Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Bert T. Combs/archive2

The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was not promoted by SandyGeorgia 18:03, 25 April 2010 [1].

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Bert T. Combs

Bert T. Combs (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Nominator(s): Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 16:37, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

• Featured article candidates/Bert T. Combs/archive1
• Featured article candidates/Bert T. Combs/archive2
• Featured article candidates/Bert T. Combs/archive3

The article's first FA nom got snagged on an image issue and a lack of comments for or against promotion. The image in question survived a deletion attempt, which I hope puts that issue to rest. Also, the article was recently promoted to GA with minimal issues raised. I hope to see it passed to FA on its second time around. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 16:37, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

oppose The image was kept as it was "probably free", clarification is needed on the licensing used for this image, if it is not free I fail to see how this image would meet wp:nfcc Fasach Nua (talk) 23:22, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

C'mon. We've been over this. The image was kept because it is a valid fair use image, not because it was "probably free". All I said about its free-ness was that there is no author attribution, so it is possibly free, not probably free. No one has yet shown that there is a free alternative available, and I've indicated my willingness to replace the image should one come to light. I cannot prove that a free alternative doesn't exist, and you have yet to prove that one does. Until you do, I consider this oppose invalid. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 16:24, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

The closing summary by the closing admin was "The result of the discussion was: Keep, general consensus is that this is probably in the public domain, and it appears that further attempts are being made to verify this situation.", I am content for other editors to interpret if you are correct it asserting "The image was kept because it is a valid fair use image, not because it was "probably free"" Fasach Nua (talk) 18:15, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, my contention from the start has been that it is valid fair use, not that it is free, since I have no data to prove or disprove that. I uploaded the image with a fair-use rationale from the get-go. The only reason I can think of that it wouldn't be fair use is if a free alternative existed, and none has been proven to exist yet. No idea where User:FloNight is on searching the collection at the University of Kentucky, but in the interim, I think the fair use claim should stand. What will it take for you to strike your oppose? Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 18:41, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

I don't think I could ever support an article in an interim state, perhaps when the article is finished ... Fasach Nua (talk) 20:38, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Articles are never finished. And if your criteria for "finishing" an article includes somehow proving that no free image of an individual exists anywhere in the world, then only omniscient editors would ever be able to meet your criteria. I've made more than cursory attempts to find a free image, and I'll continue to be on the lookout for one, but it seems you won't be satisfied until or unless I actually find one, which may or may not be possible. I know that if it came down to it, I'd remove the image from the article before I'd make a special trip to Lexington to look for an image that may or may not exist. I don't really think that's in the interest of building a better encyclopedia, but I really don't want this to stand in the way of promoting the article again. I'm sure if I didn't find one in Lexington, you'd probably want me to go to DC and search the Library of Congress before you'd support this nomination. No thanks. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 14:30, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps this has been raised before, but there is a statue of Combs in Stanton KY (http://www.appalachianheritagealliance.org/bertcombs.html). If someone took a picture of that statue it could serve as an appropriate likeness.

This would constitute a derived work of a copyrighted piece of art and would hence also be considered non-free Fasach Nua (talk) 18:15, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Seal_of_Kentucky.svg tagged as free, however the description seems to prohibit derived commercial works, and thus not free as far as wikipedia is concerned, can this be clarified? Fasach Nua (talk) 18:12, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

You'd have to talk to the image author about that. I don't know much about it. I do know that file is used a pot load of places, though, so I would think that if it is to be deleted, it should be discussed somewhere other than here. Besides, that's part of the Kentucky governors template, so it's not like I can just remove it. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 18:24, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

An editorial decision was taken to include this template, and this image in this article, therefore it is a matter of consideration for the FAC, it may be worth dropping a line at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Kentucky or WP:PUI to clarify this if you are unsure Fasach Nua (talk)

The template is a navigation aid, which is encouraged by Wikipedia. If the image, which doesn't materially contribute to the aid itself, isn't free use, then the discussion to remove it should be there, or via AfD, not here. I happen to know the image author a little, and I know he is around in spurts. he hasn't done anything here since early March, so I don't expect a timely response from him, especially not before this FAC closes. I will drop a note somewhere and see what I can discover, but I maintain that this is not the appropriate place for this discussion. As I said before, if consensus goes against the Combs image, I can drop that because this article is the only place it is used. The seal appears in many articles and should be discussed in a wider forum. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 18:58, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

This is not a discussion to add or remove anything, those are editorial decisions. This is primarily a FA assessment, although we do generally try and give some direction to improving the article Fasach Nua (talk) 09:59, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

File:Kentucky_quarter,_reverse_side,_2001.jpg - The linked license on this image states "Designs of the new quarter-dollar coins issued under the 50 State Quarters Program may be derivative works of designs covered by third-party copyrights licensed to or assigned to the U.S. Mint, or in some cases may be covered by third-party copyrights assigned to the Mint. You should not assume anything on this site is necessarily in the public domain.", therefore on what basis is this considered to be devoid of copyright? Fasach Nua (talk) 09:59, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

• Comment No dab links or any broken links here.Esuzu (talk • contribs) 18:06, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
• CommentWho? If you can't be bothered to explain who he is I can't be bothered to look and see. Johnbod (talk) 17:13, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Not sure I understand this comment. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 18:41, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand it, either. Stonemason89 (talk) 20:39, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

Johnbod is saying that the nomination statement didn't introduce the subject, so he won't be bothered to review. The comment was not at all germane to this candidacy, however, so feel free to ignore it. Mm40 (talk) 21:02, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Review by Charles Edward

• General
  • "This damaged Chandler's credibility and left Combs looking courageous and honest in the minds of the electorate." - thats a little POV, as the electorate is not uniform. This is also not fully supported by the info in the body. I'd cut off "in the minds of the electorate" from that sentence.
    • Done.
  • "The Combs family was one of the oldest in the United States.[2] John Combs, the family patriarch, arrived in Jamestown, Virginia aboard the Marigold a year before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock.", this is not particularly relevant. You may consider shortening it.
    • A couple of different sources mentioned the Combs family being one of the oldest in the U.S., and I thought it would be nice to show just how old, but if you think it needs to go, I could chop it out and combine the first and second paragraphs in this section.
      • I wouldn't remove it completely. Just pare it back to one sentence, and get the year in there instead of talking about the Mayflower, most people won't know how exactly long ago the Mayflower landed. (I am guessing 400 years ago) —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:52, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
        • OK, I've trimmed it a bit. See how it reads now.
  • "In 1955, former governor and Democratic factional leader A.B. "Happy" Chandler announced", its not quite clear what is meant by "factional leader" here. If he was a leader of any faction of the party, he would be a party leader. If there was a defined faction in which he led, that faction should be named here. I'd suggest changing "factional" to "Party".
    • Most of the sources refer to the "Chandler faction" and the "Clements [later Combs] faction". I don't think it's really accurate to call them party leaders, because the two factions of the Democratic Party were the major political forces during that time. The Republicans weren't really much of a force at this time.
      • It would be useful to explain this within the article. Just a sentence or two to explain that the state government was dominated by two factions of the Democratic Party. Nothing is necessarily wrong with using faction, so long as you introduce what the factions are, it won't be obvious to outsiders. —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:52, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
        • I've added this information. I don't want to get into a lot of the details regarding how the factions came to be, since it really dates back at least to an early 1930s fight between Governors Laffoon and Chandler. Explaining it fully would require the introduction of several new sources and take the article considerably off topic.
  • "...his ties to boss-dominated Logan County gave the faction pause", faction again. Its not clear what this faction is.
    • See above. Not sure what else to call it.
  • "Barred by the state constitution from seeking consecutive terms, Governor Chandler endorsed..." I believe Kentucky governors permitted to serve consecutive terms (at least nowadays). Perhaps you mean "...a third consecutive term..."?
    • Nope. Kentucky governors have only been able to serve consecutive terms since a constitutional amendment in 1992. (James Garrard somehow managed it in 1800, through a special provision I don't fully understand yet.) Four men served multiple non-consecutive terms – Chandler, Isaac Shelby, John L. Helm, and James B. McCreary.
      • That explains it. I knew that Fletcher ran for reelection. —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:52, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
  • "Combs now turned the tables on Chandler by attacking his administration in the campaign against Waterfield." Its not obvious how the tables were turned? (This is also WP:JARGON.) It seems like his tactics were different from Chandler's. I suggest rephrasing this
    • Although I think the source used this same phrasing, your point is well-taken. I've reworded.
  • "The subject of the session was the revision of Kentucky's antiquated constitution.", you should probably point out who was calling the constitution antiquated. Since the measure was not approved, it couldn't have been the majority view.
    • Good point. Most of the state's leading legal minds were in agreement that the constitution was badly out of date, but the populace, obviously, was not convinced. I've deleted "antiquated" here, since the article later mentions the opinion of the legal scholars. (As a side note, fifty years later, we still haven't gone back and re-done the stupid thing, although we have made amendments to modernize it somewhat!)
  • "As a result of the sales tax increase, Combs presided over the state's first billion-dollar budget.", in the preceding sentence the article explains that there was no prior sales tax. So, they could not have increased something that didn't exist prior. I'd suggest rephrasing.
    • Let me go back and look at this. The state's first sales tax was enacted by Ruby Laffoon, Chandler's predecessor for his first term. Then Chandler abolished it during his first term, and I can't remember when it was re-instated. More on this later.
    • Looking back, you're right. I think when I wrote this, I was thinking about the difference in the one percent tax that was actually needed and the three percent tax Combs got enacted. I've removed "increase".
  • "Combs also increased funding for free textbooks by more than $3 million and allocated another $2 million to vocational education.[31] He gave over $5 million to the state universities for new buildings and, ironically, another $10.5 million to fund completion of the Albert B. Chandler Hospital, a facility at the University of Kentucky named in honor of Combs' political foe." - Did combs himself grant these funds? I suspect he advocated for them, but it was the General Assembly which granted them, and he approved. Also, "ironically", should removed, see MOS:OPED
    • You are correct, but the practice in Combs' day was for the governor to propose a budget and submit it so late in the legislative session that the General Assembly would have to accept it with few changes or adjourn without passing a budget, necessitating a special session. That's why many who write about Kentucky's governors say the governor himself allocated the funds. This practice didn't change until the administration of John Y. Brown, Jr. in the late 1970s.
      • This would be a useful explanation within the article. Maybe a sentence to explain that Combs (or his advisers) wrote the budget, but approval came from the assembly. —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:52, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
        • I did change the wording to make it clear that Combs proposed the budget. If I need to explicitly say the General Assembly approved it, I can probably find a source for that. I don't really want to go into much detail about the budget process, because this isn't really given much detailed treatment in the sources about Combs. It really didn't come to light until I started looking at sources about Governor Brown, and I don't want to drag those sources into this article.
  • "It was the only time in the 20th century that a Kentucky governor selected his successor and was able to get him elected." - Did Combs get his elected, or did the electorate get him elected? I suggest a rephrase here to something like "It was the only time in the 20th century that a Kentucky governor's selected successor won election."
    • Good suggestion. Done.
  • A link to the Kentucky portal would probably be useful
    • Where? This is not something I've done before, but I'm not opposed to it if it is wiki-convention.
    • Usually it would go in a see also section, but since there isn't one here, you could probably drop it in the death and legacy section. {{portal:Kentucky}} (It is a featured portal by the way)
      • I tried to add this, but it didn't seem to work. I was aware that it is a featured portal thanks to the work of our resident "portal penguin", Bedford.
        • Bedford made the Indiana and Indianapolis portal too! He's been a little inactive lately. I am missing him. I put a portal in there myself. Take it out or move it if you don't think it works. 13:12, 19 April 2010 (UTC)
• Prose
  • "Combs returned to Kentucky and engaged in the practice of law." - maybe just "practiced law" instead of "engaged in"? According to the body, he was already a practicing lawyer before the war.
    • Corrected.
  • "His body was found in the Red River near Rosslyn, in Powell County, the following morning. His cause of death was listed as hypothermia." No need to say he died twice, how about "Having died of hypothermia, his body was found in the Red River near Rosslyn the following morning."
    • Reworded. See what you think.
  • "Also in 1937, he married Mabel Hall.", instead maybe, .."and the same year married..."
    • Done.
  • "He later explained the move from his hometown thusly..." "thusly" is not a word.
    • Hmm. I thought I'd heard it used before. Maybe it's one of those like "irregardless" that people think is a word but really isn't.
  • "...and that a sales tax might be considered", better as "should be considered"
    • Done.
  • "In addition, Bert T. Combs Lake, an artificial lake constructed in 1963 in Clay County, is also named after him.", "in addition" and "also" are redundant.
    • Done.
  • "Combs' widow, Sara Walter Combs, became the first woman to serve on the Kentucky Supreme Court in 1993 and currently sits as chief judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, also a first for a woman", according to the article, his wife while governor was Mabelle Hall. So his widow was not first lady, Mabelle Hall was first lady. Maybe I missed something there though. - My mistake, I read first woman and thought I had read first lady.
• Citations needed
  • "Some of Combs' crackdowns on corruption were politically damaging, and perhaps none more so than the so-called "truck deal". - You may also consider rewording this to remove the "perhaps none more so", which is what makes in need to be attributed
    • I've re-worded to hopefully eliminate the POV issue.
• References
  • Does "Combs Rose to Pinnacle From Plain Beginnings" have an author?
    • There is no by-line to the article. When I pulled it from Newsbank, it just said "Author: Knight-Ridder News Service"
  • Its not clear what Ref #37 is pointing at as a source "Robinson in Kentucky's Governors, p. 199"
    • It is from the book Kentucky's Governors. The book was edited by Lowell H. Harrison, but each chapter is separately signed by its author. In this case, the author of the Combs chapter is George William Robinson. I've added "in Kentucky's Governors" to distinguish it from the oral history by Robinson in the Further Reading Section. Kentucky's Governors is the penultimate source in the source list.
• Images
  • File:Bert Combs.jpg - note: this non-free. Fair use rationale is acceptable
    • Thanks for weighing in on that. As you can see above, I'm seeking community input on that.
  • The image of the flower clock has a forced size. This is discouraged by WP:IMAGE
    • I just don't feel like you can tell much about the image at its default size. Maybe its just my monitor. If it needs to be removed, I'll do so.
  • The article could do with another image or two. Perhaps the Kentucky Statehouse or an image of Chandler?
    • I agree it needs more images, but finding free images from this time period is difficult. There is already an image of Chandler, although it is when he was much younger than he would have been during the events described in this article. There are free images of the Kentucky State Capitol and the Kentucky Governor's Mansion, but I'm not sure how to word the caption to make them relevant to the text.
      • I think any PD image of the statehouse would be fine. Caption could be something like "Kentucky State House", Its not much a leap to see its connection to the text, pretty well everything noteworthy he did occurred there. —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 13:09, 20 April 2010 (UTC)
• Prose is pretty good
• References check out
• Alt text present

Very interesting article! I enjoy reading about politicians. My issues are mostly nitpicks, but the prose is a little troublesome in spots and there a few inconsistencies in the information, all of which I have noted. If you can address them, I'd be glad to support this article. Great job so far! —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 18:04, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

I've addressed some of your points, but I'm out of time right now. I'll be back with more later. If you check this between now and then, please strike the ones where you are satisfied so I can keep track of what remains to be done. Thanks! Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 12:28, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Got some more, but I'm out of time again. I'll try to clear up the remaining issues in the next day or two. Thanks for your patience. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 12:30, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, I think I've addressed everything now. Let me know if more work is needed. Thanks again for your patience, and I look forward to your eventual support. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 12:13, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Support I find the article a great read. The oppose above in regards to the image is not really relevant; its is clearly non-free based on its current licensing, but has an acceptable fair use rationale. I am neutral regarding the citations; there is not really a guideline that limits the use of citations, so I don't feel an oppose is warranted along that line. I do agree there are many unneeded citations though. —Charles Edward ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 13:09, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Comment. It's clear you've done a lot of research, but I believe this article is an example of overcitation. I know you've worked hard on this article, but every single sentence is followed by a citation. with this many citations, the article becomes very hard to read. Firsfron of Ronchester 05:02, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

It's looking better. Firsfron of Ronchester 01:04, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I always try to cite every sentence. It helps me know where facts came from if I end up moving them around. I've also never liked the "material that is likely to be challenged" criterion; it's too subjective. How am I to know what someone is likely to challenge? Sometimes I get this comment about overcitation, though. I've combined references to the paragraph level where it is possible to do so. If you have further suggestions for reducing the number of citations, please feel free to leave them here. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 12:29, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

In the first paragraph in the body of the text, you have three sentences: "The Combs family was one of the oldest in the United States.[2] John Combs, the family patriarch, arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, and in 1775, Benjamin John Combs came westward from Virginia into Clark County, Kentucky.[2] He was followed into Kentucky in 1790 by two of his brothers, including Jack Combs, Bert Combs' great-grandfather.[2]" These sentences are all supported by the same source; I've often been told to cite at the end of the material. The paragraph would become: "The Combs family was one of the oldest in the United States. John Combs, the family patriarch, arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, and in 1775, Benjamin John Combs came westward from Virginia into Clark County, Kentucky. He was followed into Kentucky in 1790 by two of his brothers, including Jack Combs, Bert Combs' great-grandfather.[2]" Firsfron of Ronchester 13:49, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

The paragraph you mention above contains two other sentences that are cited to a different source. I never group citations unless the entire paragraph can be cited to the same source. Even at that, I have people then challenge something in the paragraph as uncited because they don't recognize that the citation is at the end of the paragraph. If it is all right with you, I'd prefer to leave the citations as they are for now. Many of my other articles have passed GA and FA reviews with every-sentence citations. Some reviewers have even told me they prefer that. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 11:54, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

• I support ACdixon's approach to referencing. Occasional citations / at end of para is not suitable to a wiki, where anyone can move text around. I usually oppose noms that don't cite more regularly, esp. if there is a wide range of facts in the para. hamiltonstone (talk) 02:57, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

I've been doing FACs since 2006 and have never seen this citation "style" used. Further, an article you nominated for FAC, Bronwyn Bancroft, either has uncited material or cites material at the end of the paragraph. For example, from that article: "In 2004 Bancroft was commissioned to design a large mural covering the exterior of a sports centre housing two basketball courts at Tempe Reserve in Marrickville, New South Wales. The mural depicts a snake, a man, and a woman, representing both biblical and Indigenous Australian creation stories. It also includes the goanna, ancestral totem of the Marrickville area's original inhabitants, the Wangal people.[11]" (One paragraph, one citation). Adding a citation for every single sentence will not prevent material from being moved around by other editors. It just makes the text unreadable. Firsfron of Ronchester 04:52, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

<scratches head> what is it about this style you've never seen before? There are a few variations around (using - or not - the year in the footnote cite for instance), but the basic pattern seems to me common enough: The Open Boat, Catholic Church, Funerary art, to give a few examples i've been watching / commenting on in recent times. I don't mind one ref after a few sentences, provided (a) all those sentences are about the same matter and (b) there are no intervening other references. Hence my one cite at the end of the sentences about Bancroft's Marrickville commission. To take another example, from the same article, you find "Bancroft was a founding member of the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative,[2] one of Australia's oldest Indigenous-run artists' organisations,[7] established in 1987.[8] She served in the roles of chairperson, director, and treasurer during its first two decades.[5][1] In 1985 she opened a shop in Sydney called Designer Aboriginals, selling the work of Indigenous designers including her own fabrics,[2] and staffed by her Indigenous female students.[6]" Ref 2 is used twice, but other refs are relied upon in between, and the subject matter is more heterogenous, thus the closer citation, and repetition of [2]. I thought Bert Combs was OK - if it were me, i would have just one cite for "On December 22, 1943, Combs enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army for service in World War II.[8] He received his basic training at Fort Knox.[8] Early in his military career, he was assigned to teach cartography at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland.[8]", but i certainly wouldn't see it as a FAC issue. But then again, in terms of readability, I guess it's a personal thing, as i don't find the footnote numbers trouble me anyway. hamiltonstone (talk) 05:50, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

I see AC has combined a few citations.

• More comments:

• "Bert Combs was born in the Town Branch section of Manchester, Kentucky on August 13, 1911."

Is this a section or a neighborhood? Kentucky doesn't have sections as I'm used to thinking of them. (This comment may be pedantry; feel free to ignore it)

Honestly, I don't know, having never been to Manchester. I lifted this straight from the source on the chance that it would be significant to someone who knew more about the town that I did.

• "Some of Combs' crackdowns on corruption were politically damaging, and including the so-called "truck deal"

Either "Some of Combs' crackdowns on corruption were politically damaging, including the so-called "truck deal"" or "Some of Combs' crackdowns on corruption were politically damaging, and included the so-called "truck deal" is correct.

Well, I botched that one good and proper, huh? As you can see above, I needed to remove some POV from that sentence, and I was apparently a little careless about doing so. Fixed now.

• "The deal was seen by some as a political payoff orchestrated by Highway Commissioner Clements.[25]"

Does the source give an example of who thought this? If so, you might want to explain. If not, there's not much you can do here. :)

Well, a newspaper first reported the facts of the event, but public reaction was mixed. From Harrison's A New History of Kentucky: "Some argued that 'the truck deal' problem would have been caught and corrected through the review process; others said that it was a political payoff and that Clements had been trying to0 carry it out for others; some indicated it was a Clements deal, pure and simple." Given this, I'd say it would be tought to pin down a prevailing opinion among any particular group. What seems to be important is that Combs eventually acted as though he believed there was something untoward going on, causing the split between him and Clements.

• Why does the Kentucky portal template appear in the main body of the text? The proper place is in a 'see also' section, or failing that, in some other appropriate section near the bottom.

As you can see above, this addition was suggested by Charles Edward. I'm not expert on what is and is not convention with regard to that; you may move it, remove it, or do something else with it and incur no objection from me.

• Overall, the quality of this article is very high. I found that I could nitpick very little of the article's prose. I don't have access to some of the reference material, but what I checked, checked out. Firsfron of Ronchester 06:06, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the review. I hope I can eventually gain your support despite our differences over citation style. Acdixon ^{(talk • contribs • count)} 11:54, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Comment. I am working through the article, copyediting, and I think the prose does need improvement. As a result I am not ready to support yet. I don't want to oppose just yet either; most of what I'm seeing is fixable, and I'm leaving some queries on the article's talk page. I will try to finish the copyedit tomorrow. I will also note that the image oppose above doesn't seem valid to me, though I'm not an image expert; I think the image has a reasonable fair use justification.

• I found this source: Bert Combs the politician: an oral history by George William Robinson. A lot of what's in here may be primary source material and not very usable, but I'd think some opinions could be used. In addition the Google Books view shows an introduction with some history that could be useful; e.g. it says where Combs met Mabel Hall, and describes the steps by which Combs decided to go into politics after the war. Can you comment on whether you've used this source?
• Another source: The public papers of Governor Bert T. Combs, 1959-1963, Volume 1959. Google Books gives this snippet, for example: "The same year he married Mabel Hall, a pretty former cheerleader whose family..." and this: "left no possibility of doubt that Bert Combs was from deep in the hills." Sounds like this might be usable. Google Books shows some other biographical material too; I won't list any more but of course the concern is that the article might not meet the comprehensiveness criterion if some of these sources have been omitted without review.

Update: I've now finished going through the article and have posted notes to the talk page. My main concerns at the moment would be comprehensiveness and some prose choppiness. The latter can probably be dealt with after the talk page notes are responded to, but I'd like to hear from the nominator about the issue of sources. -- Mike Christie (talk) 14:48, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.