March 02, 2009 03:19 pm
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Recycling plans face obstacles
With regard to the March In Our View headlined “What a Waste”, many of my comments did not obviously make your reporter’s notebook or he had a different idea of what was going on than I did.
In my opening remarks, I said I was in favor of recycling. I did not say I was in favor of the city going into the recycling business. To suggest that I favor this proposed plan is absurd. My statement was taken out of context concerning competing with any private profit-making businesses. I am fully aware of Rumpke and the Ashland Recycle Center. I’ve been taking my recycle materials to them for years.
I raised issues concerning using inmates for employees. I raised many concerns surrounding this issue, liabilities, safety issues and not creating jobs. Using untrained, unpaid labor is not a good thing. I raised issues about possible environmental problems.
I was concerned that there is no written Inter-local Agreement for presentation, there is no action plan, rules, regulations, how costs are shared, how profits are to be distributed. It was suggested that this can be done later. Not on my watch.
I’m concerned that this proposal is supposed to be a joint effort but the county has already hired a person to operate the program. We were also told that Catlettsburg is to be a part of this proposal. That was the first I’d heard about that, and I didn’t see anyone from Catlettsburg there.
The committee that is in place has done an admirable job. They are working hard to make this a reality. There are many obstacles that need to be crossed before this could ever come to be, including having all three local governments approve it.
Tom Kelley, mayor, Ashland
Kentucky can now legalize marijuana
Last week, a monumental event occurred in Washington, D.C., which will forever alter the landscape of Kentucky, politically and economically. President Obama’s administration announced that federal resources will “not be used to circumvent state laws” regarding marijuana.
In essence, the United States government has yielded jurisdiction over marijuana to the individual states. Each state can now adopt whatever laws it wishes regarding marijuana, including its regulation and taxation. Legislation has already been introduced in California to do so.
Kentucky now stands at a crossroads which I predicted 33 years ago. We have the opportunity to finally gain a huge new source of revenue and direct it toward our budget deficits, education, pensions and retirements. Simultaneously, we can stop enriching the criminal black market and finally have a chance of keeping marijuana out of the hands of the kids.
We no longer have to wait for permission to do this. We now have it. The question is, does our legislature have the leadership and intelligence to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lift Kentucky from unnecessary suffering and poverty.
The governor should call a special session this summer to adopt a tax and regulate plan for marijuana (and hemp as a fuel). I predict that Kentucky would realize at least $400 to $600 million annually in new tax revenues and cut the cost of health care by another $500 million because of its benefits as a natural medicine. (Please visit k4mm.org )
The time is now folks. If Kentucky acts ahead of its sister states, the new revenue could be astounding.
Contact the governor and your legislators today and tell them to become educated on this matter immediately. There is no time to waste. Let us act now.
Gatewood Galbraith, Lexington
Benefits of folk dancing are many
A little over a year ago our folk dance group lost a valued member of more than 30 years. Her husband and dance partner told us of a response she had written on a test concerning the dances of the world and what it meant to her to be an International Folk Dancer.
As I re-read her response to the question “What has folk dance brought to your life?” I realized how many people could benefit from this activity if they only knew the many things that international dance brings to dancers’ lives.
You learn many dances of the world, and in doing so also learn about the people themselves and their countries.
Folk dancing offers adults the opportunity to participate and perform in an adult group and youth an opportunity for performance in festivals throughout the country, as well as in their local community. Folk dancing also is great exercise and fun.
Here is an excerpt from Jo Ann Irvine's response to “What has folk dance brought to your life?”:
“Folk dancing has added a dimension to my life which I thoroughly enjoy because it has so many benefits. I have made new friends, gone new places, peaked an interest to go places I've never been and learn more about people I've never met, and have had so much fun while learning. ...
“Most of all it has been an activity I've been able to do with my husband, daughter and sister and have an admiring son, daughter-in-law and mother in the audience ...
“There is so much to learn and so much more to see that I look forward to learning and seeing as much as possible.”
For more information on International Dance please feel free to contact Carole Prietzel, director of International Folklanders at (606) 928-9372.
Carole Prietzel, Catlettsburg
Being for abortion supports torture
Our president, while delivering his message to Congress the other night, said something that was applauded enthusiastically by many in attendance. “We do not torture,” he proudly proclaimed.
To say we do not torture, then support the abortion of unborn children is hypocrisy. Are they aware of the procedures used to abort a child? Do they realize over 48 million abortions have been performed since Roe vs. Wade?
If they do not support torture, why do they support partial birth abortion? If they do not support torture, why do they want to pass “The Freedom of Choice Act”? Why are they more merciful to murdering terrorists than the most innocent and defenseless among us? Maybe unborn children would get merciful treatment from our government if they were classified as illegal aliens.
The Bible, in Proverbs 6, lists some things God hates. Included in the list are “hands that shed innocent blood.” There is no blood more innocent than that of an unborn child. Our nation is guilty of the torture and killing of the innocent by supporting and funding abortions. God has brought judgment upon nations and individuals in the past for shedding innocent blood and will surely do so again.
The greatest assault upon unborn children in the history of our nation is about to begin under the present administration. May God help us to oppose it! Let’s put an end to the real torture in our land.
Tom Keelin, Catlettsburg
Help sought on area documentary
In a recent ABC News Documentary — “Children of the Mountains” — eastern Kentucky was simply trashed, but the worst part is how they avoided the fact that coal companies are a major cause of the problems in eastern Kentucky. My family has been in Kentucky since the 1700s and I take a lot of pride in my home state.
This is not the first time Yankees have trashed Kentucky via documentaries. I’m in the planning stage of producing a documentary related to eastern Kentucky — to be called “Reading, ‘Ritin’, and Route 23” — which will present the true story of Kentucky. Be assured this will not be a YouTube Video,or other amateur venture. I am going to fight to have it distributed via television and/or movie theaters.
I’m looking for photographs, videos, writers, as well as several film crew members. I’m especially looking for a photos of the Allen bus station. To insure my e-mail is not overwhelmed and crashes, this offer will expire May 1. Please do not feel hurt if you are not chosen as the numbers will be limited.
Thank you for your time. Submit name, location, a brief description and telephone number to sonofkentucky@yahoo.com
Randy Freeborn, Flatwoods
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