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Party On Wayne calendars from humane society

We hope you smiled while reading Sunday’s Advocate-Messenger story about Wayne the hat-wearing llama. We sure did.

Wayne lives on a Boyle County farm and is a real pro at wearing hats. “We were surprised. He totally tolerated the hat, never shook his head or tried to rub it off like most animals would,” Fizzy Ramsey told reporter Bobbie Curd of the first time they gave Wayne his own headgear (a sombrero he wore during a family wedding).

Now, Ramsey has helped assemble a 2017 monthly calendar featuring photos of Wayne in his many hats. We can’t think of a more creative or fun idea for a calendar, especially if you want it to be local.

The calendars cost $10 apiece and benefit the Danville-Boyle County Humane Society, so you can enjoy the funny photos of a local llama while knowing you’re helping out a local organization.

You can pick up a calendar at the humane society, 778 N. Danville Bypass, or use PayPal to send a $12 payment ($10 plus $2 for shipping) along with your address and “Wayne Calendar” as a note to ramsey.ky@gmail.com.

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No major problems from first snow of 2017

Winter got a little more beautiful in Boyle County last week, when we got our first snow of the new year.

While forecasters threatened 2-3 inches of the white stuff, most areas seemed to get less than 1.

It was still enough to turn most farms into idyllic winter scenes and brighten up downtown Danville. It was also enough to make roadways dangerous.

Fortunately, wrecks were minor and there weren’t too many of them. People did a good job staying home if they could and drivers did a good job driving slow and exercising extra caution.

Let’s hope we can all keep up our good behavior whenever the next storm comes through.

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Advocate sports staff bringing their A game

If you’re a frequent reader of The Advocate-Messenger’s sports sections, you’ve probably found yourself overwhelmed with local content recently.

Sports Editor Jeremy Schneider and Sports Reporter Matt Overing have dialed coverage of local sports to 11 with game coverage, bonus photos from around the region, weekly analysis and commentaries, columns from coaches, a weekly mailbag, football bowl game pick ‘ems and a very popular new feature, the daily “Sports in Short,” with all kinds of scores and stats available in a quick glance on B1.

If you haven’t looked at The Advocate-Messenger’s sports section recently, you should look again — it’s one of the best parts of our paper.

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Lincoln deputy expected to recover after being shot

Lincoln County special Deputy Colby Reik was put in one of the toughest situations a law enforcement officer can face last Wednesday, when a suspected drug-dealer emerged from a vehicle with a gun and began shooting at him.

Reik returned fire and killed the suspect, but not before taking two bullets to his arm, according to state police. Reik was airlifted from the scene and taken to Lexington for treatment. He was later released and we’re told he is expected to be fine.

But the situation is still a sad one. No law enforcement officer responds to a call or pulls over a vehicle hoping to get shot at. And none of them want to kill anyone, either. Reik had to do both. It’s a stark reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face and just how tough their jobs can be.

If you have a law enforcement officer in your family or if you know one as a friend, take a moment to thank them for the work they do.

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Body of suspect killed in shoot-out not covered

Things didn’t end well Wednesday for Welby O’Dell Mullins Jr., the suspected drug dealer who police say shot Deputy Reik.

Things didn’t go as we would have expected after the shooting incident either, when Mullins’ body was apparently left on the ground, uncovered and visible to passing traffic for more than two hours.

Mullins was wanted for suspected drug dealing. He had prior drug dealing convictions. And he died while apparently trying to kill a law enforcement officer.

But it doesn’t matter how bad his crimes were — Mullins’ body should have been afforded some respect and covered or, if the investigation required nothing be placed around the body, then it should have been blocked from view of the public. Such decency is what sets upright, law-abiding people apart from criminals who would kill to avoid consequences.

The fact that Mullins’ body was left visible on the ground immediately after he had shot a law enforcement officer can give the appearance, especially to friends and family members, that police were intentionally disrespecting Mullins or delivering vengeance for Reik’s injury.

We’re more inclined to believe this was just an unfortunate oversight during a sensitive investigation and no harm was meant.