February 04, 2008 04:58 pm
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Boyd is being sold for $1.75 a ton
I recently attended the public hearing at Boyd County High School concerning the 194-acre expansion to Big Run Landfill.
Upon listening to three hours of complaints that included the odor, noise and trash along old U.S. 60, Ron Gruzesky, manager of the Kentucky Division of Waste Management, opened the meeting to questions. I asked him what chemicals were being emitted from the landfill and if they were harmful. He could not provide a sufficient answer.
The real answer to this question is that no one really knows what is in the air. Residents of Princess know that the air stinks, but could the air contain carcinogenic chemicals? No one knows the answer to this question either, because the air is not tested for chemicals.
Next, I asked Mr. Gruzesky what types of garbage are in the landfill. He said that the permit is for anything not labeled hazardous waste. This could mean medical waste and an assortment of many chemicals and waste products. This is tantamount to syringes washing up on beach shores.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Gruzesky stated that this expansion was a “done deal.” Why is he so eager for this landfill expansion to proceed? Why does Mr. Gruzesky want the biggest landfill in Kentucky to be located in Boyd County?
Well, here’s the answer: When a ton of trash is brought into Kentucky, state government receives $1.75. This pays for the cleanup of other landfills. So, the Division of Waste Management has a vested interest in expanding this landfill.
Boyd County is being sold for $1.75 a ton to pay for abandoned landfills throughout the state. My solution to the problem is have an independent commission evaluate the expansion of Big Run Landfill and determine if the expansion should proceed.
Nat Gray, Ashland
Leadership praised in U.W. success
The success of the recent United Way campaign in reaching an $800,000 goal is truly remarkable and everyone involved deserves congratulations and thanks from the community.
The outstanding success of United Way in our area can be traced back to the merger of the Boyd and Greenup County organizations several years ago and the leadership of Steve Towler with his outstanding administrative skills, who came on board shortly thereafter.
Under Steve’s guidance, surrounding counties were brought into the fold to comprise what is now the United Way of Northeast Kentucky. Despite facing difficult economic times in our region, the United Way has flourished and multiple agencies have benefited. The leadership deserves a pat on the back.
Jim McKee, Ashland
Church to celebrate Shrove Tuesday
Traditionally, Christians have celebrated the last days before Ash Wednesday in a carnival spirit — a fling before a time of great self-discipline and penance.
The customs vary according to location and era. They are as different as the special tourist attractions of Mardi Gras parades and costume balls in the southern United States are to a small town church in England where housewives with frying pans run in a race from the town square to the church door, while flipping pancakes they have made.
We might see everything from huge parade floats to tiny straw figures burned in effigy, from children playing Halloween-like tricks to adults in masks and harlequin costumes, from fireworks to noisemakers and confetti, to boys sprinkling girls with water or local winter Olympics.
Essentially, what constitutes the religious part of Shrovetide (a time to be “shriven” or set to penance) are two elements of “taking leave” of festivity and that of symbolizing our inner nature with jest, games, costumes, etc. During this time there will be no church-sponsored parties, no festivities, no baptisms, for we enter a solemn period of the church year.
Pancakes are the traditional food to this day. By having pancakes, a family used up much of its butter, eggs and other items in preparation for the fasting of Lent, which begins the next day. Come celebrate Shrove Tuesday with us at Calvary Episcopal Church from 5 to 6:30 tonight in our church hall.
Don Maxwell, Ashland
Group is making poverty an issue
As a voter and a member of a local chapter of the poverty-fighting group ONE, I have been working with the more than 2.4 million ONE members nationally to make the fight against extreme poverty and global disease an issue in the 2008 presidential election.
I know global poverty is usually not part of the conversation when it comes to presidential politics. But through ONE Vote ‘08, ONE’s non-partisan effort made up of ordinary voters and some of the most experienced political and policy experts in America, that’s all changing.
ONE members are engaging the candidates at campaign stops across America and asking them about their plans to fight poverty and save lives. Candidates are responding, some with policy speeches, others by incorporating global poverty into their national security platforms.
ONE members have gotten all of the major candidates to go on the record and lay out their concrete plans to fight global poverty and disease if elected, for all voters to see. I encourage voters to view those plans and compare the candidates at www.onevote08.org/ontherecord.
For the sake of the lives being lost and the security of Americans here at home, preventing global poverty and disease must be part of this year’s campaign. Want to hear something a little different out of the candidates this year? Visit ONE.org and get involved.
Alyssa Mavi, Ashland
KDMC commended for latest awards
Congratulations to King’s Daughters Medical Center on being named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.” This comes a week after King’s Daughters was named to the “Top 25 Best Places to Work in Kentucky.”
The health care sector has become the economic engine for northeast Kentucky, and the growth and success that King’s Daughters has achieved over the last 10 years is phenomenal. KDMC has doubled its employment, just recently surpassing 3,700 employees, and the economic impact it has on our region is extraordinary.
As the chamber of commerce for the Ashland area, we are acutely aware that access to high quality health care is a critical need in any community. It affects our overall quality of life in so many ways, and we are very fortunate to have the world-class healthcare that we do. Well done, KDMC!
Jim Purgerson, president, Ashland Alliance
Veteran lauded for picking up flags
During a violent windstorm on Tuesday, Jan. 26, the American and Kentucky flags were torn off the pole at Clarence Fields Post 76, American Legion, on Carter Avenue. While still attached to the tether, these two flags were blown into Carter Avenue and were lying in the gutter amid dirt and rain water.
On behalf of the officers and members of Post 76, I thank Chris Marcum, a Gulf War veteran, who took the time to stop, pick up both flags and return them to me. His actions were truly an act of patriotism.
James O. Rodman, Commander, Post 76, Ashland
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