Published: February 29, 2008 02:14 pm            

In Your View — 03/02/08

Follow the money, make your choice

William Yung III, CEO of a casino and hotel corporation, contributed $1 million to Steve Beshear’s campaign. He contributed $10,000 to help pay for the governor’s inauguration.

Beshear’s comments on this? He claims nobody is going to have an inside track on gaming licenses. “It’ll be all transparent and above board.”

The same day he said that things would be “transparent,” he held a closed door meeting on the issue where reporters were ordered out of the room.

Two weeks later representatives of the multi-million dollar horse industry transcended on the capitol jockeying for their piece of the pie. They left when two versions of the amendment didn’t make it out of the House Committe on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Did that end it? Not by a long shot. After the House adjourned, the committee reconvened, the chairman waived a 24-hour rule on amendments, and House Speaker Jody Richards, Rocky Adkins and Charlie Hoffman replaced a committee member who was voting against Richards’ version and replaced her with two members who would vote for his version.

Does that sound “above board” to you?

It's abundantly clear that the only winners with casinos would be the millionaires in the casino and horse industries. Creating and feeding addictions is not a way to generate revenue. Kentucky families have to make hard choices about money and their family budgets. It’s time the Kentucky legislature did the same.

Kentuckians were promised in 1987 that money generated from the lottery would go to education; instead it went into the general fund. We will no longer buy your pig in a poke.

Follow the money and make your decision. Are you for the people of Kentucky or for the millionaires who want your money? Call your representative today.

James L. Taylor, Ashland



Amish buggies aren’t the problem

This is in response to the Feb. 25 editorial regarding efforts to require the Amish to put lights on their buggies.

I’m not Amish, but I have a lot of respect for them. Others would do well to take some lessons from them.

They practice their religious beliefs 24/7, not just in church on Sundays. They raise their children to respect their parents, elders of the community and each other. They are willing to stand up for their beliefs and not stand back and do nothing until all their rights are taken away.

How many stood firm for their beliefs when one woman was offended by Bible reading, prayers on the Ten Commandments in school and let it be taken out of schools and government places? She won.

First, the law requires reflective orange triangles on buggies; now it’s flashng lights. What’s next? Headlights with a dimmer switch on the horse bridle?

Cars have lights and brakes, but they still have accidents. A driver full of whiskey or drugs couldn’t see a freight train coming, so don’t blame horse-drawn buggies.

I have ridden and driven horses since I was a child. I never saw one run into another or run over the hill. I wish car drivers would follow the Golden Rule — “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” — and use common sense. The roads would be safer for everyone.

The roads are built for everyone, so why not share? The police could do more good by using their time to get the drunks and drug addicts off the road instead of interferring with a religious belief.

Wake up, people. Today, the Amish are the target, but we’ll all be next. What will they want us to do or give up?

Alice Phillips, Olive Hill



Homes are sought for Christmas tour

At the regular meeting of the Ladies of the Highlands Museum Council on Monday, Feb. 25, we presented the museum with a check for $19,000. Of this, $8,000 will be used to renovate the one-room school house currently in use at the museum and $11,000 will go into the educational programing fund.

All of this money was raised at the Christmas Tour of Homes, and we could not have done this without our wonderful, generous homeowners who decorated and opened their homes for the tour, the many donations throughout our community, the people who bought tickets and toured the homes, and our wonderful volunteers.

We are currently looking for two or three homes in the Bellefonte area for our next Christmas tour, which will take place during the first weekend in December. We have three homeowners in the Bellefonte area who have volunteered their homes, and we would love to have a couple more to make this next tour as successful as our first one.

Pat Hauswald has again agreed to chair this project, and our members are excited and ready to start our plans. Please contact the museum if you might be willing to open your home for the two days, and we will gladly answer any questions that you might have. This is a wonderful way to make sure that our museum can continue with the wonderful programing that is offered to the children in our community.

Ann Wiseman, Karin Lewis and Betty Jean Phipps, tri-chairs, Christmas Tour of Homes



Sparrow’s Nook ‘magnificent effort’

Sparrow’s Nook has closed its doors after 14 years of serving hot dinners to hundreds of people in need. Donna Tackett and the other volunteers are to be commended for this magnificent effort.

River Cities Harvest is indeed privileged to have been associated in a small way with these dedicated volunteers.

Best wishes and God bless each of them.

Jim Fout, coordinator, River Cities Harvest, Ashland

        

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