population shows up at those complicated caucuses where the votes are weighted so that a tiny burg's results are valued the same as larger towns'.

It's been said elsewhere, albeit jokingly, that two small states with mostly white voters shouldn't be the lead off batters in the presidential election cycle, and that Kentucky should move its primary forward because it usually votes for the inevitable winner. However, the record turnouts in the first two primary states bode well for the democratic process. Whether it's the unseasonably favorable weather or unusually exciting candidates or issues, turnouts at Iowa's first in the nation caucus or next in line New Hampshire were unprecedented.

Madelyn Helen Lane, 81, of Royal Manor Nursing Home died Wednesday, Aug. 29. She was a native of Endicott, N.Y., and was born Sept. 25, 1925, to the late John and Mary Rok Leney. She was retired from the Department of Social Services in New York where she was a social worker. She is the widow of John C. Lane who died in 1990. She is survived by her son Thomas Lane and his wife Charlene, a sister Ann Decker and her husband Robert E. of New Hampshire, three grandchildren Kristina Madelyn Lane, Stephan Thomas Lane both of Illinois, and Kevin D. Sproles of Nicholasville, a niece Linda Hale of Florida and a nephew Robert F. Decker of Indiana.

Destiny Marie Levasseur Shawn and Sarah Levasseur announce the birth of their daughter, Destiny Marie Levasseur. She was born at Central Baptist Hospital on April 17 at 4:16 p.m. She weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces and was 18 inches long. She was welcomed home by her big brother Charles Burton and her twin sister Hayley. Her maternal grandparents are Georgia and Roger Riddell of Nicholasville. Her paternal grandparents are Robert and Diane Levasseur of Lowell, Mass.

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - The strangest thing about John McCain's campaign for president is that it's supposed to be dead, but it isn't. This is a real nuisance for his competitors. The comeback is not showy or dramatic. And it's true that while McCain is better off than he was in July, when his campaign imploded in a dazzling display of financial mismanagement and staff recriminations, he still faces a more difficult route to the GOP nomination than his well-financed rivals, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

Petty Officer Second Class Taylor Gallant, 22, of Winchester, passed away Jan. 26 during a training exercise with the Navy off the coast of North Carolina.  He was a 2008 graduate of George Rogers Clark High School and member of The Vineyard Community Church in Lexington.  Taylor enlisted in the United States Navy in 2008, and was assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 in November 2010. He was awarded the following medals: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Expert Pistol Shot Medal.  He is survived by one son, Ethan B. Gallant of Virginia Beach, Va.; mother, Elizabeth “Beth” Taylor Gallant of Winchester; brother, Kyle William Gallant of Winchester; father, Joseph P. Gallant of Richmond; maternal grandparents, William C. and Barbara C. Taylor of Winchester; paternal grandmother, Bernadette Gallant of New Hampshire; three maternal aunts, Karen T. Taylor of Lexington, Amy (James)

Lt. Junior Grade Travis M. Douglas, 32, died Dec. 10 as a result of a car accident in New Hampshire. He was the son of Juliana Cecil and Doug Stallard. Arrangements are pending. Vivian Sanders, wife of Roger Sanders, of Lexington died Sunday. Arrangements are pending at Alexander & Royalty Funeral Home, Harrodsburg.

Behind every modern candidate there are people who make the difference between victory and anonymity. Judging by the speakers at this week's Democratic National Convention, those who aspire to power should remember the name Joel Meister. Over the past several years, Meister, a 2003 graduate of Danville High School, has worked with some of the most promising names in Democratic politics. In January 2007, he became a top communications officer for Joe Biden, the man whom Barack Obama just named as his vice-presidential nominee.

HANOVER, N.H. - The race for electoral votes could be so close in November that small states may well pick the next president. Among those diminutive states, New Hampshire is by far the most interesting. Consider that in 2000, George W. Bush beat Al Gore here by 7,211 votes (Ralph Nader got just over 22,000). If New Hampshire's four electoral votes had gone the other way, Gore would have won, and Florida would not have mattered. New Hampshire is also one of only three states that changed sides between 2000 and 2004, and the only one that switched to the Democrats.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for president after his poor showing in the Iowa caucuses, but a couple weeks before he had been embroiled in a mini-tempest over his description of Sen. Barack Obama as an "articulate" candidate. Apparently some of Obama's supporters considered this a "racist" word. In my Random House dictionary, I find meanings for this word like: "using language easily and fluently" and "uttered clearly in distinct syllables.

It's been said elsewhere, albeit jokingly, that two small states with mostly white voters shouldn't be the lead off batters in the presidential election cycle, and that Kentucky should move its primary forward because it usually votes for the inevitable winner. However, the record turnouts in the first two primary states bode well for the democratic process. Whether it's the unseasonably favorable weather or unusually exciting candidates or issues, turnouts at Iowa's first in the nation caucus or next in line New Hampshire were unprecedented.

It's time America stopped letting a bunch of cob cultivators and sap suckers decide who our presidents are going to be.It's time to let a bunch of booze distillers and burley growers get in on the act. Iowa produces great corn. But why should a state of only two million, mostly white people, have such a big say in our presidential elections? And when you get down to the real numbers involved in Iowa's caucuses, only 10 percent of the state's population shows up at those complicated caucuses where the votes are weighted so that a tiny burg's results are valued the same as larger towns'.

You're probably wondering, who will be The Interior Journal Person of the Year for 2007. The nominating process has ended and we've made a selection. But we won't tell you who it is until January, unless you torture us (see "The Christmas Song," this page). In the meantime, let's consider, in no particular order of importance, who might be named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Some are listed by way of reverse logic. â?¢ Don Imus. You're probably saying, "How could a complete moron be Person of the Year?